---
title: "Check what an unpatented lode location allows on the public domain"
url: "https://ailawframework.com/practice/energy-resources-and-mining/check-what-a-miner-s-right-allows-on-crown-land/united-states"
type: "task_jurisdiction_version"
site: "AI Law Framework"
id: "A13-PU20261022-16-US"
practice_area: "Energy, Resources & Mining"
tier: "yellow"
lawyer_review: "required"
jurisdictions: ["US"]
last_reviewed: "2026-10-22"
---

# Check what an unpatented lode location allows on the public domain

> From the location papers, list the claim, whether it is described as a lode location on the public domain, and the surface lines the papers state. Do not decide that the locator may ignore another statute.

Canonical page: https://ailawframework.com/practice/energy-resources-and-mining/check-what-a-miner-s-right-allows-on-crown-land/united-states  
Last reviewed: 2026-10-22

Site index for agents: https://ailawframework.com/llms.txt

## Key facts

| Fact | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Practice area | [Energy, Resources & Mining](https://ailawframework.com/practice/energy-resources-and-mining.md) |
| Human involvement | Yellow: Lawyer and AI draft together |
| How AI is used | From the location papers, list the claim, whether it is described as a lode location on the public domain, and the surface lines the papers state. Do not decide that the locator may ignore another statute. |
| What the lawyer must review | The locators of a mining location on a mineral vein, lode, or ledge on the public domain, where no adverse claim existed on 10 May 1872, have the exclusive right of possession and enjoyment of the surface inside the location lines, and of veins, lodes, and ledges whose top or apex lies inside those lines extended downward vertically, for so long as they comply with the laws of the United States and with State, territorial, and local regulations that do not conflict with those laws (30 U.S.C. § 26). The right to parts of a vein outside the side lines is limited to the portion between vertical planes drawn through the end lines. You read that limit in the section before you describe it. Placer locations are a different section and were not opened. On Stock-Raising Homestead Act land, 43 U.S.C. § 299 limits entry and later mineral activity even where a location exists. |
| Written for | United States |
| Applies to | [Check what a miner's right allows on Crown land](https://ailawframework.com/practice/energy-resources-and-mining/check-what-a-miner-s-right-allows-on-crown-land.md) |

## Checking plan

- What the AI does: From the location papers, list the claim, whether it is described as a lode location on the public domain, and the surface lines the papers state. Do not decide that the locator may ignore another statute.
- Basis: Checked against the linked sources on 22 October 2026. Confirm the current instrument before reliance.

## Notes

- A location does not itself approve a plan of operations under 43 C.F.R. § 3809.
- Compliance with the mining laws includes the maintenance fee or a valid waiver.

## Sources

- [30 U.S.C. § 26, Locators' rights of possession and enjoyment](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/30/26) (checked 2026-10-22)
- [43 U.S.C. § 299, Reservation of coal and mineral rights](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/43/299) (checked 2026-10-22)

*Practice guidance for planning and review. Confirm current primary sources and the requirements of the actual matter. This is general information, not legal advice.*