An Act relating to state mining law, to methods of locating mining claims, to the granting of larger mining claims using a legal subdivision based on rectangular survey descriptions, and to mandatory rental payments for prospecting rights.

Updated: February 24, 2000

Senate Bill 175 proposes changes to the Alaska State Mining Law that reduce the mining claim processing time and cost for the State, while improving the accuracy and accessibility of the claim location data. These changes affect methods of locating mining claims, rental payments and other related items; they have no effect on the rights established by claims.

The Department of Natural Resources currently has a substantial backlog of claims that have been filed but are not yet on the land status plats. Changes proposed by SB 175 will greatly improve this situation by allowing DNR to use a format whereby mining claim corners conform to an aliquot part legal description and can then be electronically entered onto (or removed from) the State land status plats.

The changes proposed by SB 175 incorporate several years of work between the mining industry and the Alaska Department of Natural Resources. The primary concern for DNR is the amount of manpower, time and cost that are now required to process the paperwork for mining claims.

From the viewpoint of the mining industry, the changes will simplify the process of staking mining claims and reduce errors during the staking, recording and filing process. One change will make it simpler and more feasible to utilize Global Positioning Systems (GPS) to establish claim corners in the field. Another change will allow the location of a larger size of mining claim, which will decrease the number of stakes in the field and reduce the amount of paperwork by 75%. The existing claim location system will continue to be available for those situations where the new positioning method is not practical.

Other changes regard prospecting sites, including the establishment of a rental charge, repeal of the limitation of the number of sites that can be held, and clarification of the terms.

Senate Bill 175 is supported by the Alaska Miners Association and the Department of Natural Resources.

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