A BUYERS GUIDE... WHAT TO LOOK FOR WHEN BUYING A MINING CLAIM - A professional explanation in simple terms. This information concerns unpatented placer mining claims (only).

WHAT TO LOOK FOR IF YOU'RE THINKING OF BUYING A MINING CLAIM

Unscrupulous sellers will try to sell you unpatented property they don't even own. At the time of locating, Claimants of unpatented property need to file their notice with the County and with the BLM...

1) Any unpatented placer mining claim - recorded with the appropriate county Recorder - will have an "instrument" number. It's a number the county Recorder stamps on the original Location Notice at the time of recording.

2) Any unpatented placer mining claim recorded with the appropriate State office of the BLM will have a BLM mining claim (MC) serial number. For instance, CAMC for California, ORMC for Oregon, etc..

Ask for both. Any legitimate owner - should be able to provide you with both. They should be able to provide you with the BLM telephone number so you can verify the information, too. If they can't ( or won't) - BEWARE.

To insure a placer claim is situated on public domain land - open to mineral entry - request the seller provide you with a legible copy of the official BLM MASTER TITLE PLAT (MTP) of the applicable Township, Range & Section(s), with the claim boundary clearly depicted on it. An MTP is the official federal record of land status. It will stand up in court as fact, as nothing else will.

Often placer claims are staked by the inexperienced, doing so with nothing more than National Forest and/or a topographic map - in hand. Novices often make the mistaken assumption that simply because land is situated within a National Forest, that it is open to mineral entry. National Forest maps depict lands under the jurisdiction of the USFS. They do not depict many types of various reservations, proposed withdrawals, existing withdrawals, proposed land exchanges, lands conveyed back to the USFS - without mineral rights, municipal watersheds, or any other lands - not open to mineral entry. A BLM MTP shows all lands withdrawn from -or open to mineral entry.

The type of mining claim is critical. Because a "placer" claim grants you the exclusive rights to placer minerals - only. A "Lode" claim grants you the exclusive rights to lode minerals - only. The two types of claims are distinctly different, as well as located and described differently.

Novices selling a placer property often describe the property as containing, prospect pits, open cuts, trenches, tunnels and shafts on veins, lodes or ledges of solid rock. Meaning - they are "lode" deposits.

"A placer discovery will not sustain a lode location, nor a lode discovery a placer location." Cole v. Ralph, 1920, 40 S.Ct. 321, 252 U.S. 286, 64 L.Ed. 567.

How a placer mining claim is described, is critical. Because, if it is described incorrectly, that may be a fatal defect.

~With rare exception, all placer claims on surveyed lands must be described by aliquot part legal description.

~On unsurveyed lands, mining claims must be described by a metes and bounds description.

~On surveyed lands, a rare exception that may justify a metes & bounds description is certain types of placer deposits (radically meandering bench & gulch deposits), that are not practical to locate by aliquot part legal description, because in doing so, it would force the claimant to include excessive non-mineral land, as each 10-acre aliquot part of a placer claim must be mineral-in-character, in order to be valid.

Novices often have neither the expertise to correctly survey and measure a true metes and bounds described claim, nor actually do so, by placing any, or every corner in its correct position in mountainous terrain.

Metes and bounds means a method of describing a parcel of land that does not conform to the rectangular U.S. Public Land Survey System, using compass bearings and distances from a known point to a specified point on the parcel and then by using a continuous and sequential set of compass bearings and distances beginning at the point of beginning, continuing along and between the corners or boundary markers of the parcel's outer perimeter, until returning to the point of beginning.

The most common blunder novice claim locators make, when attempting to utilize a metes and bounds description is this; Suppose a placer gold bearing small river channel meanders northerly in a 180 degree horse shoe shaped curve, over a half mile distance. The novice then describes the claim - supposedly - covering that whole gold bearing river channel gravel deposit as;

Beginning at post #1, thence 400 feet southerly across the river to Post #2, thence following the curve of the river - 2640 feet to Post #3, thence 400 northerly across the river to Post #4, thence following the curve of the river 2640 feet back to Post #1, the place of beginning.

Bear in mind that, a legitimate "compass bearing" is by three hundred sixty (360) "degree's" (azimuth), normally split into ninety (90) degree quadrants (90° from north to east, 90° from east to south, 90° from south to west, and 90° from west back to north. Today, azimuths are often stated in terms of 360°, the full circle of the compass rather than quadrants. A modern statement of the azimuth of "S 70° W" would be 250°; degrees are always counted in a clockwise direction from compass north.

