§ 84. Mining rights; regulations; continuation; termination. 1. All
rights to explore for or extract minerals from a mine or deposit that
have heretofore arisen by reason of the filing of a notice of discovery
or by reason of the issuance of a permit or consent by the commissioner
of general services under this article or under former article seven or
which shall hereafter arise by reason of the filing of a notice of
discovery or the issuance of a permit or consent by the commissioner
under this article shall expire as to those heretofore filed at the
expiration of thirty months from the effective date of this act and as
to those hereafter filed at the expiration of thirty months from the
date of filing of notice unless the person claiming under any notice so
filed and his predecessors, if any, in interest shall have expended in
each of the two years first elapsed in the said thirty months' period at
least two hundred fifty dollars in respect to each forty acres of the
lands as to which notice was filed, in the exploration for mines or
minerals or in operations relating to or preliminary to the mining of
such lands or in both such explorations and mining, and shall have made
statements of the amounts of minerals, if any, extracted from such
mines, to the commissioner, and shall have paid a royalty, if due, on
the market value of such minerals to the commissioner as prescribed in
this article. Where a number of contiguous forty acre parcels, the
mining rights in which are owned in common, comprise a group, the total
expenditure made for such group, whether or not such group is made up
entirely of state land or state land and private land, may be allocated
and credited to each such forty acre parcel for the purpose of
determining compliance with this section, notwithstanding that such
expenditure may have been made on only one or more parcels in such group
and not on every forty acre parcel therein, providing however that such
total expenditure must be at least equal to the required total
expenditure of two hundred fifty dollars for each forty acre parcel in
such group.

2. Such right to explore or mine shall continue for successive periods
each of thirty months, provided always that the requirements for minimum
annual expenditures with respect to the land affected by such notice of
discovery as provided in subdivision one of this section have been
complied with in each preceding thirty months' period, and the
statements of minerals, if any, extracted from such mine have been made
to the commissioner and royalty, if due, paid to the commissioner as
required in this article.

3. The proof of the making of such expenditures shall be submitted to
the state geologist, in such form as he may require, or, if minerals
have been extracted, shall be submitted to the commissioner with the
statement of the amounts of minerals so extracted, on or before the
thirtieth day after the last day of the first two years of each such
thirty months' period.

4. Failure to comply with any or all of the provisions of this article
relating to the statements of minerals extracted, the payments of
royalty, expenditures and proof of expenditures shall be deemed a
default in the performance of the conditions essential to the
continuation of the rights of the filer. The commissioner shall, at
least ninety days prior to the expiration of the current thirty months'
period, as to any filer who is in default, mail to such filer at his
last address known to the commissioner, a notice to the effect that
there has been default in the performance of the conditions essential to
the continuation of the rights of the filer and that such rights will
expire at the end of the current thirty months' period, specifying the
date. The filer may before the expiration of said thirty-months' period
file with the commissioner a petition for the right to appear before him
to establish the fact of compliance with this article. Upon the receipt
of such petition, the commissioner shall designate a time and place for
a hearing thereon and advise the filer and the state geologist. If,
after such hearing, the commissioner shall be satisfied that the
provisions of this article have been performed by the filer, or shall be
satisfied by reasons or proof submitted that there is good cause for
failure to comply with the provisions of this article, he shall make
proper record or note of such fact in his office; and in his discretion
the rights under such filing shall then continue for a succeeding period
of thirty months from the expiration of the current period of
effectiveness. If such filer shall not file such petition, with the
commissioner, or having filed such petition, shall not satisfy the
commissioner that he has performed the conditions stated in this article
for the continuation of rights under a notice of discovery, then such
rights shall be deemed terminated as of the last day of such current
thirty months' period. The commissioner shall make proper record or
note in his office of the expiration of such rights.