Where a survey is necessary to set apart mineral from non-mineral land the appropriate authorized officer will have special instructions prepared outlining the procedure to be followed in the required survey. The survey will be executed at the expense of the United States. Where, in stock-raising homestead entries, it has been satisfactorily established that there are existent prior unpatented mining claims, the segregation of the latter is not strictly a segregation of mineral from non-mineral land, but rather the procedure adopted to define the boundaries of and provide a legal description for that part of the homestead entry which is not within the segregated mining claims.

The fact that a certain tract of land is decided upon testimony to the mineral in character is by no means equivalent to an award of the land to a miner. In order to secure a patent for such land, he must proceed as in other cases, in accordance with this part.

(a) The authorized officer will accept and approve any application (if otherwise regular), to make a non-mineral entry of the residue of any original lot or legal subdivision which is invaded by mining claims if the tract has already been lotted to exclude such claims. If not so lotted, and if the original lot or legal subdivision is invaded by patented mining claims, or by mining claims covered by pending applications for patent which the non-mineral applicant does not desire to contest, or by approved mining claims of established mineral character, the authorized officer will accept and approve the application (if otherwise regular), exclusive of the conflict with the mining claims.

(b) The authorized officer will allow no non-mineral application for any portion of an original lot or 40-acre legal subdivision, where the tract has not been lotted to show the reduced area by reason of approved surveys of mining claims for which applications for patent have not been filed, until the non-mineral applicant submits a satisfactory showing that such surveyed claims are in fact mineral in character. Applications to have lands which are asserted to be mineral, or mining locations, segregated by survey with a view to the non-mineral appropriation of the remainder, will be made to the authorized officer of the proper office. Such applications must be supported by a written statement of the party in interest, duly corroborated by two or more disinterested persons, or by such other or further evidence as may be required, that the land sought to be segregated as mineral is in fact mineral in character.