Chapter 1 - General Provisions
CHAPTER 1 - GENERAL PROVISIONS
30-1-101. Recording mining claims required; requisites of certificate.
(a) A discoverer of any mineral lead, lode, ledge or veinshall, within ninety (90) days from the date of discovery, cause the claim tobe recorded in the office of the county clerk of the county within which theclaim may exist, by a location certificate which shall contain the followingfacts:
(i) The name of the lode claim;
(ii) The name or names of the locator or locators;
(iii) The date of location;
(iv) The length of the claim and the general course of the veinas far as it is known;
(v) The amount of surface ground claimed;
(vi) A description of the claim by such designation of naturalor fixed object, or if upon ground surveyed by the United States system of landsurvey, by reference to section or quarter section corners, as shall identifythe claim beyond question.
30-1-102. Imperfect certificates void.
Anycertificate of the location of a lode claim which shall not fully contain allthe requirements named in the preceding section, together with such otherdescription as shall identify the lode or claim with reasonable certainty,shall be void.
30-1-103. Prerequisites to filing location certificates.
(a) Before the filing of a location certificate in the officeof the county clerk, the discoverer of any lode, vein or fissure shalldesignate the location thereof as follows:
(i) Repealed by Laws 1981, ch. 91, 2.
(ii) By posting at the point of discovery, on the surface, aplain sign or notice, containing the name of the lode or claim, the name of thediscoverer and locator, and the date of such discovery;
(iii) By marking the surface boundaries of the claim, which shallbe marked by six (6) substantial monuments of stone or posts, hewed or markedon the side or sides, which face is toward the claim, and sunk in the ground,one (1) at each corner, and one (1) at the center of each side line, and whenthus marking the boundaries of a claim, if any one (1) or more of such posts ormonuments of stone shall fall, by necessity, upon precipitous ground, when theproper placing of it is impracticable or dangerous to life or limb, it shall belawful to place any such post or monument of stone at the nearest pointproperly marked to designate its right place; provided, that no right to suchlode or claim or its possession or enjoyment, shall be given to any person orpersons, unless such person or persons shall discover in said claim mineralbearing rock in place.
30-1-104. Additional location certificate to be filed upon change ofsurface boundaries or addition of new territory.
Wheneverit shall be apprehended by the locator, or his assigns, of any mining claims orproperty heretofore or hereafter located, that his or their original location certificatewas defective, erroneous, or that the requirements of the law had not beencomplied with before the filing thereof, or shall be desirous of changing thesurface boundaries of his or their original claim or location, or of taking inany part of an overlapping claim or location which has been abandoned, suchlocator or locators, or his or their assigns, may file an additional locationcertificate in compliance with and subject to the provisions of this act;provided, however, that such relocation shall not infringe upon the rights ofothers existing at the time of such relocation, and that no such relocation, orother record thereof, shall preclude the claimant or claimants from proving anysuch title or titles as he or they may have held under any previous location.
30-1-105. Location certificates shall describe but 1 claim.
Nolocation certificate shall contain more than one (1) claim or location, whetherthe location be made by one (1) or more locators, and any location certificatethat contains upon its face more than one (1) location claim shall beabsolutely void, except as to the first location named and described therein,and in case more than one (1) claim or location is described together so thatthe first one (1) cannot be distinguished from the others, the certificate oflocation shall be void as an entirety.
30-1-106. Repealed by Laws 1981, ch. 91, 2.
30-1-107. Repealed by Laws 1981, ch. 91, 2.
30-1-108. Locators' rights of possession and enjoyment; "mineralboundaries" defined.
Thelocators of all mining locations heretofore made, or which shall hereafter bemade, on any mineral vein, lode or ledge, situated on the public domain, theirheirs and assigns, shall have the exclusive right of possession and enjoymentof all the surface included within the lines of their locations, and of allveins, lodes and ledges throughout their entire depth, the top or apex of whichlies inside of surface lines extended downward vertically although such veins,lodes, or ledges may so far depart from a perpendicular in their coursedownward as to extend outside the vertical side lines of such surfacelocations. But their right of possession to such outside parts of such veins orledges shall be confined to such portions thereof as lie between verticalplanes drawn downward as above described, through the end lines of theirlocations, so continued in their own direction that such planes will intersectsuch exterior parts of such veins or ledges. And nothing in this section shallauthorize a locator or possessor of a vein or lode which extends in it downwardcourse beyond the vertical lines of his claim to enter upon the surface of aclaim owned or possessed by another.
