00 Enrolled HB 344                                                                                                         
01 Relating to annual rental fees, statements of annual labor, and production royalty for mining                           
02 claims; and providing a cure for abandonment.                                                                           
03                           _______________                                                                               
04    * Section 1.  AS 38.05.265 is amended to read:                                                                     
05            Sec. 38.05.265.  Abandonment.  Failure to properly record a certificate of                                 
06       location or a statement of annual labor, pay any required annual rental, or pay any                               
07       required production royalty as required by AS 38.05.185 - 38.05.200, 38.05.210 -                                  
08       38.05.245, 38.05.252 - 38.05.275, and by regulations adopted under these sections                                 
09       constitutes abandonment of all rights acquired under the mining claim, leasehold                                  
10       location, or prospecting site involved, and the claim, leasehold location, or prospecting                         
11       site is subject to relocation by others, unless the failure constituting the                                  
12       abandonment is cured under (b) of this section.  A locator or claimant of an                                  
13       abandoned location or a successor in interest may not relocate the claim, leasehold                               
14       location, or prospecting site until one year after abandonment.  The locator of an                                
01       abandoned prospecting site may locate a claim or leasehold location on that site at any                           
02       time.  A statement of annual labor that does not accurately set out the essential facts is                        
03       void and of no effect.  If an annual rental or a royalty payment is deficient but is                              
04       otherwise timely paid, abandonment does not result if full payment is made within                                 
05                 (1)  the period prescribed by a deficiency notice from the                                              
06       commissioner; or                                                                                                  
07                 (2)  30 days after a final judgment establishing the amount due if the                                  
08       deficiency amount due was contested.                                                                              
09    * Sec. 2.  AS 38.05.265 is amended by adding a new subsection to read:                                             
10            (b)  Unless another person has located a mining claim or leasehold location                                  
11       that includes all or part of the mining claim or leasehold location abandoned under (a)                           
12       of this section or the area is closed to mineral location under AS 38.05.185 -                                    
13       38.05.275, a person may cure the failure to record or pay that constituted the                                    
14       abandonment and cure the abandonment by                                                                           
15                 (1)  properly recording a certificate of location or a statement of annual                              
16       labor, paying any required annual rental, and paying any required production royalty;                             
17       and                                                                                                               
18                 (2)  paying a penalty equal to the annual rent for the mining claim or                                  
19       leasehold location that was abandoned under (a) of this section.