Title 30, Mineral Lands and MiningRelease 119-102
§28b Annual Assessment Work on Mining Claims; Temporary Deferment; Conditions
Title 30 › CHAPTER 2 — MINERAL LANDS AND REGULATIONS IN GENERAL › § 28b
Summary
The Secretary of the Interior may delay the $100 yearly work-or-improvement rule for a mining claim if the claimant shows that surrounding lands block access—for example, a denied right-of-way, litigation, state acquisition, or other legal barriers to entering the surface or reaching the boundaries.
Full Legal Text
Title 30, §28b
Mineral Lands and Mining, Source: USLM XML via OLRC
The performance of not less than $100 worth of labor or the making of improvements aggregating such amount, which labor or improvements are required under the provisions of section 28 of this title to be made during each year, may be deferred by the Secretary of the Interior as to any mining claim or group of claims in the United States upon the submission by the claimant of evidence satisfactory to the Secretary that such mining claim or group of claims is surrounded by lands over which a right-of-way for the performance of such assessment work has been denied or is in litigation or is in the process of acquisition under State law or that other legal impediments exist which affect the right of the claimant to enter upon the surface of such claim or group of claims or to gain access to the boundaries thereof.
Reference
Citations & Metadata
Citation
30 U.S.C. § 28b
Title 30, Mineral Lands and Mining
Last Updated
Aug 21, 2026
Release point: 119-102