Iron County (Utah). County Recorder Mining location notices, 1881-1964.

Federal mining law enacted in 1872 provided that all valuable mineral deposits in the public domain were free and open to exploration and that the locators of the same were to have exclusive right of possession as long as they complied with the laws of the United States and of the local mining district. (Statutes at Large, Treaties, and Proclamations, of the United States of America, vol. XVII, chap. 152, also Revised Statutes of the United States, chap. 6, title 32). Federal law outlined that the first step toward ownership of mineral deposits was the discovery of a potentially productive site and recording the claim or notice of location. Primarily, the location notices in these books are for lode claims, which are are identified sections of veins or lodes of quartz or other rock bearing gold, silver, cinnabar, lead, tin, copper, iron or other valuable deposits. A claim may equal but not exceed 1500 feet in length along the lode. Each notice of location recorded in these bookscontains the following information: name of claim, names of locators, date claim was located, date notice was filed, and a legal description of the claim including dimensions. In addition to location notices, these books contain the by-laws of Iron County mining districts. They contain documents relating to location notices, such as amended notices of location, mill site location notices, location certificates, and some notices of location for placer claims (see Book E).