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ME;~iORANDUM <br />RE: Rights of Tenants in Common in Mines <br />DATE: July 23, 1990 <br />The relationship of tenants in common in mines in Colorado is statutorily governed by <br />C.R.S. 34-44-101, et. seq. The legislation provides in Section 101 that the act will be <br />"construed as a remedial law, intended to promote mining activity, and shall be liberally <br />construed in favor of the working tenant." This statute was passed in 1923 by the Colorado <br />Legislature to regulate the relationship between tenants in common of mineral interests. The <br />statute describes a mine as "all real property acquired, used, or chiefly valuable for mining <br />purposes." A mining operation "includes all acts constituting the prospecting, development and <br />working of a mine, including the milling and sale of ore, minerals and mined products, which <br />are carried out with reasonable diligence from the beginning of work until completion of the <br />operation, or until abandonment, or termination by law." <br />The statute specifically provides in Section 103 that "if two or more persons own any <br />mine they shall be considered tenants in common. Any one or more such tenants in common <br />shall have the right to enter upon, occupy, prospect, develop, and work said mine in a minerlike <br />manner, extracting, milling and disposing of the ore from the common property without the <br />consent of any nonworking tenant in common, subject to accounting of the nonworking tenant <br />in common for his proportionate share of the net profits of such mining operations." (italics <br />added) <br />Section 110 of the statute provides "Any tenant in common, joint tenant, or coparcener <br />in any mine shall have the right to lease his interest therein, and his lessee shall in such case be <br />entitled to all rights, benefits and remedies and shall be subject to all the duties and obligations <br />of a working tenant as provided in this article." <br />Sections 104 through 107 and Section 109 of the statute provide accounting procedures <br />for income from the operations and expenditures permitted to be setoff against the work. Section <br />108 contains provisions for notice to a nonworking tenant which must be served on nonworking <br />tenants in order to provide an opp::rtunity to participate. <br />The statute clearly establishes a mechani.;m to permit a tenant in common to enjoy the <br />benefits of the mineral interest the tenant in co;:;mon may own without being held "hostage" to <br />the position of any o:lter tena~its in common, but with the obligation to fairly account to the <br />nunworking tena::t in .ommon 1': :e prorata proceeds of ;ire m~ 'ng operation, less permitted <br />setoffs. There shouli; ~e no question under Colorado law that a jingle tenant in common may <br />enter upon, occupy, prospect, develop and work a mine without the necessity of consent by all <br />co-tenants so long as the requirements of C.R.S. 34-44-101, et. seq., are followed. <br />