Any person or persons, or the manager, officer, agent or employe [employee] of any person, firm, corporation or association, who shall in any manner alter, deface or change the location notice of any mining claim in this state, located under the laws of the United States and of this state, or any local regulations in force in the district wherein such claim is situated, thereby in any manner affecting the rights of any person, firm or corporation, to such claim or location, or the land covered thereby, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof before any court of competent jurisdiction, shall be fined in a sum not less than one hundred dollars [($100)], nor more than five hundred dollars [($500)], or imprisoned in the county jail for not less than sixty days, nor more than one year, or by both such fine and imprisonment, in the discretion of the court trying the case. Nothing herein contained shall affect the rights of such locator or locators, and his or their assigns, to correct errors in such notice and file amended location notices as provided in Section 69-3-12 NMSA 1978, and the laws of the United States: provided, such change shall not affect or change the date of such location notice, or affect the rights of any other person.

History: Laws 1897, ch. 58, § 3; C.L. 1897, § 2311; Code 1915, § 3452; C.S. 1929, § 88-108; 1941 Comp., § 67-208; 1953 Comp., § 63-2-8.

Bracketed material. — The bracketed material was inserted by the compiler and is not part of the law.

Am. Jur. 2d, A.L.R. and C.J.S. references. — 53A Am. Jur. 2d Mines and Minerals § 377 et seq.

58 C.J.S. Mines and Minerals §§ 45, 131.