LOST TREASURE USA
THE TREASURE HUNTER'S NEWSLETTER
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BLM--STAKING A MINING CLAIM
General Mining Law of 1872
The federal law governing locatable minerals is the
General Mining Law of 1872 (May 10, 1872), which declared all
valuable mineral deposits in land belonging to the United States
to be free and open to exploration and purchase.
This law provides citizens of the United States the opportunity to explore for, discover, and purchase certain valuable mineral deposits on public domain minerals.
Federal Land Policy and Management Act
of 1976 (FLPMA)
This Act did not amend the 1872 law, but did affect the
recordation and maintenance of claims. Persons holding existing
claims were required to record their claims with BLM by October
1979, and all new claims were required to be recorded with BLM.
FLPMA’s purpose was to provide BLM with information on the
locations and number of unpatented mining claims, mill sites,
and tunnel sites to determine the na mes and addresses of
current owners, and to remove any cloud of title on abandoned
claims.
What is a Mining Claim?
A mining claim is a parcel of land for which the claimant has
asserted a right of possession and the right to develop and
extract a discovered, valuable, mineral deposit. This right does
not include exclusive surface rights (see Public Law 84-167).
Locatable minerals include both metallic minerals (gold, silver, lead, etc.) and nonmetallic minerals (fluorspar, asbestos, mica, etc.). It is nearly impossible to list all locatable minerals because of the complex legal requirements for discovery.
There are Federally administered land in 19 states where you may locate a mining claim or site. These states are Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. In these states, the BLM manages the surface of public land and the Forest Service manages the surface of National Forest System (NFS) land. The BLM is responsible for the subsurface on both public and NFS land.
Only public domain minerals are locatable minerals (those minerals that have never left federal ownership). Reconveyed minerals are considered public domain minerals under the mining laws. Mining claims cannot be staked on acquired minerals; a prospecting permit (43 CFR 3500) is required to prospect for acquired minerals. Mining claims can be located on open public land administered by another federal agency (most commonly on Forest Service land).
You may prospect and locate claims and sites on public and NFS land open to mineral entry. Claims may not be located in areas closed to mineral entry by a special act of Cong! ress, re gulation, or public land order. These areas are said to be "withdrawn" from mineral entry.
Areas withdrawn from location of mining claims include:
Land withdrawn for power development may be subject to mining entry and claim location only under certain conditions.
Mining claims may not be located on land that has been:
There is usually a ¼-mile buffer zone withdrawn from location of mining claims on either side of a river while the river is being studied for inclusion in the Wild and Scenic River System. Additions to the National Wilderness Preservation System are withdrawn to mining claim location at the time of designation by Congress. Mining activities are permitted only on those mining claims that can show proof of discovery either (1) by December 31, 1983, or (2) on the date of designation as wilderness by Congress.
Mining claims can be located on those minerals reserved under the Stock Raising Homestead Act of 1916 (SRHA). The surface is fee, but the minerals are public domain. There are specific regulations governing the claiming of SRHA minerals - refer to the SRHA section.
United States citizens who have reached the age of discretion, under the law of the state of residence; or legal immigrants who have declared their intention to become a citizen; or a corporation organized under the laws of any state may locate a mining claim. The government considers a corporation the same as a U.S. citizen.
An agent may locate a mining claim on behalf of
a claimant.
A claimant may hold any number of claims or sites.
To record your mining claim, file with the BLM State Office:
If the Location Notice or Location Certificate is not received or postmarked within the 90-day filing period, the Notice or Certificate will not be accepted and will be returned to you without further action.
BLM does not require the claim information to be on any specific form, nor does BLM produce or distribute a form for such purpose. Local printing companies or stationery stores are typical sources for forms.
The form submitted to BLM must include:
A location map is required, if the legal description given can not be plotted onto a Master Title Plat.
Recordation fees for new claims:
All monies are due at the time of filing. (A claim will not be accepted unless the payment of the maintenance and locations fees is submitted; the service charge portion is a curable defect.)
The initial $125 maintenance fee is due for the assessment year in which the claim is located (not recorded). This fee is not prorated.
Upon meeting the filing requirements, each claim is assigned a serial number. After adjudication of the filing has been completed, the claimant will receive notification from BLM acknowledging the claim and its assigned serial number.
If a claimant requests a copy of the date stamped certificates of location, cost recovery fees apply (.13 per page).
For more information or to find the requirements for your state, please visit the Bureau of Land Management website .
Recommended Reading
Kim
Treasure Trips
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