When the plat is finished it should be compared with the field notes. This can be done by two people, one reading the notes and the other following the plat; or two people can independently do the comparing. If rough draft notes were submitted by the mineral surveyor, they should be returned to him with the corrections for final typing, and execution of the “Certificate of Surveyor,” current Form 3860–7.
The final typing will consist of the original set on current Form 9180–21, which is bound on the left, with two carbon copies on current Form 9180–22, which is bound at the top; this may vary with state office practice. (Xerox or similar copies are not acceptable.)
5–15 Approval of Survey: The lower portion of current Form 3860–7, “Certificate of Surveyor,” contains the certificate of approval to be signed by an officer of the Bureau of Land Management. This may be the State Director or he may delegate this authority to the Chief, Division or Branch of Cadastral Surveys, for that state. He should also sign the certificate of transcript for the two carbon copies.
Current Form 3860–8, certifying $500 expenditure, must also be executed by the above authorized officer and attached to the copy of the field notes that will be filed with the application for patent. If $500 has not been expended, it is the claimant’s responsibility to complete the work and have the certificate executed and filed with the BLM Branch of Land and Minerals (land office) prior to the expiration of the period of publication.
If the survey has been properly executed and shows the facts, the State Director cannot refuse to approve the survey because he feels that the claim is invalid. (See 57 I.D. 63, Raymond E. Johnson, 1939.)
The original field notes and plat are then placed in the open files of the Bureau of Land Management. The location certificates are to be included with the notes. The two transcripts of the field notes together with two cloth backed copies, one of which has been waterproofed for posting, and a plain paper copy of the plat, will then be furnished the claimant. An additional copy for posting will be furnished if a mill site is included in the survey.
One set of the notes and one copy of the plat will be used to support the application for patent. Current Form 3860–4, is used to notify the State Branch of Land and Minerals and the Director, Bureau of Land Management, of the approval of the survey and includes a sketch of the survey. This form is also used to notify the Regional Forester if the survey is on a National Forest.
The mineral surveyor should be notified by letter of the approval of the survey and he should be furnished a paper copy of the plat and requested to examine it at his early convenience. (See appendix for copies of forms.)
Departures from the Normal Procedure
5–16 Cancellation of Surveys: A patented mineral survey may never be cancelled. An unpatented mineral survey may be cancelled only after the claim has been declared null and void or relinquished by the claimant; then it need not be cancelled until it is necessary to do so to accommodate an entry or administrative action. It can be cancelled only by the officer of the Bureau of Land Management authorized to approve mineral surveys.