[Rockhounds] Abandoned mines: Who owns them?

[Tim Fisher]

At 01:20 PM 10/27/2007, you wrote:
>Hi all,
>
>Someone asked me whether we (rockhounds) can go dig in a mine dump/tailings
>if the mine is abandoned.  I wasn't sure what to say, so I stated the safe
>answer:  No, it has to be owned by someone so you shouldn't until you can
>get permission from the owner (whether it's a company or the government).
>
>So my question to all of you is:  Who owns a mine if it has been abandoned?
The current owner of the mineral rights, in every case.

>One would think that if a mine really has been abandoned, then it's mineral
>rights should go back to whichever government entity it was originally
>purchased from (e.g. the Federal government [BLM, NFS, etc] or the state in
>which it's located).  I wanted to research it a little and here are two
>definitions that I found on the web:
>
>- A mine is considered abandoned if there are no identifiable owners or
>operators for the facilities, or if the facilities have reverted to federal
>ownership.
Or, if the mineral rights have expired and reverted to the original 
owner. This sounds like the USFS/BLM definition, and as they already 
know, they don't always own the mineral rights. The structures are a 
different beast, they default to the entity that owns the land. If 
the structures have reverted to the land owner, but there is a 
current claim on the mineral rights (see my answer about claiming 
abandoned mines below) AFAIK the mine is not abandoned, but is 
inactive, which contradicts the second part of their definition above.

>- A mine is considered to be inactive if there is an identifiable owner or
>operator of the facility, but the facility is not currently operating and
>there are no approved authorizations or permits to operate.
Inactive mines are just like inactive claims, you need permission to 
dig on them from the mine/claim owner. The entity that owns the land 
has no say.

>Therefore, an abandoned mine's ownership could revert back to the Federal
>gov't, but will it always do that?  And if so, can I then stake a claim on
>it?
If the feds owned the mineral rights in the first place, they get the 
mine and structures. If you file a mineral claim on the same 
property, you get the mineral rights. The structures and 
"improvements" still belong to the feds.

>I know that there is a difference between patented and unpatented mines, but
>I'm not sure what that exactly entails.  I thought that if a mine is
>patented, then it will always be private property, but is that true?
A patented property is just that: a private property, aka an 
"inholding". The person who owns the mineral rights also owns the 
land. They are not however free from the environmental permitting 
process that unpatented claims must go through. They still have to 
file a yearly mining plan that has to be approved by the entity that 
patented the property in their name. I have seen veiled threats by 
the gummint to take back patented properties, but AFAIK it has never 
been done (and would entail one heck of a court battle under the 
current outdated mining laws). They also still have to let the 
patenting agency access the property anytime they feel like it. This 
latter has been a bone of contention among certain to-remain-unnamed 
miners and the USFS here in Oregon.

>Any help would be appreciated.
>
>Thanks and regards,
>
>Bob L.

Tim Fisher
Ore-ROCK-On!
Email address at http://OreRockOn.com