Mineral rights

“ Among these the most important are the rights of miners to be protected in their selected localities, and the rights of those who, by prior appropriation, have taken the waters from their natural beds, and by costly artificial works have conducted them for miles over mountains and ravines to supply the necessities of gold diggers, and without which the most important interests of the mineral region would remain without development. ”

“ While the bond made no mention of extralateral rights, yet in all probability it would have been held to pass them and the court may have thought that the single specification, 'all the mineral therein contained,' was liable to be construed as narrowing the conveyance so as to include only the mineral beneath the surface, and therefore required that there should be incorporated in the deed the words 'together with all the dips, spurs,' etc. ”

“ The conditions ensuing from the discovery of gold and other minerals in the western states and territories resulted in a general demand for a system of laws expressly opening the mineral lands to exploration, occupation and acquisition, and Congress, responding to this demand, adopted from 1864 to 1873 a series of acts dealing with practically every phase of the subject and covering all classes of mineral lands, including coal lands. ”

“ Under the mining laws Congress has made public lands available to people for the purpose of mining valuable mineral deposits and not for other purposes. [4] The obvious intent was to reward and encourage the discovery of minerals that are valuable in an economic sense. Minerals which no prudent man will extract because there is no demand for them at a price higher than the costs of extraction and transportation are hardly economically valuable. ”

“ At present, the most flagrant violations of the laws are practised—mines are worked without leases—wood is destroyed on lands which are only valuable for the wood and the lead-ore they contain; and the government derives but a small revenue from those celebrated mines, which, whether we consider their vast extent, the richness of the ore, or the quantity of metal they are capable of annually producing, are unparalleled by any other mineral district in the world. ”

“ The fact that no such limits were imposed on veins of coal or other minerals or metals indicates, not that the act was intended to be confined to the minerals enumerated in § 2, since that would be a clear restriction upon the words 'valuable mineral deposits' in the 1st section, but that these particular metals stood in special need of limitation and protection. ”

“ While intrinsically the precious metals are the more valuable, in the aggregate, the nonprecious metals have probably contributed as much or more to the general wealth of the country.
A division of lands into agricultural and mineral would also be a most uncertain guide to a proper construction of the word 'mineral,' since most of the lands included in the limits of this grant are neither one nor the other, but desert or rocky land, of no present value for agriculture, and of little value for their mineral deposits. ”

“ Even in England the recent movement to nationalize the coal and oil resources is an indication of the general tendency. In the United States the movement has manifested itself thus far only in the increasing reluctance on the part of the government to part with mineral resources on the public domain,—as is clear from the terms of its new leasing law to cover oil, coal, gas, potash, and phosphates on public lands. ”

“ That, it is true, is the case before us. But even in such a case, as shown by the authorities we have cited, there must be such a discovery of mineral as gives reasonable evidence of the fact, either that there is a vein or lode carrying the precious mineral, or, if it be claimed as placer ground, that it is valuable for such mining. ”

“ The essential fact of the concentration of mineral supplies in comparatively few world localities, and the fact that no nation is supplied with enough of all varieties of minerals, mean that artificial barriers to their distribution cannot but impose unnecessary handicaps on certain localities, which may be anti-conservational from a world standpoint. ”

“ It seems to us as plain as language can make it that the intention of congress was to exclude from the grant actual mineral lands, whether known or unknown, and not merely such as were at the time known to be mineral. ”

“ We are all fully aware of the impolicy of needless legislative interference; but a broad line has been drawn by nature between commodities annually or periodically reproduced by the Soil on its surface, and that subterranean treasure, and sustaining foundation of Industry, which is laid by Nature in strata of mineral Coal, whose amount is limited, and which, when once exhausted, is gone for ever. As the Law most justly interferes to prevent the wanton destruction of life and property, it should seem also to be its duty to prevent all needless waste of mineral fuel ”

“ It was found that, under the pre-emption and homestead act, lands containing known saline deposits and mines could not be purchased. In the town-site act it was provided that, by virtue of its provisions, no title could be acquired to any mine of gold, silver, cinnabar, or copper, or to any valid mining claim or possession held under existing laws; and, under the mineral act of congress, it was provided that, in all cases, lands valuable for minerals should be reserved from sale, except as otherwise expressly provided. ”

“ The State encourages organizations and individuals to invest and cooperate with state-owned geological organizations in conducting geological baseline surveys of minerals. The State invests in the exploration and mining of some kinds of important minerals to serve socio-economic development, national defense and security. The State promotes investment projects on mineral mining associated with the processing and utilization of minerals to manufacture metal, alloy or other products of high value and socioeconomic effectiveness. ”

“ The availability of minerals and mineral materials are essential for economic growth, national security, technological innovation, and the manufacturing and agricultural supply chain. (3) The exploration, production, processing, use, and recycling of minerals contribute significantly to the economic well-being, security and general welfare of the Nation. ”

“ The treasures of commercially valuable ore-deposits have been hid by nature whimsically throughout the earth, here and there, by no rule of geography or latitude, and with a great disregard of equality. A nation’s needs or desires for mineral wealth have no stated relation to its actual mineral possessions ”

“ The mineral resources also include nearly every variety required for manufacturing industries. In the production of the two minerals which constitute the basis of modern manufactures, coal and iron, the United States ranks foremost, and, indeed, produces nearly a third of the world's output of each. Moreover, the deposits of these minerals, together with deposits of limestone, which is needed in fluxing the iron ore, are frequently found in the same locality. ”

“ To require the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture to more efficiently develop domestic sources of the minerals and mineral materials of strategic and critical importance to United States economic and national security and manufacturing competitiveness. ”

“ Business households defined in Clause 2, Article 51 of this Law may mine minerals for use as common construction materials or conduct salvage mining if they satisfy all the conditions set by the Government. ”

“ Every country in the globe is deficient in supplies of some minerals. The United States is better off than any other country, but still lacks many mineral commodities (see pp. 396-399.) No single continent has sufficient reserves of all mineral commodities.
For the world, however, it may be stated with reasonable certainty that the reserves of the principal minerals are now known to be ample with the exception of those of oil, tin, and perhaps gold and silver. By ample we mean sufficient to give no cause for worry for the next few decades. ”

“ It is to the public interest that deposits of mineral should not be permitted to remain idle and undeveloped. This has been recognized from the earliest times, and laws have been framed in all countries for the encouragement of mining enterprise. In many cases the state or the ruler has sought to obtain a share in the profits of mining, or even to work mines for the individual profit of the ruler or of the state. ”

“ But, as it makes no mention of such lands, it is permissible-indeed, is essential-to inquire whether the congressional will is otherwise made manifest, that is to say, whether the general words of the grant are to be read in the light of other statutes and a settled public policy in respect of mineral lands.
In the legislation concerning the public lands it has been the practice of Congress to make a distinction between mineral lands and other lands, to deal with them along different lines, and to withhold mineral lands from disposal save under laws specially including them. ”

“ Other countries have gone farther in retroactive measures in regard to alienated lands. Under the leadership of France, most of the countries of western Europe have appropriated to their governments the undiscovered mineral resources on private ground, particularly those beneath the surface, except where previously they had been specifically conveyed to the private owners, or with the exception of certain designated areas and minerals which had been conveyed to private ownership prior to certain dates. ”

“ The lands must be vacant. Nor were they at liberty to select lands which were then known to contain mineral. Congress did not intend to grant any mines or mineral lands, but with these exceptions their right of selection was coextensive with the limits of New Mexico. We say 'lands then known to contain mineral,' for it cannot be that Congress intended that the grant should be rendered nugatory by any future discoveries of mineral. ”