To the experienced eye, the obvious defects are that "southerly - northerly" are not actual compass bearings. Nor is "following the curve of the river - 2640 feet", a continuous and sequential set of compass bearings and distances. Moreover, because the existing posts define the lands inside the claims boundaries, one need only draw straight lines between all 4 posts (described above), and you will instantly see, 90+ % of the river channel is not between them.

Beware of placer claims supposedly described by metes and bounds descriptions, or any that are described as odd shapes (snow flake, horse shoe or triangular shaped, for instance)

The size of a placer mining claim is important. It will also clearly demonstrate the expertise of the locator. Each 10-acre aliquot part of a placer claim must be mineral-in-character. Mineral-in-character means land that is known, or can reasonably be inferred from the available geologic evidence, to contain valuable minerals subject to location under the general mining law for purpose of locating a placer mining claim.

For instance, large placer claims (160 acres, for example) that a topographic map, photographs or on-site inspection clearly shows contains only 40 acres of placer gold bearing stream, or river channel, should only be a 40 acre placer claim. Because the excess ground is not placer type mineral-in-character.

Don't let anyone try to convince you that the claim(s) large size makes it more valuable, when in fact - it is NOT. If the bulk of the property is not mineral-in-character, the non-mineral excess land adds no value to a placer mining claim, and could one day subject the owner to a "validity contest", by the BLM, or USFS.

High quality - accurate USGS topographic type maps of the claim are important. Obviously, one can assume that a locator, or seller of a placer claim, who cannot accurately depict, draft, or map the precise boundaries of a placer claim, is a novice.

Accurate mapping will also graphically display if the claim is properly described, by simple - quick compression of the properties legal description, to the map of the claims boundaries. The quality of the map(s) depicting the claim, reflect directly on the quality of the claims title.

The factual placer gold production history of the specific area where the placer claim is situated, as well as the source(s) of the gold, and mining methods historically used to recover it, is important. Truly, gold is where you find it. However, normally placer claims situated far from known sources of gold, without any historically documented history of placer gold production lessen the chance that economic deposits of placer gold will be found, or exist there. Novices, or unscrupulous people may stake placer claims that are nothing more than "goat pasture".

For a placer mining claim to be valid, perfecting, and vesting the owners valid existing private property rights, it must contain a valid mineral discovery.

If it does not, should the validity of the claim ever be contested by the agency (BLM -or- USFS) having administrative jurisdiction over the land, generally they will have little or no difficulty in quickly determining that the claim contains no valid mineral discovery, and consequently declare it void.

Visible geologic evidence of a "placer" type deposit is important. Generally, the bulk of placer gold deposits are contained in alluvial gravel's (tertiary, bench, gulch, bar, stream or river bed deposits). If the claim you are thinking of purchasing doesn't have this geologic evidence beware, and... don't let any extremely rich history of production in a specific area mislead you either. Just because a Bonanza fortune has been found in one location doesn't necessarily mean that if you have a claim a mile away it will be as productive. Novices and unscrupulous people will sometimes try to sell you a worthless claim based on the production of another historic producer close by. Ask them to show you the gold they've found on the perspective claim - Ask them too, for a demonstration of how you can find gold on it.

If you are unable to physically inspect the particular placer claim, prior to it's sale, detailed photographs of it are important. Obviously, photographs of the claim depict what is there. Ask for photographs of the claims boundary markers or monument, too. If none can be provided, it is safe to assume the claim is not marked (as in - paper staked). Paper staked mining claims are fraudulent.

Other photo's of the claim should depict the quality of road access, campsites, streams, rivers, gravel deposits, bedrock exposures and general topography of the claim. The availability, and quality of those photographs graphically demonstrates the quality of the property.

The availability of adequate sources of water is extremely important.

Few realize, no dry washing plant has ever been invented, nor exists that will economically - or - effectively process large volumes of gold bearing sand, or gravel.

As an example, a relatively good placer (pay streak) would contain at least $25+ per yard in recoverable gold. On a claim without water, a little back pack dry washer will process about five -5 gallon buckets full in a shift. A 5 gallon bucket contains about 1.5 cubic feet of material. A yard contains 27 cubic feet of material. You do the math.

