Claim Conflict
An overlap or competing interest between a mining claim and another mining claim or site, a patent, a lease, or a withdrawal on the same ground.
Detailed Definition
A claim conflict is an overlap or competing interest between a mining claim and something else on the same ground: another mining claim or site, a patent, a lease, or a withdrawal. BLM Manual Section 3870 defines conflicts, "in the mineral patent process," as "overlapping mining claims or sites," and more generally as "any proceeding by the Bureau that requires the determination of the validity of a claim or site so as to firmly establish the rights of the claimant and the United States as to a particular piece of land."
Between mining claims and sites
The Manual's examples include "placer claim vs lode claim" and "mill site vs lode or placer claim." Federal rules explain some of these:
- A mill site is "a location of nonmineral land not contiguous to a vein or lode" (43 CFR 3832.31), and must be on land "that is not mineral-in-character" (43 CFR 3832.33(a)(1)).
- A tunnel site "is protected from other parties making locations of lodes within the sidelines of the tunnel and within the 3,000-foot length of the tunnel, unless such lodes appear upon the surface or were previously known to exist" (43 CFR 3832.44(b)).
- Extralateral rights stop at the surface. The statute does not authorize the owner of a vein that dips beyond his side lines "to enter upon the surface of a claim owned or possessed by another" (30 U.S.C. 26). See Extralateral Rights.
With other interests
The Manual also lists "Desert Land Entry vs a mining claim," "FLPMA land sale or exchange proponent vs a mining claim or site," and "Stock Raising Homestead patentee vs a mining claim." BLM Handbook H-3890-3, Validity Mineral Reports, gives a "Partial List of Land Status Conflicts":
- Withdrawals: special acts of Congress, national park units, national recreation areas, national conservation areas, wilderness areas, and wild and scenic rivers
- Encumbrances: private surface, mineral leases, material sites and community pits, rights-of-way and easements, and areas of critical environmental concern
Who resolves them
- Between rival locators, local courts. BLM "does not intervene in disputes between rival locators over possessory rights" (43 CFR 2091.1(b)).
- Against a patent application, an adverse claim filed during publication, followed by suit (30 U.S.C. 30). See Adverse Claim.
- Between co-claimants over a delinquent share, "without BLM involvement, in a court of competent jurisdiction" (43 CFR 3837.30(a)).
- With the United States, a BLM contest or decision, appealable under 43 CFR parts 4 and 1840 (43 CFR 3830.100).
In the recorded descriptions
A lode description is by metes and bounds and may tie to "Adjoining claims or sites" (43 CFR 3832.12(b)(5)); placer mining claims follow aliquot parts where the land is surveyed (43 CFR 3832.12(c)). Overlaps show up when both are mapped.
Why it matters in mining claim research
Mapping identifies a conflict; it does not resolve it. Resolution needs each mining claim's location date, maintenance history, and land status, plus the dates of any patents, leases, or withdrawals on the ground. See Seniority and Overlap Analysis.
Related Terms
Seniority
The ranking of rival interests in the same ground, the earlier ahead of the later. Federal law ties some mining claim rights to dates, but BLM leaves disputes over possession to the courts.
Junior Claim
The later of two mining claims covering the same ground. It gains the overlap only if the earlier mining claim was not valid or had ended when the later one was located.
Senior Claim
The earlier of two mining claims covering the same ground. Its priority holds only while the earlier location stays valid, recorded, and maintained.
Claim Block
A group of contiguous mining claims held by the same owner or group of owners, usually laid out to cover one mineral deposit and the ground needed to work it.
Controlling Ground
The ground a mining claim holder can actually hold once overlaps with other mining claims, closed land, and defects in the record are taken into account, as opposed to the acreage filed.
Claims Research
Finding and reading the records of the mining claims on a tract, from BLM and the county, to learn what is claimed, by whom, and whether the filings were made on time.
Overlap Analysis
Comparing the boundaries of mining claims with each other and with withdrawals and land status to find where they coincide, then checking the records to see which overlaps are real.