Section 7 of the Act provides a procedure whereby a Leasing Act applicant, offeror, permittee or lessee may have determined the existence and validity of claims to Leasing Act minerals asserted under unpatented mining locations made prior to August 13, 1954, affecting lands embraced within such application, offer, permit or lease. This procedure is described in the succeeding regulations, and involves the prior recording of notice of such application, offer, permit or lease and the filing of a request for publication of notice of the same.

Not less than 90 days prior to the filing of such request for publication, there must have been filed for record in the county office of record for each county in which lands covered thereby are situated, a notice of the filing of the application or offer, or of the issuance of the permit or lease, upon which said request for publication is based. Such notice must set forth the date of the filing of such application or offer or of the issuance of such permit or lease, the name and address of the applicant, offeror, permittee or lessee, and the description of the lands covered by such application, offer, permit or lease, showing the section or sections of the public land surveys which embrace such lands, or, if such lands are unsurveyed, either the section or sections which would probably embrace such lands when the public land surveys are extended to such lands, or a tie by courses and distances to an approved United States mineral monument.

(a) Having complied with the requirement of § 3742.2 the applicant, offeror, permittee or lessee may file a Request for Publication of notice of such party's application, offer, permit or lease. Such request for publication shall be filed in the proper office. No Request for Publication, or publication, may include lands in more than one District.

(b) The filing of a Request for Publication must be accompanied by the following:

(1) A certified copy of the Notice of Application, offer, permit or lease setting forth the date of recordation thereof. The date of recordation shall be presumed to have been the date when the notice was filed for record unless the certified copy of the notice shows otherwise or is accompanied by an affidavit of the person filing the request for publication showing that the notice was filed for record on a date prior to the date of recordation.

(2) An affidavit or affidavits of a person or persons over 21 years of age, setting forth that the affiant or affiants have examined the lands involved in a reasonable effort to ascertain whether any person or persons were in actual possession of or engaged in the working of the lands covered by such request or any part thereof. If no person or persons were found to be in actual possession of or engaged in the working of said lands or any part thereof, on the date of such examination, such affidavit or affidavits shall set forth such fact. If any person or persons were so found to be in actual possession or engaged in such working on the date of such examination, such affidavit or affidavits shall set forth the name and address of each such person unless the affiant shall have been unable, through reasonable inquiry, to obtain information as to the name and address of such person; in which event, the affidavit or affidavits shall set forth fully the nature and the results of such inquiry.

(3) The certificate of a title or abstract company, or of a title abstractor, or of an attorney, based upon such company's, abstractor's or attorney's examination of the instruments affecting the lands involved, of record in the public records of the county in which said lands are situated as shown by the indices of the public records in the county office of record for said county, setting forth the name of any person disclosed by said instruments to have an interest in said lands under any unpatented mining claim located prior to enactment of the Act on August 13, 1954, together with the address of such person if disclosed by such instruments of record.

(4) A nonrefundable $10 remittance to cover service charge.

The notice to be published as required by the preceding section, shall describe the lands covered by the application, offer, permit or lease in the same manner as is required under § 3742.2 Such published notice shall notify whomever it may concern, that if any person claiming or asserting under, or by virtue of, any unpatented mining claim located prior to enactment of the Act of August 13, 1954, any right or interest in Leasing Act minerals as to such lands or any part thereof, shall fail to file in the office where such Request for Publication was filed (which office shall be specified in such notice), and within 150 days from the date of the first publication of such notice (which date shall be specified in such notice), a verified statement which shall set forth, as to such unpatented mining claim:

(a) The date of location;

(b) The book and page of recordation of the notice or certificate of location;

(c) The section or sections of the public land surveys which embrace such mining claim; or if such lands are unsurveyed, either the section or sections which would probably embrace such mining claim when the public land surveys are extended to such lands or a tie by courses and distances to an approved United States mineral monument;

(d) Whether such claimant is a locator or purchaser under such location; and

(e) The name and address of such claimant and names and addresses so far as known to the claimant of any other person or persons claiming any interest or interests in or under such unpatented mining claim; such failure shall be conclusively deemed (1) to constitute a waiver and relinquishment by such mining claimant of any and all right, title, and interest under such mining claim as to, but only as to, Leasing Act minerals, and (2) to constitute a consent by such mining claimant that such mining claim and any patent issued therefor, shall be subject to the reservation of Leasing Act minerals specified in section 4 of the Act, and (3) to preclude thereafter any assertion by such mining claimant of any right or title to or interest in any Leasing Act mineral by reason of such mining claim.

(a) Upon receipt of a Request for Publication and accompanying instruments, if all is found regular, the Authorized officer, or the Director, as may be appropriate, at the expense of the requesting person (who prior to the commencement of publication must furnish the agreement of the publisher to hold such requesting person alone responsible for charges of publication), shall cause notice of the application, offer, permit or lease to be published in a newspaper, to be designated by the Authorized officer, or the Director, as may be appropriate, having general circulation in the county in which the lands involved are situated.

(b) If such notice is published in a daily paper, it shall be published in the Wednesday issue for 9 consecutive weeks, or, if in a weekly paper, in 9 consecutive issues, or, if in a semi-weekly or tri-weekly paper, in the issue of the same day of each week for 9 consecutive weeks.

After the period of newspaper publication has expired, the person requesting publication shall obtain from the office of the newspaper of publication, a sworn statement 1 that the notice was published at the time and in accordance with the requirements under these regulations of this part, and shall file such sworn statement in the office where the Request for Publication was filed.

Within fifteen days after the date of first publication, the person requesting such publication shall:

(a) Cause a copy of such notice to be personally delivered to or to be mailed by registered mail addressed to each person in possession or engaged in the working of the land whose name and address is shown by the affidavit or affidavits of examination of the land filed, as set forth in § 3742.3-1.

(b) Cause a copy of such notice to be personally delivered to or to be mailed by registered mail addressed to each person who may, on or before the date of first publication, have filed for record, as to any lands described in the published notice, a Request for Notices, as provided in subsection (d) of section 7 of the Act (see § 3744.1);

(c) Cause a copy of such notice to be mailed by registered mail to each person whose name and address is set forth in the certificate required to be filed under § 3742.3-1; and

(d) File in the office where the Request for Publication was filed an affidavit that copies have been delivered or mailed as herein specified. Notwithstanding the requirements in paragraphs (a), (b) and (c) of this section, not more than one copy of such notice need be delivered or mailed to the same person.

If any applicant, offeror, permittee or lessee requesting publication of notice under these regulations shall fail to comply with the requirements of section 7(a) of the Act as to personal delivery or mailing of a copy of the published notice to any person, the publication of such notice shall be deemed wholly ineffectual as to that person or as to the rights asserted by that person and the failure of that person to file a verified statement, as provided in such notice shall in no manner affect, diminish, prejudice or bar any rights of that person.

If any claimant under any unpatented mining claim located prior to enactment of the Act on August 13, 1954, which embraces any of the lands described in any notice published in accordance with the regulations in this part shall fail to file a verified statement, as specified in such published notice within one hundred and fifty days from the date of the first publication of such notice, such failure shall be conclusively deemed, except as otherwise provided in § 3742.3-6.

(a) To constitute a waiver and relinquishment by such mining claimant of any and all right, title, and interest under such mining claim as to, but only as to, Leasing Act minerals, and

(b) To constitute a consent by such mining claimant that such mining claim and any patent issued therefor, shall be subject to the reservation of Leasing Act minerals specified in section 4 of the Act, and

(c) To preclude thereafter any assertion by such mining claimant of any right or title to or interest in any Leasing Act minerals by reason of such mining claim.