I suspect every square inch of potential mining claims have been spoken for but on the off chance they might not, I have a few questions. Mostly I'm wondering about claims associated with rivers, streams, etc.
1) How does one go about seeing if there is a claim filed on a specific piece of land or river/stream bank?
2) Are "claims" seperate and apart from "mineral rights"? I ask that, because a lot of land sold doesn't include mineral rights. Someone else owns those in a lot of cases.
3) If there is a river crossing private lands, can someone file a claim on that part of the river that's not owned by the landowner (i.e. up to the bank)?
4) Any idea what percentage of river/stream banks are free of claims?
5) Is there any such thing as an area that is not claimable, but open to prospecting?
6) In the case of metal detecting, if someone happens to be detecting on public land, and finds a nugget, does that fall under any laws that requires them to turn it over to the feds? (i.e. much older than 50 years, which I think is the limit on some lands for what you can find).
7) Is metal detecting along creek/stream banks allowed regardless of who owns land, assuming no claims exist? I know there are navigable waters laws that permit some activity regardless.
8) In reading some of the laws on government land (like BLM), it seems suggest that it's ok to discover gold, silver, etc, using "casual" means, without requiring a "claim". So, say someone finds a large nugget, on such land, using a detector. Can the person just refuse to disclose where it's found? Or might you be forced to say where it was found?
9) Lastly, what is the best single source for finding "everything you wanted to know about claims"?
1) How does one go about seeing if there is a claim filed on a specific piece of land or river/stream bank?
2) Are "claims" seperate and apart from "mineral rights"? I ask that, because a lot of land sold doesn't include mineral rights. Someone else owns those in a lot of cases.
3) If there is a river crossing private lands, can someone file a claim on that part of the river that's not owned by the landowner (i.e. up to the bank)?
4) Any idea what percentage of river/stream banks are free of claims?
5) Is there any such thing as an area that is not claimable, but open to prospecting?
6) In the case of metal detecting, if someone happens to be detecting on public land, and finds a nugget, does that fall under any laws that requires them to turn it over to the feds? (i.e. much older than 50 years, which I think is the limit on some lands for what you can find).
7) Is metal detecting along creek/stream banks allowed regardless of who owns land, assuming no claims exist? I know there are navigable waters laws that permit some activity regardless.
8) In reading some of the laws on government land (like BLM), it seems suggest that it's ok to discover gold, silver, etc, using "casual" means, without requiring a "claim". So, say someone finds a large nugget, on such land, using a detector. Can the person just refuse to disclose where it's found? Or might you be forced to say where it was found?
9) Lastly, what is the best single source for finding "everything you wanted to know about claims"?
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