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Page Three <br />The testimony and reports of Myers is that tre.roineral <br />deposits on the property in question a,re placer.(excepti for <br />the 'pegmatite dike). The pits on the property indicated., . <br />that the material there was alluvial in nature. lie:'exami,ned <br />the pits and did not observe or find aily lodes, yeips, etc.,. <br />in any of the pits. His conclusion was.. that the material <br />being worked on .the claims was transported material and there- <br />fore,'p.lacer in nature. <br />ChaYles R. Johnson, a consulting geologist-engineer <br />also examined ttie property for defendants and testified in <br />tj~eir behalf. His testimony is that there were {~o veins or <br />lodes on the Pilot ;;1, on the Mukunda or the Ptukunda #2:'. It <br />was his opinion that the pegmatite dike 1'ocated,pn Pilot f2: <br />would support a.lode deposit. His testimony was similar to. <br />that of IIlair Roberts cohGerning the location and strike of <br />the p'eginati-te dike 'on Pilot )!2. <br />Richard Fournier is a. topaz specialist who deals in - <br />Ehat~,p~rticiilar mineral as his vocation. He stated that <br />)?e could definitely tell if a particular crystal came frcjm <br />a place`,~,^ deposit or a lode. In addition.t~ establishing' <br />the marketability of topaz and topaz crystals from .the <br />property. ih question, his testimony was that the :crystals <br />from .the mining deposit in question were from a placer <br />deposit end not.from a vein. <br />Mines, geologists and courts have acknowledged that <br />there is no definite, unyielding dgfinition of a lode. <br />)`]evertheless, it is generally considered that for a deposit <br />to oonstifiute a lode it:must be fixed in an enclosing, • <br />mass of surrounding country rock and have some kind 4f <br />boutlddrie5 that Would separate ittfrom the country rgek that <br />surroupds:it. <br />Neither plaintiff nor plaintiffs witnesses testified <br />in a convincing:manner that there were any lodes within <br />Pilot ~1,:Mukunda, or Mukunda;.;#2. <br />I must.:reject the testimony of Glair Roberts' that`the <br />underlying, gran'ife bedrock would !ie :s'ufficient -to support <br />lode mining: cl'aiins:`oj7 :P}lot' ~1; MuMUj~d~, and=,M~ilcilhda ~2. ' <br />More convincing is the testimony of: Myers and.JOhnson <br />that there we're no lodes within those 3 claigt~:;• None of <br />plainti€f's witnesses ever identified any indiv~c~ual veins <br />or lodes of mineral bearing rock in place so as to make lode <br />locations appropriate. This situation is not entirely: <br />dissimilar from that found in the case of TITANIUM ACTYNIT$ <br />INDUST1tIGS v. MCLENNAN.272 F. 2d. 667. No one could identify <br />the veins or the boundaries of the veins by any'mearis. A <br />granite bedrock does not constitute a lode. ~Phere was no <br />apex within the claims, nor any proof that the granite bedroc$ <br />in any ~•iay could support lode locations on Pilot ;R1, Mukunda, <br />and Ptukunda N 2. ~ <br />