Best way to get/buy a mining claim in California?

[mellowyellow]

So I have been trying to buy a small placer claim in Northern Ca... near the gold country.. would love to be around Downieville, or N Yuba area. Even near El dorado would do. Bought a BLM book on location and validity of mining claim in CA book, but its not an easy read at all....

How do you buy a claim?? LOL Is there any open areas to claim anymore? Are there claims that are for sale privately? Are there claim available due to people not paying their claim fees? BLM is not alot of help when you ask them questions...



Thanks all...

MY

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[Fullpan]

That is an interesting post, for sure!! I've been following Rock Properties listing of N. Yuba claims just out of curiosity. Was your claim going to be upstream from Sierra City (near Bassetts Station)? If so, that area is just above good gold producing districts. I'm not saying there's no gold there, but its not worth what they're asking for the claim. If you are as hot to trot as i think you may be, I can tell you about a gulch dropping into the N. Yuba that
i'm showing abandened on my overlays. Ten years ago, while taking a break from my dredge camp, i prospected up this gulch and found a ten dollar nugget just laying on bedrock. Other good color in the pan. I always meant to check it out, but life and health got in the way. The two most important
things for you to do, is take a looksee at the gulch to see for yourself if there's any gold, and check for valid claim signs. Then go to the county recorders
office, preferably with someone who has experience in this, and find out if its locatable. You may find its just too far to commute from socal as there are
many areas just as good enroute. PM me if you want to talk.

[mellowyellow]

Yes, he offered me one if those claims near Sierra City, east if it, I believe.
Thanks for the heads up on the gulch, would love to talk to you about the location. PM you for sure.

I want to find something like a gulch /feeder and take samples..ect. Go to county office ect.. Only problem is I live very far away. 10 hours away. Another issue is will I be able to truly do this and file my own claim with my experience level in claim filing. Also, I don't get to on large prospecting trips up north to many times per year, so when I'm up there I want to spend the time prospecting not in the county office, completely lost trying to figure out what I'm doing, lol. But I guess I might have to learn and put in the time to get a decent little claim. Thanks for responding and will PM you soon!!

[Fullpan]

Another way to go, is to buy overlays of active mining claims. Then using BLM2000 get names and addresses of long-time claimholders (pre-1990's as there is too much hanky-pank going on since then) and write these guys personal letters, asking for an opportunity to lease their claim with option to
buy, after a season. If you contact enough claimowners, you'll eventually come up with an old fart(like me) who never attempted to work the banks.
He would just suck the gut of his claim year after year with a dredge.

[mellowyellow]

Where do you buy these overlays? I bought a bunch of maps from BLM, but they just show the land.. If its USFF, BLM, or private..ect..

I have heard about this BLM 2000, going to look into it. I assume with these new BLM fees and the economy, there are goin to a few folks dropping there claim/claims... Who knows. I want a claim!! LOL

[Hoser John]

Nuttn' but sham skam flim flams abound everywhere as the get rich crows sell noobs worthless garbage they don't even own-no yaaa on this post. Slow down and claim your own,reread that book till ya know whatzup. Get your cash back and sue them sobs till death do ye part-god I hate thieves-John

[mellowyellow]

Nuttn' but sham skam flim flams abound everywhere as the get rich crows sell noobs worthless garbage they don't even own-no yaaa on this post. Slow down and claim your own,reread that book till ya know whatzup. Get your cash back and sue them sobs till death do ye part-god I hate thieves-John

Maybe you have a good point. I seem to get into problems sometimes, when I am super fired up over something and not real sure of what I am doing. When it comes to buyin a claim and locating on my own... I prob should slow down and figure it out before I get railed again eh! Thanks for the harsh truth.

[Fullpan]

John is right, if you go through commercial middle men like Rock Properties or Ebay, there's a 90% chance of getting screwed. All i'm saying is there are
over 20,000 valid mining claims in calif. I know personally that some of these carry decent values on gravel bars where the owner only dredged his claim.
Some of these claimowners live in places like Florida and Pennsylvania, and in the past have used vacation time to dredge their properties. If you are patient enough to deal directly with them something good may come out of it. BLMLR2000, although not always accurate provides a window to names,
addresses, dates of original location of claims(ex. Golden Nugget #2 - Date of loc. Sep. 28, 1979).

[mellowyellow]

This I what I want to find out. You said there are tons of avail claims in CA. Now how do I find out where and what they are? The BLM2000 is the way to find this information? Thank you sir

[stefen]

Interesting subject...so I did a little internet wondering and came up with a number of brokerages such as Some Of The Highest Quality Unpatented Gold Mining Claims Offered On Today's Market - High-Grade Gold Mining Claims For Sale

The above site provides a wealth of information...this may be useful in establishing a profitable region.

Not sure if they are subject to the Real Estate laws of California (and other states), but if they are, the chances of finding a site may be increased a thousand-fold.

[StevenHavillJr]

Download and Install Google Earth and find some overlays for it, those should help you in finding a location. I have overlays that show closed and open mine claims as well as another that shows older mines and what they were mined for. Hope this helps!

[mellowyellow]

Thank you... I know now what overlays are, LOL Ok, so i assume you pay for these over lays? Guess I will just google "mining overlays" see wut happens. Thanks again.

[mellowyellow]

Thats interesting...did not know you can lease a claim for a week, LOL A bit pricey, but if u hit a winning hole, your all good. Think I would rather put the cash toward my own claim. Thanks !

[Fullpan]

I use Gold Maps Online: Gold Panning Maps About 20 dollars for calif overlays

[Gravel Hog]

I use Gold Maps Online: Gold Panning Maps About 20 dollars for calif overlays

Don't waste your money! Accurancy is not there, and never will be comes down to the core BLM data and we all know how that goes.

Lot's of ways to get your money but all the same, shady mining of miners. Seen it for over 40 years goes all the way back to the Gold Rush days. None worse than the Klamath fun fun club.

Do the footwork, County Recorder, BLM, and yes hike in and check it out. Get out the maps and the hiking boots. Only Viable Method to be sure.

[mellowyellow]

Where do you start! I live so far from the area I want to have a possible claim.. Going to take alot of trips just to get the loacation claimed..guess thats just what you have to do eh.. thank you..

[Fullpan]

This stuff ain't easy(or everybody would be doin it,right?) Suggest you read Hefty's thread "USFS steals miners property". Even the USFS got the location
of Heftys claim wrong, and notified the wrong party of their intention to confiscate his gear. I see you have already invested a chunk of money(highbanker,
etc.) If you spend the coming winter researching likely places within driving distance and satisfy yourself with local outings, you'll be the better for it come
next season. the gold will remain.

[Hefty1]

[QUOTE=Fullpan;2963774]This stuff ain't easy(or everybody would be doin it,right?) Suggest you read Hefty's thread "USFS steals miners property". Even the USFS got the location
of Heftys claim wrong, and notified the wrong party of their intention to confiscate his gear.

Fullpan...USFS just did not do their job,(Lazy) and used the only guy (next claim to me) that had a POO as an excuse. My location has always been with the USFS. And they know it. Now.

[Hefty1]

Where do you start! I live so far from the area I want to have a possible claim.. Going to take alot of trips just to get the loacation claimed..guess thats just what you have to do eh.. thank you..

First determine what county or area you want to have a claim in.
This will determine which BLM you will need to go to.

[mellowyellow]

Either el dorado national forest or by north Yuba area close to Downieville. I know this much, and that's all I know, lol.

Is there any open land or claims still? Who knows