30-1-109. Relocation of abandoned claims.
Anyabandoned lode, vein or strata claim may be relocated and the relocation shallbe perfected by fixing new boundaries in the same manner as provided for thelocation of a new claim. The relocator shall erect new or adopt the oldboundaries, renewing the posts or monuments of stone if removed or destroyedand fix a new location stake. The location certificate of an abandoned claimmay state that the whole or any part of the new location is located as anabandoned claim.
30-1-110. Location certificate for placer claims.
(a) Hereafter the discoverer of any placer claim shall, withinninety (90) days after the date of discovery, cause such claim to be recordedin the office of the county clerk of the county within which such claim mayexist, by filing therein a location certificate, which shall contain thefollowing:
(i) The name of the claim, designating it as a placer claim;
(ii) The name or names of the locator or locators thereof;
(iii) The date of location;
(iv) The number of feet or acres thus claimed;
(v) A description of the claim by such designation of naturalor fixed objects as shall identify the claim beyond question.
(b) Before filing such location certificate, the discoverershall locate his claim:
(i) By securely fixing upon such claim a notice in plain painted,printed or written letters, containing the name of the claim, the name of thelocator or locators, the date of the discovery, and the number of feet or acresclaimed;
(ii) By designating the surface boundaries by substantial postsor stone monuments at each corner of the claim.
30-1-111. Assessment work for placer claims; character and kind.
Forevery placer claim, assessment work, as hereinafter provided, shall be doneduring each and every year after the first day of September following the dateof location. Such assessment work shall consist in manual labor, permanentimprovements made on the claim in buildings, roads or ditches made for thebenefit of working such claims, or after any manner, so long as the work doneaccrues to the improvement of the claim, or shows good faith and intention onthe part of the owner or owners and their intention to hold possession of saidclaim.
30-1-112. Assessment work for placer claims; amount of work required;suspension by act of congress.
Onall placer claims heretofore or hereafter located in this state not less thanone hundred dollars ($100.00) worth of assessment work shall be performedduring each year from the first day of July after the date of location providedthat whenever annual assessment work required by United States laws besuspended by act of congress such assessment work required by this sectionshall be suspended for the year or years stated in the act of congress.
30-1-113. Assessment work for placer claims; upon contiguous claims.
Whentwo (2) or more placer mining claims lie contiguous and are owned by the sameperson, persons, company or corporation, the yearly expenditure of labor andimprovements required on each of such claims may be made upon any one (1) ofsuch contiguous claims if the owner or owners shall thus prefer.
30-1-114. Assessment work for placer claims; effect of failure toperform.
Uponfailure of the owners to do or have done the assessment work required withinthe time above stated, such claim or claims upon which such work has not beencompleted, shall thereafter be open to relocation on or after the first day ofJuly of any year after such labor or improvements should have been done, in thesame manner and on the same terms as if no location thereof had ever been made;provided, that the original locators, their heirs, assigns or legalrepresentatives have not resumed work upon such claim or claims after failure,and before any subsequent location has been made.
30-1-115. Assessment work; rental fee; affidavit required uponcompletion or payment.
Upon completion of the required assessmentwork or payment of the annual claim rental fee as required by federal law forany mining claim, the owner or owners or agent of such owner or owners shallcause to be made by some person cognizant of the facts, an affidavit settingforth that the required amount of work was done or rental fee paid, whichaffidavit shall within sixty (60) days of the completion of the work or paymentof the fee, be filed for record, and shall thereafter be recorded in the officeof the county clerk of the county in which the said claim is located.
30-1-116. Patents to placer claims.
Whenany person, persons or association, they and their grantors, have held andworked their placer claims in conformance with the laws of this state and theregulations of the mining district in which such claim exists, if such beorganized, for five (5) successive years after the first day of Septembersucceeding the date of location, then such person, persons or association, theyand their grantors, shall be entitled to proceed to obtain a patent for theirclaims from the United States without performing further work; but where suchperson, persons or association, they or their grantors, desire to obtain aUnited States patent before the expiration of five (5) years from the datehereinbefore mentioned, they shall be required to expend at least five hundreddollars' ($500.00) worth of work upon a placer claim.
30-1-117. Use of water.
