§ 3833.4 - Failure to file, or to pay maintenance or location fees.

(a)(1) The failure to make annual filings required by §§ 3833.2-1 and 3833.2-2 on or before the December 30 immediately following the September 1 by which the small miner filed for a waiver of payment of the maintenance fee, shall conclusively constitute a forfeiture of the mining claim or site.

(2) Failure to record the notice or certificate of location required by § 3833.1-2(a), § 3734.1(a), or § 3821.2 of this title, or failure to pay the maintenance or location fees required by §§ 3833.1-4, 3833.1-5, and 3833.1-7, or failure to file the documents required by § 3833.1-7 (b) through (d) within the time periods prescribed therein for claimants who also fail to pay the maintenance fee, shall be deemed conclusively to constitute a forfeiture of the mining claim, mill site, or tunnel site.

(3) Claimants who fail to pay the maintenance fee, but file a waiver certification under § 3833.1-7, shall perform the assessment work required by subpart 3851 of this title by the waiver statement filing deadline, or the mining claims under the invalid waiver certification will be conclusively deemed forfeited for failure to pay the maintenance fee on time.

(4) Failure to list the 10 or fewer mining claims and/or sites for which the fee is requested to be waived on the applicable certification document filed pursuant to 3833.1-6 or 3833.1-7 will result in the affected mining claims and/or sites being deemed abandoned by the owner or owners thereof.

(b) Failure to file the complete information required in §§ 3833.1-2(b), 3833.1-7(d)-(f), 3833.2-4(a), 3833.2-4(b), 3833.2-5(b) and 3833.2-5(c), when the document is otherwise filed on time, shall not be conclusively deemed to constitute an abandonment or forfeiture of the claim or site, but such information shall be submitted within 30 days of receipt of a notice from the authorized officer calling for such information. Failure to submit the information requested by the decision of the authorized officer shall result in the mining claim, mill site, or tunnel site being deemed abandoned by the owner.

(c) Failure to record a transfer of interest under § 3833.3 will result in the Bureau of Land Management refusing to recognize the interest acquired by the transferee or to serve notice of any action, decision, or contest on the unrecorded owner.

(d) The fact that an instrument is filed in accordance with other laws permitting filing for record thereof and is defective or not timely filed for record under those laws shall not be considered failure to file under this subpart. The fact that an instrument is filed for record under this subpart by or on behalf of some, but not all of the owners of the mining claim, mill or tunnel site shall not affect the validity of this filing.

(e) Any mining claim deemed abandoned under section 314(c) of the Act for failure to file an instrument in the local jurisdiction of the State where the claim is located pursuant to section 314 (a)(1) and (b) of the Act, shall not be validated by filing the instrument with the BLM in accordance with § 3833.1, 3833.2-1, and 3833.2-2 of this title, and such instrument is ineffective even though the claim may currently be shown to exist in the BLM records.

(f) Title IV of the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Management Act of 1982 (30 U.S.C. 188(f)) provides that where an unpatented oil placer mining claim validly located prior to February 24, 1920, which has been or is currently producing or is capable of producing oil or gas, has been or is hereafter deemed conclusively abandoned for failure to file timely the required instruments or copies of instruments required by section 314 of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1744), and it is shown to the satisfaction of the authorized officer that such failure was inadvertent, justifiable, or not due to lack of reasonable diligence on the part of the owner, the authorized officer may issue, for the lands covered by the abandoned unpatented oil placer mining claim, a noncompetitive oil and gas lease consistent with the provisions of section 17(e) of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 226(e)) to be effective from the statutory date the claim was conclusively abandoned. The conditions and requirements for issuance of such leases are contained in § 3108.2-4 of this title.