To impress that point upon you, Nevada is this countries largest lode type gold producer. Gold placer deposits exist near almost all lode gold mining districts in Nevada. Nevada's history of placer gold production is extremely meager in comparison to other states - where water is available, or plentiful.

Without a close adequate source, or existing on site supply of water, mining placer deposits is not generally economically feasible. Gold rush and depression era placer gold miners were smart. Common sense dictates they would mine out every single economic placer gold deposit they found, if it was within their means. Without water, they could not economically mine literally thousands of placer gold deposits, known to exist in arid, or desert-like states, where adequate water is not readily available.

Beware of those who primarily focus on the recreational attributes of a placer mining claim. You can "recreate" on most BLM lands and in any National Forest - for free - except in fee camp grounds. There is no such thing as a "recreational" unpatented placer mining claim. It is either "valid", or not. In order for it to be "valid" it must be properly staked, filed, contain a "valid mineral discovery" and be properly maintained.

Recreational attributes do not establish the mining claims good title or validity.

A placer mining claim without defects, is easy to manage, and maintain. The caveat being, a placer mining claim with defects - which are sometimes correctable, and sometimes not, may become a nightmare to manage, and sometimes impossible to maintain. Utilize common sense, perform due diligence, ask intelligent questions. If the seller can answer them in a professional manner, providing you with whatever is necessary to validate the legitimacy of title to the unpatented placer mining claim offered for sale, it's title is probably good. If the seller cannot do so, his title may be defective, or invalid. You are the one that must decide. Do so - wisely. A "valid" placer mining claim is a true treasure, to be enjoyed & worked for generations to come.

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS TO LOOK FOR

Prospecting for gold is an activity that can really pay dividends. When it is found in nature it can be pure, 24 karat. Since gold does not oxidize, its color makes it easily identifiable.

Where is the Gold?

Gold can be found in many areas. Streams are commonly associated with the finding of gold. This gold is known as placer gold. This means that the gold has been weathered away from its source, literally the mother of the smaller fragments. It is the finding of placer gold that can create a trail to the mother lode or source. Streams are an excellent place to look because of several factors:

1. A stream passes through many miles of possibly gold laden minerals.

2. The density of gold (10 times as much as common sand) allows it to be deposited in special places in or adjacent to the stream area. These places are commonly known as "pay streaks".

3. Spring floods will redeposit gold to provide a new supply annually.

4. It is a cool place to spend a summer afternoon.

5. The kids will love a frolic in the water while you can prospect for gold.

6. There is a variety of other natural things to enjoy while you unwind.

7. Roads commonly pass along streams and river paths creating ample opportunity to prospect.

8. The placer gold that is located will sometimes form a trail to the location of higher quantities of gold and its source, the mother lode.

Which Streams contain gold?

Generally speaking, streams that are most likely to contain gold must have four characteristics.

1. They should be unregulated (not dammed).

2. They should be in a mineral rich area

3. They should fall through enough elevation to cause sufficient churning in the spring flood

4. Stream path and rock formations facilitate the deposition of the dense materials (gold, platinum, lead, iron, etc.)

Where to look for gold...

Gravel bars usually found on the inside of the river bends. Although the gold here is mostly small flakes to very fine, you can also find some mighty nice sized nuggets lodged in these low-pressure areas.

Where the stream levels out after a steeper part such as downstream of rapids or waterfalls.

Newly formed gravel bars.

Small streaks of gravel laying on the bedrock but you will need some sort of sucker to retrieve it if it is underwater.

Down stream sides of large boulders and other obstacles which because of size or other factors appear to have been there for a long time.

Pot holes in the bedrock.

Cracks in the bedrock. Look for lines of moss running along the bedrock, too. There is almost always a small crack under the moss and these cracks can contain a surprising amount of gold.

The high benches. As a stream cuts deeper into a canyon, it can leave patches of gravel high on the canyon wall. These are called benches. Look for round or rounded rocks well above the present high water level. Round or rounded rocks have lived in a river at some time in their lives.

Look for gold where it has been found before. Doing research in off-peak season times is an excellent way to increase the odds of finding gold the first time out. There is no sense in wasting time looking for gold in an area that is NOT known for having any gold.

In rivers, gold will concentrate in areas where the water pressure decreases. But, gold moves when the water pressure is high. Therefore, imagine what the water flow would look like AT FLOOD STAGE, then look for areas where the water pressure would decrease. Typical areas would be in front of large boulders, on the insides of curves, along the banks, etc.

