Open Mines Doctrine Law and Legal Definition
Open Mines Doctrine is a property law doctrine. It is a doctrine that permits a tenant to commit voluntary waste on a piece of land by depleting it of natural resources. This is when mining was previously done on the land and mines were currently open at the time the tenant took possession of the land. In this situation, a tenant is allowed to continue mining on the land, but can only continue to mine in the open mines already in existence and cannot open any new mines on the land.
