The Patent Survey
Field Work
=5–1= Preliminary: The first step in the field work should be an
examination of the property with the claimant or his representative,
unless such an examination was made prior to contracting for the survey.
A sufficient number of claim corners should be visited to determine the
material used, their condition, manner of marking, etc. In the course of
such an examination, the claimant should point out known section
corners, location monuments and triangulation stations, both of the U.S.
Geological Survey and the National Geodetic Survey. The claimant may
also be able to identify corners of adjoining and conflicting surveys
and locations. If the property is extensive, the claimant may have
established his own triangulation network and coordinate system, and if
so, it should be incorporated into the survey, although not necessarily
made a part of the official record.
All the discovery workings should be visited, the discovery points and
discovery monuments pointed out. Other workings should be visited and
the safety of old underground workings discussed. Maps of underground
workings may be available. Workings constructed by third parties should
also be identified.
Relations with landowners and other claimants in the area may be
established with the help of the claimant. In addition to gaining access
to the property and to their property for the purpose of executing the
survey, they may have helpful information as to the location of section
corners and the origin of fences.
If access is refused, it may be necessary to obtain help from the U.S.
Marshall, but if properly handled in advance of the field work, the
necessary permission will usually be granted. The fact may be stressed
that you are a government official and that your work will be impartial.
Emphasize that as a qualified surveyor, you are bound to protect all
valid interests, property rights, and evidence.
Copies of the claimant’s maps of the property showing the claim
boundaries, discovery and other workings and access roads should be
obtained from the claimant. The claimant may also have aerial photos
which will be helpful in planning the survey.
Descriptions of all triangulation stations should be obtained. The plat
and field note record of all prior mineral surveys in conflict or
adjoining, as well as a copy of the connected sheet should be ordered,
if not previously furnished with the survey order. The county records
pertaining to surveys and particularly the restoration of section
corners should be searched. The county surveyor may be helpful.
If the field examination reveals that there are insufficient location
corners on the ground to identify the claims, an amended location survey
with the resulting amended location certificates and request for an
amended order for survey will be necessary.
=5–2= Survey Methods: The preliminary field examination will suggest the
best method of survey. This will be dictated largely by the nature of
the terrain and the amount of timber and brush. Modern methods employing
theodolites and electronic distance measuring equipment should be used.
Regardless of the method used, the work must be sufficiently checked to
assure that errors will be avoided. Most errors occur when adjusting
corners to their final position.
[Illustration]
[Illustration:
EXECUTING A MINERAL PATENT SURVEY
(Transit and Tape Method)
]
=5–3= Executing the Survey: The survey is usually initiated by retracing
the boundaries of the location, or tying-in the corners, along with the
discovery monuments and discovery points. Readily identified corners of
conflicting surveys and section corners should also be tied in. The
relative positions of the corners and discovery points are then
determined by calculated bearings and distances. If the boundaries are
within the statutory length and width (1500 x 600 ft.), the end lines
are parallel and the sidelines are within 300 feet on either side of the
discovery point, the survey may proceed.
If only small corner moves of a foot or so will make the claim conform,
an amendment is hardly necessary; otherwise, the corners should be moved
and amended location certificates filed.
A single claim may be surveyed within the location boundaries, without
amendment, as long as the above conditions are met.
New discoveries may be necessary, but if intervening rights are
suspected, it is better to hold to the original discovery points and
stake fractional claims as required.
If the deposit is a blanket vein or massive deposit, the discovery may
be anywhere within the claim, except in Wyoming where State law requires
that the side lines be equidistant from the discovery.
If no public land survey corners or location monuments (or other
horizontal control stations) can be found within two miles of the survey
it will be necessary to establish a location monument. The requirements
are given in Sections 10–32, 33 and 34 of the Manual of Surveying
Instructions. There was a period when these monuments were called
“Mineral Monuments” and were designated “U.S.M.M.”
Conflicts with prior mineral surveys must be determined. It is necessary
to search for each corner controlling a line in conflict. One corner is
insufficient if others can be found. If the necessary corners cannot be
found the boundaries shall be reestablished (not remonumented since the
property belongs to another party) in accordance with the methods set
forth in Chapter VI.