Look for areas where bedrock is shallow, and look for areas that will trap gold; cracks, rough or broken bedrock, and large boulders. Always look for places that would have decreased water pressure at flood stage.

To find areas of shallower bedrock (compared to other areas of the river) when exposed bedrock cannot be seen, look up both sides of the canyon for exposed rock jutting out from the surrounding terrain directly across from each other. Draw an imaginary line down one side and up the other, joining the two outcroppings. . Where this line crosses the river is the area of shallowest bedrock.

The "down stream" side of rocks and boulders are where gold will settle out of the current and is a good spot to dig for color.

What is bedrock? and why does there always seem to be a relation to it, with finding gold?

Bedrock is the general term for consolidated (solid) rock that underlies soils or other unconsolidated material or... the solid rock that underlies all soil, sand, clay, gravel and loose material on the earth's surface.

Gold is extremely heavy, six or seven times heavier than rock, and, therefore, it settles down, on the bottom. The key word here is down. Gold's excessive weight forces it down-downhill, downstream, down into the sands and gravel, down into bedrock cracks and crevices, and down in your sluice box or gold pan. Gold is assisted in its downward movement by wind, rain, earth tremor, rockslide and agitation. Once gold settles on the creek bed, it will sift downward through the lighter sand and gravel. Because of its weight, it will continue to sink until it reaches bedrock, where it will become trapped in crevices and holes. Any exposed bedrock, no matter how high up, or how deep in the river, is always a good prospect for finding placer gold.

Ancient streambeds / river channels...

The Ancient Rivers of Gold in northern California are from the Tertiary Period. The Tertiary rivers existed millions of years ago and many of them had large quantities of gold within their gravels. Because of that, they are known as the "Ancient Rivers of Gold."

Over the tens of thousands of years that lodes were being broken up and deposited in streams, the entire topography of the surrounding area was changing. Massive landslides and titanic upheavals frequently dammed up rivers and streams, forcing the water to find alternate routes. When this happened, the former streambeds were left high and dry, and these often contained much-concentrated gold.

Geologists have argued that most of the gold in today's river systems is not gold that has eroded more recently from lode deposits, but gold that was eroded out of the old ancient riverbeds where they have been crossed by the present river systems. The ancient channels, where they have been discovered and mined, have often proven to be extremely rich in gold deposits. In fact, many of the richest bonanzas that have been found in today's river systems have been discovered directly downstream from where they have crossed the rich ancient streambed gravels.

So, always be on the lookout for signs of an ancient or dried-up streambed, as it could produce gold beyond your wildest dreams. In fact, if a major new placer discovery were to be found today, it undoubtedly would occur in an ancient, riverbed!

WHAT A "VALID" PLACER MINING CLAIM IS

An Unpatented Mining Claim Buyer's Guide. A professional explanation in simple terms. This information concerns unpatented placer mining claims (only).

The largest initial possibility for a GROSS MISUNDERSTANDING is that a potential unpatented mining claim buyer thinks that the land, timber, and whatever else the property contains is being sold, along with the full bundle of private property rights normally associated with most other types of real estate. THAT IS NOT TRUE - PLEASE READ ON.

Do not buy an unpatented placer mining claim - if you think - or are being led to believe - you are buying fee simple private property, with the right to build a vacation cabin, home, lodge, ranch, farm, church or commune on it ---because -- you are either mistaken, being mislead or lied to.

Common sense dictates that no seller in their right mind, would ever offer a large acreage of readily accessible, scenic desert, beautiful forest, or mountain meadow fee simple land, containing year around streams or river frontage for an absurdly low price. Moreover, if the land is heavily timbered, the timber alone could be worth ten's, if not several hundred thousand dollars.

Likewise, if the property were indeed normal (fee simple) real estate, the seller would be foolish not to subdivide it into much smaller tracts, and offer those individually through a local Realtor, at much higher per parcel prices. No sane person - would sell you a fee simple property, possibly worth a ¼ million dollars, for the price of a used car. These obvious facts should loudly warn you to inquire, research, perform due diligence, and clarify exactly what it is -- being offered for sale.

The second largest potential for gross misunderstanding about unpatented placer mining claims, is what makes one VALID. A placer mining claim, as a matter of public record can be located, recorded & fully maintained, yet be INVALID. Mining claim invalidity can occur by any number of means, an inexperienced person would not see, nor even know.

