Protection and CT of claims. Actions which were taken by JB during the ZTEM and other geo workups.
Under the pedis possessio doctrine, a claim-
ant who has peacefully and in good faith stak-
ed claims in search of valuable minerals, may
exclusively hold the claims while he is diligent-
ly working against others having no better right
than he, so long as he retains a continuous ex-
clusive occupancy and in good faith works to-
ward making a discovery. During the period
that the doctrine is operative in a particular
situation, the claimant must be actively work-
ing toward making a discovery by digging or
drilling. Making preparations for digging or
drilling may not besufficient unless the prepar-
atory activity directly precedes the actual dig-
ging or drilling.
Whether or not a prospector, geologist, or
mining company can successfully assert rights
of pedis possessio may vary in each particular
case. To claim the rights there must be actual
physical possession of all the ground, diligent
bona fide work directed toward making a dis-
covery, and others must be excluded.
It is common exploration practice to locate a
large block of claims over and around an area
where it is suspected that deposits of valuable
minerals may occur. The locator of such
blocks is well advised to maintain exclusive
possession and to pursue a discovery on each
claim.
This possession or occupancy of the claims
must be more than mere presence. Geophysi-
cal testing and geochemical work, unless fol-
lowed immediately by drilling, may not be suf-
ficient. However, the requirement of physical
occupancy is usually satisfied by work in pro-
gress. The exclusion of others requires posi- tive action. Rights are lost if an adverse claim-
ant is permitted to enter the property peace-
fully. Pedis possessio protects against forcible
entry. Thus it is necessary to deny entry to the
intruding party.
If a confrontation occurs, and force is used
by the entering party, the denial of entry need
not be successful. The claimant or his agent
simply yields to force, and then goes to his
legal remedy. The claimant should make no
statements indicating consent to trespass. In a
land rush situation, a claim block should be
patrolled to deny entry to other than author-
ized public officials. Proposed new changes in
the Federal mining laws provide for explora-
tion claims to cover a large area during the per-
iod prior to the discovery of valuable mineral in
place. This could remedy some of the short-
comings of the 1872 Mining Law.