Wheneverany person, persons or corporation, shall be engaged in mining or milling inthis state, and in the prosecution of such business shall hoist or bring waterfrom mines or natural water courses, such person, persons or corporation shallhave the right to use such water in such manner, and direct it into suchnatural course or gulch as their business interests may require; provided, thatsuch diversion shall not infringe on vested rights. The provisions of thissection shall not be construed to apply to new or undeveloped mines, but tothose only which shall have been open and require drainage or other directionof water.
30-1-118. Mining claims subject to right-of-way; construction of ditchor flume.
Allmining claims or property now located, or which may hereafter be located withinthis state, shall be subject to the right-of-way of any ditch or flume formining purposes, or of any tramway, pack-trail or wagon road, whether now inuse, or which may hereafter be laid out across any such location, claim orproperty; provided, always, that such right-of-way shall not be exercisedagainst any mining location, claim or property duly made and recorded as hereinrequired, and not abandoned prior to the establishment of any such ditch,flume, tramway, pack-trail or wagon road, without the consent of the owner orowners, except in condemnation, as in the case of land taken for publichighways. Consent to the location of the easement above enumerated over anymineral claim, location or property, shall be in writing; and provided,further, that any such ditch or flume shall be so constructed that watertherefrom shall not injure vested rights by flooding or otherwise.
30-1-119. Protection of surface proprietors.
Wherea mining right exists in any case and is separate from the ownership or rightof occupancy to the surface, such owner or rightful occupant of the saidsurface may demand satisfactory security from the miner or miners, and if suchsecurity is refused, such owner or occupant of the surface may enjoin the mineror miners from working such mine until such security is given. The order forsuch injunction shall fix the amount of the bond therefor.
30-1-120. Repealed by Laws 1982, ch. 75, 5; 1983, ch. 171,. 3.
30-1-121. Repealed by Laws 1982, ch. 75, 5; 1983, ch. 171,. 3.
30-1-122. Defrauding, cheating or swindling by "salting".
Anyperson or persons who shall defraud, cheat, swindle or deceive any party orparties in relation to any mine or mining property by "salting," orby placing or causing to be placed in any lode, placer or other mine, anygenuine metals or material representing genuine minerals, which are designed tocheat and deceive others, for the purpose of gain, whereby others shall bedeceived and injured by such, shall be guilty of a felony, and upon convictionthereof shall be fined in a penal sum of not less than fifty dollars ($50.00),or imprisoned in the penitentiary for not more than three (3) years, or both,in the discretion of the court.
30-1-123. Protection of livestock from mining shafts.
Everyperson, persons, company or corporation, who have already sunk mining shafts,pits, holes, inclines, upon any mining claim, or upon any mineral property,ground or premises, or who may hereafter sink such openings aforesaid, shallforthwith secure such shafts and openings against the injury or destruction oflivestock running at large upon the public domain, by securely covering suchshafts and other openings as aforesaid, in a manner to render them safe againstthe possibility of livestock falling into them or in any manner becominginjured or destroyed thereby; or by forthwith making a strong, secure and amplefence around such shafts and other openings aforesaid. Any person, persons,corporation or company who shall fail or refuse to fully comply with theprovisions of this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and on convictionthereof shall be subject to imprisonment in a county jail for not more thanninety (90) days or fine of not more than one hundred dollars ($100.00) or bothsuch imprisonment and fine in the discretion of the court imposing sentence.Any person, persons, corporation or company who shall fail or refuse to fullycomply with the provisions of this section shall also be liable to the ownerthereof for any damages sustained by injury or loss of livestock thereby.
30-1-124. Length of lode claim.
Thelength of any lode mining claim located within Wyoming, shall not exceedfifteen hundred (1,500) feet measured horizontally along such lode or vein. Norcan the regulations of any mining district limit a location to less than thislength.
30-1-125. Width of lode claim.
Thewidth of any lode claim located within Wyoming shall not exceed three hundred(300) feet on each side of the discovery shaft, the discovery shaft beingalways equally distant from the side lines of the claims. Nor can any miningdistrict limit the location to a width of less than one hundred fifty (150)feet on either side of the discovery shaft.
30-1-126. W.S. 30-1-101 through 30-1-126 not applicable to coal mines.
Nothingin this act shall apply to the working of coal mines.
30-1-127. Charge for assays at university.
