§460mm–3 Rights of Holders of Unperfected Mining Claims

Summary

Protects people who hold "unperfected mining claims" inside the White Mountains National Recreation Area and Steese National Conservation Area if they kept their claims up to date and followed required permits. Unperfected mining claim = a claim in those areas that did not have a valid mineral discovery by the time the land was closed to new mining claims. If a holder maintained the claim under federal and state law and, where needed, followed any 1979 mining access permit rules, the United States could not challenge the claim for lack of a valid discovery before September 30, 1982, so long as the claim was actively worked during that time. The Interior Secretary may set reasonable rules for exploration, development, and mining to protect scenic, scientific, cultural, and other resources. If a holder files for a patent and the Secretary finds a valid mineral discovery, the holder gets a patent only for the minerals and may use as much surface as needed for mining, subject to the Secretary’s rules. Validity is fixed as of the patent filing date or September 30, 1982, whichever is earlier. Holders who did not file before September 30, 1982, must give the Secretary any supporting mineral data within 180 days after that date or it cannot be used later. Reasonable access to claims for making a discovery was allowed until September 30, 1982. Claims located, recorded, and kept before November 16, 1978, get a two-year preference after the Secretary opens the area for mining to rerecord and develop the claim or to get a lease to remove nonleasable minerals.