Revision of the Mining Law (231879fa-20a7-4c0b-95c0-b231fd0abf3e)

THE bases of the work by the committee whereof I am chairman were (1) the abolition of extra-lateral rights and (2) the preservation of the maximum of the existing laws. The matter of extra-lateral rights had been under prolonged discussion among mining men and up to the time when our com-mittee began its work (in 1917) the expression of opinion in every way whereby it could be made known -and those ways were extensive-was only a little short of being unanimous that extralateral rights ought to be abolished. I have not observed important evidence indicating a change of opinion on the subject since 1917. ABOLITION OF DISCOVERY LOGICAL Now, when it be decided that extralateral rights ought to be abolished, there can not be merely a simple change to that effect, but it is found that consequential changes are necessary all the way through the existing laws. Abolition of extralateral rights implies abolition of discovery as a prerequisite to location, for otherwise there would be no legal means for locating claims on the dip of a vein. Quite apart from this consideration, abolition of discovery as a prerequisite to location is supported by other good reasons. Among these are the occurrence of orebodies with no exposure on the surface and which often are hidden at great depth. A prospector who has reason to suspect the occurrence of such an orebody must have legal means for the location of a claim within which to explore, and obviously he may. not be able to make any discovery on the surface sufficient to locate and hold legally such a claim under the terms of the law as it stands at present. As a matter of fact, discovery as a prerequisite to location was abolished by common consent many years ago, not only for the reasons that I have given here-inbefore but also for others. It is highly desirable to revise the mining law in this respect, so that it will conform to the conditions of practice and not require people to perjure themselves in making locations, even if it be for praiseworthy purposes.