1–2 The functions of a district were to provide rules governing the size of claims, manner of location and discovery requirements, recording of locations, work required to hold a claim and period of absence constituting abandonment.
The miners were not without precedents in establishing their rules. In Europe the Germanic or Prussian laws provided for the discovery and location of mineral deposits with royalties going to the crown and the surface owner. The discoverer received a larger claim than subsequent locators. Periods of idleness without cause would open the ground to relocation. A court system was provided for the mining industry.
The Prussian law was the basis for English law and subsequently Spanish and Mexican law. The Mexican law provided that three claims went to the discoverer of a vein in a new district and two claims to the discoverer of a new vein in an old district. Claims were 200 varas long and up to 200 varas wide, depending on dip, a vara being about a yard. Provision was also made for discovery work and periodic labor.
As the first claims in California were for placer gold, the miners were allowed a claim about 10 feet along the stream and as far back as the deposit ran. When lodes were discovered, the discoverer was usually allowed two claims 100 feet long along the vein and 50 feet wide; then others could stake one claim of this size on the vein. The miner could follow his vein to depth, establishing extralateral rights. Rules were made for marking the boundaries of claims and for recording them with the district recorder. Miner’s courts were held to settle disputes. Thus, American Mining Law was born.
1–3 Today, the mining districts exist in name only. As county governments were set up (recording districts in Alaska which has no counties), the mining districts turned their records over to the county recorders and left the making and enforcement of local mining laws to state or county governments.
Mining districts may still be formed but any regulations that they may impose cannot be in conflict with existing law at any level of government. At this writing, none are known to exist; however, many location certificate forms call for a mining district, as well as the various forms provided by the Bureau of Land Management for the processing of mineral surveys and patents.
Each state office, except Montana, maintains a map, chart or index of mining districts although the boundaries may be vague and overlapping. These records are available to the public so that they may use a district name, if available.
If a claim is located in an area where no district exists, it is customary to state that there is no organized district or that the claim is in an unorganized mining district. There is, however, no objection to using a commonplace name as a district to aid in identification of the claim.
THE GREGORY LODE, BLACKHAWK—CENTRAL CITY, COLORADO
The first discovery of a gold vein in Colorado. (1858) Gregory, the discoverer, was allowed two claims, 50 ft. wide and 100 ft. long; others then staked claims 50 ft. wide and 100 ft. along the vein.