ABSTRACT
The history of ownership of mineral deposits has evolved in different patterns over past centuries. At first, mineral rights were associated with the ownership of the surface land below which they occurred. In Roman times, the question of mineral rights was bound to the ownership of the land surface. This was called the “accession system”. In Germany, mining districts were controlled by a “bergmeister” in the name of the ruler, who possessed both the land and the mineral rights. In the course of time, the area of lands included in the public domain became progressively reduced by the federal government in the shape of grants for school lands, railroad lands, swamp lands and lands alienated under the Homestead Law of 1862. Distinctions are made between lode and placer claims. With lode claims, the miner has the right to work the lode in depth even if it dips into an adjoining claim beyond the vertical projection of his claim boundaries.