Conflicts with unsurveyed locations are not to be shown unless it is the
wish of the claimant to exclude them from his patent. If they are prior
locations, it may be well to do this in order to avoid an adverse suit.
Conflicts with unsurveyed locations owned by the claimant and not a part
of the survey need not be shown and excluded unless the area of conflict
contains the discovery of the unsurveyed location. In cases where two
claims of the survey are in conflict, the discovery of each claim may
not be within the area of conflict. If so, an amended location is
necessary to show a new discovery for one of the claims, outside the
area of conflict.
If fee lands with mineral rights are in conflict, a subdivision of the
section(s) may be necessary. This will depend on the wishes of the
claimant and the Bureau of Land Management. An extensive resurvey that
would place a hardship on the claimant should not be required. If a
subdivision can readily be accomplished, it should be done.
It is not necessary to fix the boundaries of stock-raising homesteads
since the minerals are reserved to the United States and belong to the
mining claim in areas of conflict.
Special surveys such as townsites, Homestead Entry Surveys, U.S. Surveys
and Coal Surveys in Alaska are treated as are prior mineral surveys.
Rights-of-way should not be shown as the minerals are reserved, and when
the right-of-way is abandoned, the surface reverts to the mining claim.
In Alaska, native graves must be tied-in. Cemeteries should be shown.
Figure 5 shows Sur. Nos. 1234 A lode and 1235 B lode in conflict with
the XYZ lode that is being surveyed for patent. Cors. Nos. 1 and 4 of
Sur. No. 1234 A lode control the line of conflict with that claim. If
they can be found, no further search is necessary; if they cannot, the
search must be continued for Cors. Nos. 2 and 3. In the case of Sur. No.
1235, all four corners are required to be found in order to properly
show the conflict.
Figure 6 shows the ABC and XYZ lodes, both of which are being surveyed
for patent under the same survey order. The discovery shafts of both
claims are in the area of conflict. In order to validate the claims, a
new discovery must be shown for one of them, outside the conflict. It
need not be the later claim as the owner has the right to decide which
claim shall exclude the conflict.
If amended location certificates are filed for record, it will be
necessary to make an amended application for survey to the Bureau of
Land Management based on the amended certificates, and receive an
amended order for survey. It will not be necessary to suspend field work
pending such amendment, but it is advisable to refrain from marking the
corners and accessories with the survey number until the amended order
is received.
[Illustration]
[Illustration:
MINERAL PATENT SURVEY CORNERS
Top: a copper coated steel pin with brass cap. The location monument
is set alongside.
Bottom: a stone corner chiseled with the corner number, the initial of
the claim and the survey number.
]
[Illustration:
FIG. 5
]
[Illustration:
FIG. 6
]
=5–4= Monumenting the Survey: Section 10–35 of the Manual of Surveying
Instructions, 1973 lists corner monuments in their order of preference.
Accessories to the corner generally consist of bearing trees or bearing
rocks. If trees are available, two different species at approximately
right angles from each other to the corner should, if possible, be
selected and marked differently so that each can be readily identified.
For example: one might be a Douglas Fir, 10 inches diameter, bears N.
10° E., 20.65 feet dist., blazed and scribed 1 W—2826 X BT; the other a
Ponderosa Pine, 7 inches diameter, bears S. 70° E., 12.52 feet dist.,
blazed and marked X BT. In each case the measurement should be taken to
the X which is in contrast to the bearing trees to section corners, the
measurement being taken to the center of the trees. If the measurement
is to the center of the tree, an X should not be included in the
markings.
The difference between a pine, spruce and fir can be identified by the
needles, the pine having needles in bundles, the spruce having needles
square in cross section, and the fir having flat needles.
Bearing rocks should be marked X B O or X B R with the measurement taken
to the X; the rock or outcrop being of sufficient size to be readily
identifiable.
Ties along claim boundaries to items of planimetry and drainage
surrounding the corner may be taken at this time. Ties to section
corners, location monuments and triangulation stations may also be made
at this time if they are close to a corner.
There is no objection to monumenting corners that fall on patented land.
