ABSTRACT
One frequently neglected aspect o f the Mining Law is its applica bility to land where the minerals are owned by the federal govern ment but the surface is privately owned. There are some 63 million acres in this category, though on only about two-thirds o f this acreage have minerals subject to the Mining Law been reserved.1 Evolving attitudes toward application o f the Mining Law on these lands are worth brief consideration, for they typify the change in policy toward conflicts between mineral and nonmineral uses dis cussed in preceding chapters.