84 - Mining rights; regulations; continuation; termination.
§ 84. Mining rights; regulations; continuation; termination. 1. All rights to explore for or extract minerals from a mine or deposit that have heretofore arisen by reason of the filing of a notice of discovery or by reason of the issuance of a permit or consent by the commissioner of general services under this article or under former article seven or which shall hereafter arise by reason of the filing of a notice of discovery or the issuance of a permit or consent by the commissioner under this article shall expire as to those heretofore filed at the expiration of thirty months from the effective date of this act and as to those hereafter filed at the expiration of thirty months from the date of filing of notice unless the person claiming under any notice so filed and his predecessors, if any, in interest shall have expended in each of the two years first elapsed in the said thirty months' period at least two hundred fifty dollars in respect to each forty acres of the lands as to which notice was filed, in the exploration for mines or minerals or in operations relating to or preliminary to the mining of such lands or in both such explorations and mining, and shall have made statements of the amounts of minerals, if any, extracted from such mines, to the commissioner, and shall have paid a royalty, if due, on the market value of such minerals to the commissioner as prescribed in this article. Where a number of contiguous forty acre parcels, the mining rights in which are owned in common, comprise a group, the total expenditure made for such group, whether or not such group is made up entirely of state land or state land and private land, may be allocated and credited to each such forty acre parcel for the purpose of determining compliance with this section, notwithstanding that such expenditure may have been made on only one or more parcels in such group and not on every forty acre parcel therein, providing however that such total expenditure must be at least equal to the required total expenditure of two hundred fifty dollars for each forty acre parcel in such group. 2. Such right to explore or mine shall continue for successive periods each of thirty months, provided always that the requirements for minimum annual expenditures with respect to the land affected by such notice of discovery as provided in subdivision one of this section have been complied with in each preceding thirty months' period, and the statements of minerals, if any, extracted from such mine have been made to the commissioner and royalty, if due, paid to the commissioner as required in this article. 3. The proof of the making of such expenditures shall be submitted to the state geologist, in such form as he may require, or, if minerals have been extracted, shall be submitted to the commissioner with the statement of the amounts of minerals so extracted, on or before the thirtieth day after the last day of the first two years of each such thirty months' period. 4. Failure to comply with any or all of the provisions of this article relating to the statements of minerals extracted, the payments of royalty, expenditures and proof of expenditures shall be deemed a default in the performance of the conditions essential to the continuation of the rights of the filer. The commissioner shall, at least ninety days prior to the expiration of the current thirty months' period, as to any filer who is in default, mail to such filer at his last address known to the commissioner, a notice to the effect that there has been default in the performance of the conditions essential to the continuation of the rights of the filer and that such rights will expire at the end of the current thirty months' period, specifying the date. The filer may before the expiration of said thirty-months' period file with the commissioner a petition for the right to appear before himto establish the fact of compliance with this article. Upon the receipt of such petition, the commissioner shall designate a time and place for a hearing thereon and advise the filer and the state geologist. If, after such hearing, the commissioner shall be satisfied that the provisions of this article have been performed by the filer, or shall be satisfied by reasons or proof submitted that there is good cause for failure to comply with the provisions of this article, he shall make proper record or note of such fact in his office; and in his discretion the rights under such filing shall then continue for a succeeding period of thirty months from the expiration of the current period of effectiveness. If such filer shall not file such petition, with the commissioner, or having filed such petition, shall not satisfy the commissioner that he has performed the conditions stated in this article for the continuation of rights under a notice of discovery, then such rights shall be deemed terminated as of the last day of such current thirty months' period. The commissioner shall make proper record or note in his office of the expiration of such rights.