Title 30Mineral Lands and MiningRelease 119-73not60

§53 Possessory Actions for Recovery of Mining Titles or for Damages to Such Title

Title 30 › Chapter 2— MINERAL LANDS AND REGULATIONS IN GENERAL › § 53

Last updated Apr 5, 2026|Official source

Summary

Federal courts decide fights over mining claims or damage to them by who actually possesses the claim, not by the United States’ ownership of the land.

Full Legal Text

Title 30, §53

Mineral Lands and Mining — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

No possessory action between persons, in any court of the United States, for the recovery of any mining title, or for damages to any such title, shall be affected by the fact that the paramount title to the land in which such mines lie is in the United States; but each case shall be adjudged by the law of possession.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Codification R.S. § 910 derived from act Feb. 27, 1865, ch. 64, § 9, 13 Stat. 441. Section was formerly classified to section 690 of Title 28 prior to the general revision and enactment of Title 28, Judiciary and Judicial Procedure, by act June 25, 1948, ch. 646, § 1, 62 Stat. 869.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

30 U.S.C. § 53

Title 30Mineral Lands and Mining

Last Updated

Apr 5, 2026

Release point: 119-73not60