If they fall in a cultivated field they should be buried at least one
foot in the ground. If the landowner objects, a witness corner may be
set. Witness corners should also be set if the corner falls at an
inaccessible point (see Section 4–17 of the Manual of Surveying
Instructions). If the corner falls in a road, it is advisable to bury
the corner at the true point and set reference monuments at equal
distances on either side of the road (see Section 4–16 of the Manual of
Surveying Instructions).
Location posts, such as a 4×4 post in good condition, may be set
alongside the patent survey corners as a guard post and to aid in
calling attention to it.
In selecting corner numbers, there is no rule other than Cor. No. 1
should be the corner from which the tie is given to the section corner
or location monument. When surveying a block of claims common corners
should be given the same number thereby reducing the number of section
corner ties required from Cor. No. 1. This facilitates field note
writing as well as platting.
=5–5= Improvements: All improvements made by the claimant or his
grantors are to be tied to a corner of the survey, measured, and a value
placed thereon if they are such as to count toward the $500 patent
expenditure. If they are to count as patent expenditure, they must be in
the nature of actual mining improvements, such as cuts, tunnels, shafts,
drill holes, etc.; in other words, an improvement that tends to develop
or explore the mineral deposit.
Improvements such as cabins, ore bins, roads, bridges, etc., do not
develop the claim, but should be tied in, measured and included under
“OTHER IMPROVEMENTS” in the field notes, without a value.
Work done by third parties must also be tied-in and listed under “OTHER
IMPROVEMENTS.” If the claimant to such work is unknown, that fact should
be stated. Again, no value is to be placed on these improvements.
The value to be placed on small improvements can readily be ascertained
by multiplying the local wage or cost of equipment and operator by the
length of time required to do the work. Drill holes may be valued at the
cost of drilling, plus the cost of surveying, geologic evaluation and
assaying. Larger improvements may not be as easy to estimate, and it may
be necessary to go to the claimant’s cost records in order to place a
reasonable value on them.
Common improvements require special consideration. See Sections 10–55,
10–56, and 10–57 of the Manual of Surveying Instructions. A common
improvement is one that tends to benefit several claims of a common
group. It must have been constructed in its entirety subsequent to the
location of each claim of the group, or at least $500 must have been
spent on the improvement subsequent to the location of each claim of the
common group. All claims within range of benefit must be included, even
though they were previously surveyed, or if they are locations which are
not included in the survey. The field notes must recite all the claims
involved, whether previously surveyed or unsurveyed.
[Illustration]
[Illustration:
OPEN PIT MINES
]
[Illustration:
AN ACCESS ROAD IN RUGGED AREA. SUCH ROADS DO NOT AS A RULE COUNT
TOWARD PATENT EXPENDITURE.
]
[Illustration:
AN ADIT (TUNNEL) LEADING TO EXTENSIVE UNDERGROUND WORKINGS
]
Improvements need not be surveyed with the same accuracy as the claim
boundaries. Stadia measurements are acceptable, although they should be
made with a Philadelphia Rod and distances kept under 500 feet. Small
workings may be measured with a Brunton Compass and steel tape, but some
point of the working, such as the mouth of a tunnel or cut, must be tied
to a corner of the survey using a transit.
Surveys of extensive underground workings may be taken from the
claimant’s records if such surveys were executed under the supervision
of a mining engineer.
Extreme care should be exercised in entering old workings. In addition
to unsafe timbering, they may be poorly ventilated resulting in bad air
that could be fatal. Rather than risk an accident, the extent of such
workings can be estimated from the size of the dump.
Ties to discovery workings require special mention in view of the
directive from the Assistant Director of Technical Services, Washington,
D.C., dated March 15, 1978.
Normally the discovery working is on the lode or intersects it and a tie
is given along the lode line to the point of discovery, such as the face
of the discovery cut, the mouth of the discovery tunnel, the center of
the discovery shaft, etc.
However, in the case of blanket veins that are essentially horizontal a
presumed lode line or center line need not be shown, and the discovery
working may be anywhere on the claim. In such cases, the tie may be
given from the nearest corner of the survey and included in the
description of that corner, or a right angle tie may be given from a
point on the nearest end line.
Where a discovery has been made by a hole drilled on an angle, a bearing
and distance will be given from the collar of the drill hole to the
point where it intersects the orebody, the collar of the hole will in
turn be tied to the section corner or location monument. The description
of the hole will necessarily include the verticle angle and the slope
distance. This does not apply to Wyoming where State law requires that
the discovery be on the center line.
