All Veins Lodes & Ledges Throughout Their Entire Depth: Geology and the Apex Law in Utah Mines

The history of Utah mining weaves fantastic tales of bonanza discoveries, mining booms and busts, swindles, and scandals. In All Veins, Lodes, and Ledges Throughout Their Entire Depth William Parry traces the colorful histories of these miners, prospectors, and land owners as they fight for claim locations and the mining rights to the best ore.

The apex law of 1866 and 1872 granted to the claim owner the right to pursue all veins … throughout their entire depth even though these veins or lodes might pass under the claim of another. Discovery of the ore was not enough. The discoverer had to defend in the courts his right to pursue his claim. These cases were fundamental test cases in mining law in the U.S. and served as case law for other litigation. William Parry reviews the historical development of mining law, as well as cases from the Little Cottonwood, Park City, Ophir, Bingham, and Tintic mining districts and summarizes the nature of the disputes, the litigants, the winners, the losers, and the logic of the judges in deciding the cases. Parry also includes the geological concepts related to mining claims. Woven throughout all this history is a fascinating portrait of early Utah.