BUSH: NINE FORMER PRESIDENTS WRONG; CLINTON RIGHT! by William Perry PendleyAugust 1, 2002 In 1872, Congress enacted the General Mining Law, allowing miners to enter onto federal land, locate valuable mineral deposits, and then develop those minerals. Once claims were staked, they were inviolate against all others, except the United States, which could challenge their validity at any time. Miners had to perform annual assessment work or else the land was open to relocation by rival claimants as if no prior claim existed. However, if the original claimant resumed work before such relocation, the claim was preserved. Often called the...