Arizona Commercial Mining Co. v. Iron Cap Copper Co.
Arizona Supreme Court · 1925-01-03
This case involved a quiet title action by the Iron Cap Copper Company against the Arizona Commercial Mining Company over certain mining claims in Arizona, stemming from a dispute about the ownership of extracted ore and the right to follow veins with apices potentially located in the defendant's claims under federal mining law. The Arizona Supreme Court addressed whether the lower court's decree properly resolved title to both developed and undeveloped veins and ores beneath the claims. The court affirmed quieting title in favor of the plaintiff as to the developed veins and removed ores but reversed the judgment as to any undisclosed or undeveloped veins, reasoning that such properties could not be adjudicated without adequate development or evidence and that the decree improperly interfered with potential extralateral rights under U.S. Revised Statutes § 2322. The case was remanded for entry of a modified judgment consistent with these limits.