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The public has the right to cross mining claims for <br />recreational and other purposes and to access <br />Federal lands beyond the claim boundaries. For <br />these reasons, claimants may not maintain locked <br />gates across public access routes, unless afull- <br />time attendant is available and the locked gate is <br />approved under a plan of operations. Under a <br />plan of operations, approvals for locked gates may <br />be given for the protection of an operator's <br />equipment and facilities. These approvals usually <br />restrict the operator to a fenced compound sur- <br />rounding the immediate area of operations. <br />Claimants should not conswct permanent struc- <br />tures or store equipmem or mobile structures <br />without prior approval of the authorized Federal <br />official. Intermittent or casual mineral explora- <br />tion and development do not normally justify the <br />use of such structures. <br />The right of access to a claim across Federal lands <br />does not mean that the mining claimant has a right <br />to cause unnecessary or undue degradation of the <br />resources. Vehicles used for exploration or <br />mining purposes are not permitted in areas that are <br />temporarily or permanently closed to vehicle use. <br />For example, on lands administered by the BLM, <br />in areas designated as closed to off-highway <br />vehicle use, an approved plan of operations is <br />required for new road construction and use of <br />existing roads. The claimant is liable for damages <br />if found responsible for unnecessary loss of or <br />injury to property of the United States. <br />Issuance of a notice of trespass may occur if an <br />unpatented claim or site is (1) used for a homesite, <br />place of business, or for other purposes not <br />reasonably related to mining or milling activities; <br />(2) used for the mining and sale of leasable <br />minerals or of mineral materials, such as common <br />varieties of sand, grave], or building stone; or (3) <br />located on lands that for any reason have been <br />withdrawn from location of mwng claims after <br />the effective date of withdrawal. <br />26 <br />Department of the Interior in 1894, Castle v. <br />W m le, 19 LD 455 (1894), states: "...where <br />minerals have been found and the evidence is of <br />such a character that a person of orciinary pm- <br />dence would be justified in the further expendi- <br />ture of his labor and means, with a reasonable <br />prospect of success in developing a valuable <br />mine, the requirements of the statutes have been <br />met " <br />The Supreme Court approved this definition in' <br />Chrismanv. Mil] r ]97 US 313 (1905). In 1968 <br />the Supreme Court approved a parallel concept, <br />the mazketability test, in ~, v. 1 m n, 29.0 <br />US 602-603 (1968). The marketability test adds <br />to the pendent man rule and considers economics. <br />It requires that the claimant show a reasonable <br />prospect of selling minerals from a claim or a <br />group of claims. Its use by the Department of the <br />Interior since 1933 is based on the Solicitor's <br />opinion in L~}mran v. Ellis, 52 LD 714 (1929). <br />This decision involved widespread nonmetallic <br />minerals. The Solicitor noted a need for a <br />distinct showing that the mineral could be mined, <br />removed, and marketed at a profit. The Interior <br />Board of Land Appeals ruled in Pacific Coast <br />Molybdenum, 90 ID 352 (1983) that proof of past <br />or present profit is not a requirement. However, <br />a profit must be a reasonable likelihood. <br />Other Departmental decisions require a discovery <br />on each claim, based on an actual physical <br />exposure of the mineral deposit within the claim <br />boundaries. Jefferson-Montana ('oooer Mine <br />~q,, 41 LD 320 (1912), establishes the full test <br />for a lode claim: (1) a physical exposure of the <br />mineral deposit, (2) evidence that the deposit <br />contains a valuable mineral, and (3) engineering <br />and economic data showing a possible profit. <br />For placer claims, in addition to proof of a <br />discovery of a pay streak, each 10 acres must be <br />shown to bemineral-in-character. Mineral-in- <br />character is based on geologic inference and <br />mazketability, not necessarily on an actual <br />7 <br />