Hereafterthe charge for making assays or tests for silver, gold, copper and lead at theUniversity of Wyoming shall be in accordance with a fee schedule established bythe university for charges to any resident of the state.
30-1-128. Construction or operation of railroads or roads by miningcompanies.
Anycorporation or association of persons organized under this article or under thelaws of any other state and doing business in this state, now or hereafterengaged in mining gold or silver bearing quartz rock, coal, lead, iron, copperor other materials, may construct or operate a railroad, tramway road or wagonroad from their said mine or mines, to any point or points desired by them, andshall have the exclusive right-of-way to the line of their road over theunoccupied public domain for the space of not exceeding one hundred (100) feeton either side thereof, and also, the exclusive possession at the termini oftheir said road, and at such intermediate points as may be required, fordepots, buildings, turntables, water tanks, machine shops and other necessaryappurtenances of a railroad, and said corporation or association of persons mayfile a survey or diagram of such line of road with the lands claimed by them oneither side thereof, and also the land claimed at the termini aforesaid, withthe secretary of state, and it shall not be lawful for any person or persons toconstruct any road or erect any buildings or otherwise interfere with thepossession of the land so indicated in the survey or diagram as filedaforesaid, and a certified copy of said survey under the seal of the stateshall be received in evidence in all courts of law or equity within the state.
30-1-129. Eminent domain for underground right-of-way easements; rightof condemnation generally.
Everyowner or operator of any mining claims or properties having a common corner whofind it necessary for the practical or economical development thereof has theright to condemn and to take, hold and appropriate a right-of-way easementacross the corner and under or through the lands of another for undergroundpassages or tunnels, including mine access and ventilation entries. Theright-of-way easement shall in no instance exceed two hundred fifty (250) feetin width and any mineral removed from under the lands of another shall beaccounted for by the person exercising the rights herein granted to the ownerthereof at the gross value thereof on the surface.
30-1-130. Eminent domain for underground right-of-way easements; dutyto show good faith and necessity.
Inorder to exercise the right of eminent domain herein granted the personclaiming the benefit of such right shall be required to show that theproceeding is in good faith and that the right-of-way easement is necessary tocontinue the practical and economical development of a commercially feasiblemining operation then being conducted.
30-1-131. Provisions for indemnity in certain contracts; invalidity.
(a) All agreements, covenants or promises contained in,collateral to or affecting any agreement pertaining to any well for oil, gas orwater, or mine for any mineral, which purport to indemnify the indemniteeagainst loss or liability for damages for:
(i) Death or bodily injury to persons;
(ii) Injury to property; or
(iii) Any other loss, damage, or expense arising under either (i)or (ii) from:
(A) The sole or concurrent negligence of the indemnitee or theagents or employees of the indemnitee or any independent contractor who isdirectly responsible to such indemnitee; or
(B) From any accident which occurs in operations carried on atthe direction or under the supervision of the indemnitee or an employee orrepresentative of the indemnitee or in accordance with methods and meansspecified by the indemnitee or employees or representatives of the indemnitee,are against public policy and are void and unenforceable to the extent that suchcontract of indemnity by its terms purports to relieve the indemnitee from lossor liability for his own negligence. This provision shall not affect thevalidity of any insurance contract or any benefit conferred by the Worker'sCompensation Law of this state.
30-1-132. Provisions for indemnity in certain contracts; definition.
Theterm "agreement pertaining to any well for oil, gas, or water, or mine forany mineral" as used in section 1 hereof, means any agreement orunderstanding, written or oral, concerning any operations related to drilling,deepening, reworking, repairing, improving, testing, treating, perforating,acidizing, logging, conditioning, altering, plugging, or otherwise renderingservices in or in connection with any well drilled for the purpose of producingor disposing of oil, gas or other minerals, or water, and designing,excavating, constructing, improving, or otherwise rendering services in or inconnection with any mine shaft, drift, or other structure intended for use inthe exploration for or production of any mineral, or an agreement to performany portion of any such work or services or any act collateral thereto,including the furnishing or rental of equipment, incidental transportation, andother goods and services furnished in connection with any such service oroperation.
30-1-133. Provisions for indemnity in certain contracts; exemption.
Providedthat nothing in this act shall be construed to deprive an owner of the surfaceestate of the right to secure an indemnity from any lessee, operator,contractor or other person conducting operations for the exploration orproduction of minerals on such owner's land.