=5–6= Placer Claims: Placer claims that do not conform to the legal
subdivisions of the public land survey will require a patent survey.
When such claims are on unsurveyed land they should be conformed as
nearly as possible to the protracted survey.
If the claims consist of a gulch placer they must be contained within
the required number of 40 acre tracts according to the number of
locators.
Metes and bounds placers are also permissible where conflicts with other
mining claims would result if a description by legal subdivisions was
used. In such cases, the placer claim must be surveyed around existing
claims, so that no conflict exists.
The field notes of a placer claim must also contain a descriptive report
as called for in the Code of Federal Regulations, 3863.1–3(c). The
information required in the descriptive report was omitted from the 1973
Manual of Surveying Instructions but was contained in the 1947 manual as
follows:
“The mineral surveyor is required to make a full examination
of all placer claims at the time of survey ... and to file
with his field notes a descriptive report ... duly
corroborated by one or more disinterested persons and
covering the following items:
(a) The quality and composition of the soil, the kind and
amount of timber and other vegetation;
(b) The location and size of streams, and such other matter
as may appear upon the surface of the claims;
(c) The character, extent, and position of all surface and
underground workings for mining purposes;
(d) The proximity of centers of trade or residence;
(e) The proximity of well-known systems of lode deposits or
of individual lodes;
(f) The use or adaptability of the claim for placer mining,
including the availability of water in sufficient quantity
for practical operations;
(g) Works or expenditures made by the claimant or his
grantors for the development of the claim; and,
(h) The true position of all known mines, salt licks and
salt springs, and mill sites. When none is known to exist on
the claim, the fact will be so stated.”
[Illustration:
A URANIUM MILL
]
[Illustration:
A URANIUM TAILINGS OR EVAPORATION POND
]
=5–7= Mill Sites: Modern day mining and milling require sizable areas
for waste storage, tailings and evaporation ponds. Camp sites, including
schools, may be required for personnel employed at the mine or mill.
Such areas are properly taken as mill sites and a large number may be
required. They may be taken by legal subdivisions but often are
surveyed, either with lode or placer claims or separately. If they are
included in a survey with lodes or placers the survey number includes
the letter “B”, while the other claims are designated “A”.
A mill site is not a valid location until it is put in use; therefore,
all improvements and projected improvements should be shown. If the
ground is to be used for a tailings or evaporation pond, the dam should
be shown with its ultimate height and the high water line of the pond
delineated by the survey.
It is also important to demonstrate the non-mineral character of the
land. In the case of adjoining blanket deposits such as uranium, a few
scattered drill holes will show the absence of a mineral deposit.
Office Work
=5–8= Calculation: The first step will be to reduce coordinate positions
to direct ties, starting with the section corner ties, followed by short
ties between claims of the survey should these claims actually overlap.
In selecting the corners to tie, the tie between corners should be given
that will facilitate the calculation of intersections and areas by
solving triangles.
As illustrated by Figure 6, claims ABC and XYZ are in the same survey. A
tie should be given from Cor. No. 1 of claim ABC to Cor. No. 2 of claim
XYZ; not between Corners 1 and 3. After these ties have been calculated,
they should be checked by calculating closures using the various short
ties and section corner ties.
In selecting corners of conflicting surveys to give tie to, the corner
within the survey as illustrated in Figure 5 should be selected. The tie
to Sur. No. 1235 B lode should be to Cor. No. 1 from Cor. No. 1 of the
XYZ lode, or to Cor. No. 2 from Cor. No. 4.
Lines of prior mineral surveys between recovered corners should be
reported as correct or substantially correct as approved. If found in
error the correct bearing and distance should be given.
In Figure 5, if Cors. Nos. 1, 2 and 4 of Sur. No. 1235 B lode were
recovered, lines 1–2 and 4–1 should be reported. Lines 2–3 and 3–4
cannot be reported since Cor. No. 3 was not found. If the tie from Cor.
No. 1 is to the same section corner as used in the survey of claim XYZ,
then the correctness of the tie should be reported. If Cor. No. 1 was
not recovered, the section corner tie cannot be reported.
The position of missing corners should be fixed in accordance with