The purpose of U.S. Mining law is to allow a claimant who has discovered an applicable mineral, on lands open to mineral entry, to acquire, mine & patent it. The initial KEY factor being - that a discovery of valuable mineral deposit exists within the claim. Because, if one does not, the mining claim is INVALID. On a placer gold claim, at the very least the locator must show a discovery of gold, that is worth the effort to develop and mine, by any permissible means, to eventually produce a profit. That is called "The prudent man test". Meaning a "prudent man" would not invest his time, labor, or capital attempting to develop a mineral deposit that could never be profitable.

The next test is called a "marketability test". Meaning, if you do produce a mineral, is there a market and can the mineral be sold at a profit? Obviously, if one can produce an ounce of gold, below market price, a profit potential exists. Assuming all else is in proper order, if a placer mining claim can pass a "Prudent Man" and "Marketability" Test, the placer claim contains a "valid mineral discovery", meaning - on it's face, it is VALID.

A valid unpatented placer mining claim is both real estate and private property, with Constitutionally protected title and rights conveyed by recorded deed. Ownership does not carry the full bundle of rights generally associated with most other real estate. However, it carries a good part of that private property "bundle of rights", IF IN FACT the unpatented placer mining claim is VALID.

In law, the word "claim" in connection with the phrase "mining claim", with properly maintained title represents a recognized right in real property, in both state and federal courts. The Supreme Court has established that a mining "claim" is not a claim in the ordinary sense of the word--a mere assertion of a right--but rather is a private property interest, which is itself real property in every sense, and not merely an assertion of a right to property.

A valid unpatented mining claim is a tract of public domain land (unappropriated, unreserved & not segregated or withdrawn for other purposes), of a certain size that is open to mineral entry (under Federal mining laws and applicable State law), on which a discovery of an appropriate valuable mineral has been made, (usually placer gold in alluvial gravel), on which a person, or persons have filed and maintain a claim and own certain private property rights to - it.

A placer gold claim may only be located over river sands or gravel's bearing gold or valuable minerals hosted in soils, alluvium (deposited by water), eluvium (deposited by wind), colluvium (deposited by gravity), talus, or other rock not in its original place.

Each 10-acre aliquot part of a placer claim must be mineral-in-character.

The locator, sometimes called a claimant, (who must be a U.S. citizen, or person sworn to become one, in order to initiate one) monuments (stakes) the property, files (for a fee) a location notice containing the claim name, acreage, legal description, location date & claimant(s) of the property with the applicable county recorder (to comply with state law), then (for a fee) records a copy of that location notice, along with a map with the appropriate BLM State Office (to comply with Federal Law).

The area within a placer claim must be described in the location notice in one of two ways; Either by the aliquot part legal description, or by a metes & bounds description. In either case, it is mandatory that the tract of land described, be as compact in form, and conform as near as practical to the rectangular system of U. S. land surveys.

Placer claims range in size from under 20 to a maximum of 160 acres. The law provides that a single person (locator) may claim up to 20 acres, two locators in association with one another may claim up to 40 acres, so on and so forth up to 8 locators claiming a maximum of 160 acres.

Generally, with most association type placer claims, one locator acts as the "agent" for the remainder of the locators. An association type placer claim, regardless of size, is a single claim.

Only one "discovery" of a valuable mineral is required within the boundaries of any size placer claim, so long as the remainder of the land within it is "mineral in character". No private property rights "vest" in the claimant(s), if a claim does not contain a valid mineral discovery.

Once the placer claim is properly initiated, staked and filed with applicable agencies, it must be maintained on an annual basis. That is done in one of two ways, and proof it is properly maintained must be filed with the applicable State office of the BLM on or before 12 Noon - September 1 - of each year

The owner(s) may perform no less than $100 worth of annual labor, or improvements on the claim itself (under a "Small Miners Exemption" - meaning - the owner of ten claims, or less). Or, alternatively, simply pay the BLM an annual maintenance fee. The BLM annual maintenance fee is $125.

If the owner(s) fail to punctually file proof of annual labor, or do not pay the annual maintenance fee to the BLM, on or before September 1, the claim is instantly void (as though it never existed) - by operation of law, after September 1. "By Operation of Law" means that you do not get warning, notice, nor proceedings (with rare exception), because it is the owners obligation to know the law, and comply with it.