Terms Used In Arizona Laws > Title 27 > Chapter 3 > Article 1 - General Provisions

• Action: includes any matter or proceeding in a court, civil or criminal. See Arizona Laws 1-215
• Claim: means the portion of mining ground held under federal and local law by one claimant or association, by virtue of one location and record. See Arizona Laws 27-301
• Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
• Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
• including: means not limited to and is not a term of exclusion. See Arizona Laws 1-215
• Inspector: means the state mine inspector and except in article 7 of this chapter his deputies. See Arizona Laws 27-301
• Lease: A contract transferring the use of property or occupancy of land, space, structures, or equipment in consideration of a payment (e.g., rent). ^{Source: OCC}
• Mill: means any ore mill, concentrator, sampling works, crushing, grinding or screening plant, appurtenant buildings, shops or storage or loading facility used at and in connection with any mine. See Arizona Laws 27-301
• Mine: means all lands containing excavations, underground passageways, shafts, tunnels and workings, structures, facilities, equipment, machines or other property including impoundments, retention dams, tailings and waste dumps, on the surface or underground, used in, to be used in or resulting from the work of extracting minerals or other materials, excluding hydrocarbons. See Arizona Laws 27-301
• Mining: means those activities conducted to develop or extract materials from a mine including on-site transportation, concentrating, milling, leaching, smelting or other processing of ores or other materials. See Arizona Laws 27-301
• Open pit: means any mine operated on the surface of the earth, including quarries, but excluding sand and gravel operations. See Arizona Laws 27-301
• Operation: means a mine, mill, smelter, sand and gravel plant or pyrometallurgical or hydrometallurgical operation. See Arizona Laws 27-301
• Operator: means a natural person, corporation, partnership association, agent, governmental entity or other public or private organization or representative owning, controlling or managing a mine. See Arizona Laws 27-301
• Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
• Person: includes a corporation, company, partnership, firm, association or society, as well as a natural person. See Arizona Laws 1-215
• Petty offense: A federal misdemeanor punishable by six months or less in prison. ^{Source: U.S. Courts}
• Property: includes both real and personal property. See Arizona Laws 1-215
• Smelter: means any establishment used for the purpose of pyrometallurgical operations and appurtenant buildings, shops, facilities for the production of steam or electrical power, or equipment used in conjunction with any of the above. See Arizona Laws 27-301
• workings: means any or all parts of a mine excavated or being excavated, including shafts, tunnels, drifts, crosscuts, adits, entries, winzes, raises, stopes, open cuts, and all working places, whether abandoned or in use. See Arizona Laws 27-301
• Writing: includes printing. See Arizona Laws 1-215