Minerals CLASSIFICATION OF MINERAL SUBSTANCES-continued. Ownership To whom taxes or Remarks royalties. In the owner of the In the owner of the ! owner of the soil ing the value of the Art. 15 of the Law of 1852. Arts. 16 & 20 of the Law of 1852. The taxes and royalties payable to the Government and the surface-owner, in respect of the mines which are the subject of concession, are mentioned in the preceding table. Taxes and The Administration has power to lessen the Government charges at discretion, and even to convert them into fixed charges (Article 40). If the Government has given a complete exemption from the proportional rent payable to the State, it must fix a royalty to be paid to the owner of the soil, unless the parties can agree on the subject. The concessionnaires may occupy or expropriate, under the supervision of the Administration, all land necessary for working the mines; in default of amicable agreement, the law relative to expropriation for public utility is applicable; and concessionnaires may, even without having recourse to the law of expropriation, occupy, Surface land occupied or damaged. temporarily, land which may be considered necessary, being bound in such case to give security to make good all damage which may be occasioned. They are also held liable to make good damage caused to the surface by subsidence. The law recognises two kinds of searches which it treats differently-the first are simple surface investigations; the second, Searches explorations by means of pits and galleries. If the for mines. diggings do not exceed 10 varas (11 metres) they come under the first heading. These searches can be undertaken by the owner of the soil or with his consent; or, in default, they can be authorised by the Administration for a term of two years, renewable indefinitely. The explorer must give security against all damage to the surface. Explorations under the second head cannot be undertaken, even by the proprietor of the soil, without the consent of the Government. An exclusive right to make searches may be granted by the Government to a company throughout an area of five square leagues for a term of two years (renewable); searches cannot take place amongst buildings without the written consent of the proprietors under penalty of double the value of damage done. The right of search does not imply any right to dispose of the produce of the explorations. The law recognises a right to a concession in favour of the finder, that is, of the first person who registers in the municipality of a place the discovery of a deposit, the existence of Concessions. which must be admitted by the mining authority. The finder has six months in which to constitute a company or to prove that he has sufficient means to work the mine, in which case a concession should be granted to him. When the finder does not obtain the concession, he has a right to an indemnity fixed by the Administration and payable by the concessionnaire. The Administration may select at discretion between persons who apply concurrently, and also decides at discretion as to the boundaries and extent of the concession. This decision as to the boundaries is not come to immediately on the commencement of the concession; at first only a provisional grant is made, with an approximate indication of the boundaries. The concessionnaire has six months to prepare the plan on which the boundaries are finally determined. The concessionnaire has only a right to the particular substance which forms the subject of his concession. All other substances under the same lands may form the subject of separate searches and concessions. It is said that, under the Portuguese system, the inconveniences inherent to such a system are diminished to a certain extent by the fact that searches cannot be made without the authority of the Government, who, in granting permisson for subsequent searches, can safeguard the interests of the first concessionnaire. The concessions are granted for an unlimited period, but remain subject to the strict supervision of the Government, and at the risk of withdrawal by the State on any infraction of the terms on which they are granted. The concession must not be divided, or even parted with, except by the authority of the Government. It must be actively worked to the satisfaction of the Government, and the works may only be directed by an engineer approved of by the Government. Although these cannot, apparently, take place without the Sales of permission of the Government, they are undoubtedly concessions. made, as will be seen from the following instances: The concessions of mines of antimony and gold at Oporto, over an area of about 260 acres, held from the Portuguese Government in perpetuity, at the usual taxes, with certain leases of surface and pinewoods at rents of £40 per annum, were sold in 1887 to the Lixa Mining Company, Limited, for the sum of £55,000, of which £28,500 was payable in cash, and £26,500 in fully paid-up shares. The concessions of copper mines over an area of about 850 acres were sold in 1888 to the Portuguese Consolidated Copper Mines, Limited, for £50,000, payable in cash or shares at the option of the Company. Easements of way, water, &c. Forfeiture of concessions. These, where required, can apparently be obtained under the law of expropriation before referred to. This is provided for, as a penalty for breach of the obligations imposed on the concessionnaire, and especially in the following cases if he fails to furnish the plan of his concession within six months after the delivery of the provisional grant; if the