The secretary shall order consolidation of an area comprised of small tracts pursuant to application filed under this act [69-9-1 to 69-9-10 NMSA 1978] if he finds that:
A. proper notice of said hearing has been given as required by this act;
B. mineral development of the small tracts in the area to be consolidated on a separate and individual basis would be uneconomic and impractical;
C. the area set out in the application or such other area as determined by the secretary comprises an appropriate unit for the purposes set out herein;
D. consolidation of the area is needed to induce mineral exploration and potential mineral development of the area, will avoid waste of natural resources and will protect the correlative rights of all who have interests in the area;
E. the proposed operations are feasible and in accord with good industry practices;
F. the applicant has made diligent and good faith effort to locate all owners in the area and to obtain mining rights as to their interests but despite the applicant's efforts, there remain owners in the area who are unknown or whose addresses are unknown or from whom applicant has not obtained mining rights; and
G. the applicant holds mining rights with respect to interests equal in the aggregate to at least sixty percent of the entire mineral estate (so far as it pertains to ore) in the area.
History: 1953 Comp., § 63-32-7, enacted by Laws 1967, ch. 33, § 7; 1977, ch. 255, § 24.
Copyright ©2024 LegalFix. All rights reserved. LegalFix is not a law firm, is not licensed to practice law, and does not provide legal advice, services, or representation. The information on this website is an overview of the legal plans you can purchase—or that may be provided by your employer as an employee benefit or by your credit union or other membership group as a membership benefit.
LegalFix provides its members with easy access to affordable legal services through a network of independent law firms. LegalFix, its corporate entity, and its officers, directors, employees, agents, and contractors do not provide legal advice, services, or representation—directly or indirectly.
The articles and information on the site are not legal advice and should not be relied upon—they are for information purposes only. You should become a LegalFix member to get legal services from one of our network law firms.
You should not disclose confidential or potentially incriminating information to LegalFix—you should only communicate such information to your network law firm.
The benefits and legal services described in the LegalFix legal plans are not always available in all states or with all plans. See the legal plan Benefit Overview and the more comprehensive legal plan contract during checkout for coverage details in your state.
Use of this website, the purchase of legal plans, and access to the LegalFix networks of law firms are subject to the LegalFix Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.