Special Notices
NOTICE TO MINING CLAIMANTS
NEW FILING REQUIREMENTS FOR PREEXISTING FEDERAL MINING CLAIMS LOCATED ON STATE TRUST LANDS
Summary
Utah Senate Bill No. 77 ("S.B. 77") became effective on May 5, 1995. This bill, codified at Utah Code Annotated §53C-2-104(2), requires holders of unpatented federal mining claims located on lands that have subsequently been transferred out of federal ownership to the State of Utah to file an annual notice with the State's School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration (the "Trust Lands Administration"), or be deemed to have abandoned the claim. These filings must be made with the Trust Lands Administration, in the form described below, by December 31, 1997, and annually thereafter. S.B. 77 does not affect holders of unpatented mining claims located on federal lands that remain in federal ownership, and those claimants need not make any filing with the Trust Lands Administration.
Why Was S.B. 77 Enacted?
At the time Utah became a state, Congress granted the new state millions of acres of land to be held in trust for the financial support of Utah's schools and other public institutions, such as the University of Utah. The Trust Lands Administration currently manages over 4.5 million acres of mineral estate on behalf of the state's public schools and other trust beneficiaries.
Although Congress granted these trust lands to Utah at statehood in 1896, legal title to the lands did not actually pass to the State until the lands were surveyed, in some cases in the 1960's or later. The State has also acquired federal lands through exchanges or by other grants. In many cases, pre-existing unpatented mining claims located under the Mining Law of 1872 existed on these federal lands at the time that title to the lands passed to the State.
The transfer of federal lands encumbered by unpatented mining claims to the State did not extinguish such claims, which have been held to be valid existing rights. However, the U.S. Department of Interior has determined that it no longer has authority to accept annual claim maintenance filings or issue mineral patents for claims located on lands it has transferred to the State. This leaves the claimant with a valid claim, but with inability to obtain a patent and uncertainty about the proper regulatory authority.
From the State's standpoint, pre-existing federal mining claims on lands that the State has acquired encumber the State's title, and may prevent the Trust Lands Administration from fully managing its mineral resources for the benefit of the trust beneficiaries. Many such claims have been abandoned, but still appear of record in county records. Because there is currently no reliable central repository for filings as to these claims, the Trust Lands Administration is now forced to perform an expensive tract by tract title search if it wishes to determine whether unpatented federal mining claims encumber lands it has acquired from the United States.
S.B. 77 was designed to solve this problem by requiring all holders of pre-existing federal unpatented mining claims located on State lands to file an annual notice of their intent to hold the claims with the Trust Lands Administration. The notice will permit the Trust Lands Administration to determine the location of active federal mining claims encumbering its lands. In addition, because such claims will be deemed to be abandoned if the annual notice is not filed, S.B. 77 eliminates the cloud on the State of Utah's title caused by inactive claims on lands that it has acquired from the United States.
The Trust Lands Administration does not believe that S.B. 77 will impose a significant burden on Utah's mining industry. As noted above, S.B. 77 applies only to the limited situation where a mining claimant holds unpatented federal claims located on lands that have subsequently been transferred to the State. Unpatented mining claims on federal lands are not affected in any way by S.B. 77. The form of notice required to be filed (see below) generally tracks federal requirements, and the $50.00 annual filing fee is less than that required by federal law to maintain claims on federal lands.
What are S.B. 77's Filing Requirements?
S.B. 77 requires that, prior to January 1, 1998, and annually thereafter on or before December 31, each owner of an unpatented lode mining claim, placer mining claim, mill site claim or tunnel site claim located pursuant to the general mining laws of the United States on lands now owned of record by the state in trust for the common schools or other beneficiary institutions shall file with the School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration a notice containing the following information:
a) a statement of the owner's intention to hold or abandon the claims;
b) a brief description of the type and nature of the claim;
c) the date the claim was located, and the date the claim was filed of record in the county and federal records;
d) a copy of the official record of the notice of location or certificate of location of the claim; and
e) a legal description of the claims, by legal subdivision or metes and bounds description, sufficient to locate the claim on the ground
The Trust Lands Administration requires a filing fee of $ 50.00 per claim
Notices should be sent to:
School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration 675 East 500 South Suite 500 Salt Lake City, Utah 84102 (801) 538-5100
Additional Information:
1. For mining claimants who are unsure if lands upon which they hold claims have been transferred by the United States to State ownership, the Trust Lands Administration maintains plat books depicting its ownership of mineral estate. These books are maintained in the Trust Lands Administration's Salt Lake City office, located at 675 East 500 South, Salt Lake City, Utah 84102.2. The U.S. Bureau of Land Management does not require continued federal claim maintenance filings for unpatented claims located on lands that it has transferred to the State of Utah. However, to the extent that an unpatented claim overlaps both state and federal lands, filings with both the BLM and the Trust Lands Administration will be required to maintain the claim in full effect.
3. For further information, please contact Will Stokes at the above address and telephone number, or by e-mail at wstokes@utah.gov.