works are not commenced within two months after the final grant of the concession; if the mine is not kept in a constant state of active work; if the concessionnaire does not take the necessary measures during a specified time in case of danger resulting from bad management of the works; and when, in consequence of improper working, the ultimate working-out of the mine is rendered difficult or impossible. Inspection The law provides for inspection of workings and and regula- searches to assure the safety of the workmen and the protection of the soil, and this right of inspection extends to mines of the third class or carrières. tion of mines. Mining authority. The control of and management of mines is entrusted to a Committee of Public Works and Mines, which is subordinate to the State Department of Public Works, Commerce and Industry (Blue Book, p. 20). Import Coal 1s. 6d. per ton; coke and briquettes 1s. 94d. duties. per ton (Return to House of Commons September 1893). CHAPTER XI. SPAIN. NOTES AS TO MINING LAW. FROM the earliest period at which there is any authentic record of the law as to the ownership of mines in Spain (A.D. History of 1256) they are spoken of as being reserved to the Law as to Crown, who might, however, concede them to third parties; but in early periods the concessions appear only to have been made for the life of the king who granted them. Mining. What is considered in reality the first Spanish law on mines was issued by Don John I. at Briviesca in 1387. By this law all mines were declared to belong to the Crown, but every native of Spain was authorised to search for and work mines on his property, or on the property of others with their permission, but paying two third parts of the net profits to the Crown. These rights could not, however, be exercised in cases where special concessions were subsisting, such as appear to have been frequently granted and revoked by the Crown, and which were all finally abolished by a law completed in the year 1584, under Philip II. The Law of 1584 continued in force until 1825, and therefore deserves some attention. By this law any person (either a Spanish subject or a foreigner) might work any mines which he discovered, subject to compliance with certain regulations as to registering the circumstances of their discovery and as to subsequent regular working. The extent of such mines (which were granted as and subdivided into "pertenencias") was limited, but the discoverer was entitled to take several pertenencias. The worker of the mines was obliged to observe certain conditions, including one to the effect that he should employ four workmen for each pertenencia, under penalty of the "denunciation," a system corresponding with what is known in Australia as "jumping." under which he might lose his rights, which passed to the denunciator if he proved that the mine had not been occupied— i.e., worked by a minimum of four men per pertenencia, for four months. Gold mines had to pay to the Crown half the gross produce, and silver mines from one-half to one-tenth, according to the yield per Spanish cwt. of silver lead. A special administration was constituted to deliver concessions of and exercise inspection over and try questions relating to mines. Under the Law of 1825 the mining legislation extended to beds of precious stones, and all metallic, and combustible, and saline substances, except beds and springs of ordinary salt (which were reserved to the Crown, and held as a monopoly). The mines were considered as res nullius, which any one without distinction of nationality could search for (on making compensation for damage to the soil), and acquire the right to work. Other mineral substances, such as sand, clay, and chalk, were considered as the property of the surface-owner. The size of the pertenencia was increased, and in principle one person could only acquire two pertenencias in contiguity, but to this rule there were exceptions. The property of the concessionnaire was perpetual, and could be transferred and disposed of like other property, subject to regulations as to inspection, including the obligation to work regularly under risk of" denunciation." Such surface land as was required by the owner of the mines could be acquired on paying an indemnity to the original owner of the surface. In 1849 a new classification of mineral substances was made which introduced a class corresponding to the minières of the French system, and other alterations were made in the details of the mining law. Further alterations of the law were made in 1859. The law of mining was again amended in 1868 by certain general bases, promulgated by a decree of the provisional Government on December 29, 1868; these general bases did not however abrogate the previous law, except so far as it might be inconsistent with them, and indeed reserved the right for owners of old concessions to choose between the old and the new legislation, with this strange result that the mining legislation of Spain now depends upon the construction of two la ws based to some extent upon different and even contradictory principles; still it may be taken that the decree of 1868 added to the law of 1859 (subject to some alterations made in 1871 and 1884) constitutes the existing mining law of Spain. This law recognises the ownership of certain mineral substances as belonging to the State which, however, can only dispose of them in accordance with the provisions of the law. Mineral substances are divided by the law into three classes, according to the following table, which follows the sections of the law, viz.:—~ |