1st Edition

The Mining Law A Study in Perpetual Motion

By John D. Leshy Copyright 1987
    544 Pages
    by Routledge

    544 Pages
    by Routledge

    Originally published in 1987, John D. Leshy presents this scholarly study of the 1872 Mining Law as a legal treatise and history of mining in the West from the point of view of mineral exploration and production. This mining law governed the United States mining practice yet had never been changed. The Mining Law attempts to highlight the role of policy and government as well as the more obscure elements of the law which complicated mining practice in the eighties. This title will be of interest to students of Environmental Studies and policy makers.

    Foreword;  Preface;  1. Introduction  2. Origins  3. The Mining Law: An Overview  4. Free Access: History of its Decline  5. Success, Abuse, and Difficulty: The Up and Down Sides of Free Access in Operation  6. Of Anachronisms, Ambiguities, and Frustration: The Mining Law’s Ingenious Machinery in Operation  7. Evolution of the Law of Discovery  8.The Law of Discovery Today: Policy and Applications  9. The Problem of Scale: Multiple Claims and the Mining Law  10. Regulating Mining Law Activities to Protect the Environment  11. The Special Problem of Wilderness  12. The Split Estate: Federal Minerals under Privately Owned Surface  13. Administering the Mining Law: The Role of the Executive and the Courts  14. Reforming the Mining Law: A Brief History  15. Can Two Million Potential Property Interests on the Federal Lands Be Wrong?  16. The Leasing Alternative- and Strategic Minerals  17. The Mining Law Today: Prospects for Change;  Appendix A: The Mining Law Excerpted;  Appendix B: Outline of Typical Miners’ Rules;  Notes by Chapter;  Acronyms Used Frequently in the Text;  Name Index;  Subject Index