Our minerals rights laws are a relic of the Frontier, and nothing but the result of lots of energy politics. The Mining Law of 1872 is an example. In the late 1800s, with the smell of industrial revolution in our nostrils, we wanted more minerals to grow with. We provided that anyone who wanted to mine on public land had only to file a claim at the county courthouse and put in $100 worth of work on the claim each year.
Miners with a valid claim could gain full title to the land for a fee
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