| Show interesting MINING DECISION A decision of more than ordinary interest to mining men of the butte district in particular and also applicable to any other mining district where similar issues are involved says the miner of wallace idaho was received from the interior department by attorney john A shelton in the case involving the W E lode mining claim lying in the southeastern part of the butte district in a valuable section of the copper area the reno copper and silver mining company obtained a judgment by default in the united states district court in which it was held that the vein on which the W B E lode claim was located was one that was known to exist at the time the application was made for the patent of the emery placer claim in 1881 notwithstanding the fact that patent had been issued for the emery placer and the tact fact also that the mineral location contesting the placer right to the lode claim was not made until 1908 9 it Is held that the placer patent excepted from its provisions any rights as to the lodes known to exist within the ground claimed as placer the secretary of the interior ordered the issuance of patent to the lode claimants for that part of the lode within the area covered by the placer patent reverse local land office the reno copper and silver mining company relying upon the default judgment entered in the united states court made application for a patent on the lode claim previously patented as placer the contention being based on the fact that the default was a practical admission of the prior knowledge of the existence of the lode at the time the placer application was made the register of the land office in helena held that the judgment was not conclusive as to that point and asked for additional proof and ordered that if such was not aur furnished that the entry of the lode claim application for patent paten t should be cancelled attorney shelton for the reno keno company appeared before the secretary of the in herfor and orally argued the appeal last january the decision being received in butte yesterday the decision reverses the ruling of the register and sustains the application for the lode patent the prior judgment obtained by default in the united states court being held as conclusive admission by the defendants that the knowledge existed of the existence of the lode vein within the ground at the time of the placer application decision important the importance of the decision rests in the fact that the interior department will permit the patenting of lode claims within the area of placer patents already issued if proof is furnished of the knowledge of the existence of lode veins on the ground prior to the date of the application for placer patent it being held that placer patent will except f from rom its grant any lode veins so known and proved the ground covered by the decision of the reno company contest while small covers a very valuable portion of the copper territory of the camp lying in part across the belmont group of the anaconda company and Is known to be within the productive copper area |
