In the case of Montana Company v. St. Louis Mining and Milling Company, 1893, the U.S Supreme Court was tasked with resolving a dispute over mining rights in Montana's Little Ben Mountain. The Montana Company claimed that it had acquired title to certain veins or lodes of mineral ore within its claim under an act passed by Congress in May 1872, which allowed for such acquisition if the veins or lodes were discovered after patent issuance. However, St. Louis Mining and Milling argued that they had already located these veins before the patent was issued to their competitor. The court ruled in favor of St.Louis Mining and Milling Co., stating that according to law at that time (the Act of July 26th,1866), any valuable mineral deposits found on public lands were free for exploration and purchase by citizens who have complied with rules established by local customs or laws enacted by Congress regarding mining districts - this included those minerals found beneath other claims as well. Therefore, since St.Louis Mining & Milling Co.'s discovery predated Montana Co.'s patent issuance; they retained rightful ownership over said vein despite it extending into territory later patented off to another party.

The dissenting opinion in the Montana Company v. St. Louis Mining and Milling Company case argued that the majority's decision was inconsistent with previous rulings on similar cases, particularly those involving mining rights under federal law. The dissent emphasized that according to established precedent, a claimant who had complied with all legal requirements for obtaining a patent from the government should be considered as having exclusive possession of their claimed land from the moment they filed their application, not only after receiving formal approval. Therefore, any valuable minerals extracted by another party during this interim period should rightfully belong to them. They also disagreed with how evidence was evaluated in this case; arguing that it did not conclusively prove whether or not there were valuable mineral deposits within the disputed area at issue when it was initially claimed by plaintiff.