ABSTRACT
The difficulties of applying an old statute under greatly altered conditions are exemplified by the problems surrounding the location and maintenance of multiple mining claims by a single entity. Such multiple claims arise because modern domestic hardrock mining usually involves low-grade deposits from which relatively large quantities of ore must be extracted and processed in order to extract relatively small quantities of the targeted minerals. These operations demand, in turn, that large deposits be identified in order to take advantage of economies of scale. The history of mining over the past century has been heavily influenced by technological advances in extraction and processing methods designed to reduce the cost of handling vast quantities of mostly waste material. 1
