claim to mining rights

> The biggest point in my original email has obviously been missed. The
> big part of the homestead act was you had to improve the property. In
> our case this means you have to start mining. Sending a probe would
> not constitute enough for a claim requirement.
Sending a probe and analyzing the roid *would* be improving that
tumbling piece of real estate. It would give greater knowledge about
it: useful when making your business plan. Also a company that has gone
through the expense and effort of sending that probe deserves the claim.
And if a company can expect all the competitors to hunt the roid that
they analyzed and found worthwile, they will be unlikely to send that
probe in the first place: business will be curbed.
Send a probe, analyze the results, and be given a grace period: if
you haven't done anything with the roid within that period, you lose the
claim. Only if probing a roid proves unnecessary to determine its worth
and make the plans should a probe be considered less than enough for a
claim.