Prospectors Research Tools

[Clay Diggins]

Prospector's Research Tools

I haven't been around much this summer and with the desert prospecting season just starting it's a good time to show off what I did this long hot summer. I have been working with a few friends on a new non-profit organization to give you a single place for all your land research.

The result is MyLandMatters.Org. This is the gateway to your land information repository. Maps, books, tutorials, community resources and quality, easy-to-access information about the land around you.

No ads, No memberships, No log-in required.

This past spring while sitting around with some friends we came to the conclusion that most of the important and useful things that we want to know about the land around us was difficult to locate and tough to understand. Despite the many sources of information there was no single place to find the information available.

We decided we could do something about that. We agreed to put our time and energy into creating a single place that anyone could find the answers to questions about the land.

It's a big project. It has taken a lot of work, learning and resources to get things started. But after six months of long days, and more than a few nights, the Land Matters repository is ready for you to use.

Land Matters is all about the land. You can find Land Status Maps, Active Mining Claims Maps (with live direct links into the current LR2000 claims database), A great collection of mining books, Land Laws, Geology books and maps, Forest Travel Plans and a whole lot more.

Land Matters is for land users. Our collections are guided by community input. That's you. Let us know what kind of material you would like to find in our Library or a particular map you would like to see. Help us build Land Matters to best serve the community.

We've already got a lot of things that prospectors have been asking for - the claims maps alone were almost universally requested. Land Matters isn't just for prospectors and miners. But you can help prioritize our efforts and drive the content of Land Matters. Prospectors now have a unique opportunity to help guide and build an information resource designed by prospectors and for prospectors.

We are just getting started filling the Library but there will be hundreds of books, maps and items added in the next few weeks. We've even got a Newsletter so you can get regular updates about new additions to the Land Matters repository.

Check it out and let me know what you think. Here are a few good places to start:

Tutorials - the current focus is on understanding Land Status.
Maps - We all like maps and we've got some you will love.
Library - search for something.

Heavy Pans
Barry & Leigh

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

Treasure of Victoria Peak - Grab it through Amazon!

[Jeff95531]

Two things Barry. I tried to subscribe to the news letter and got "Too many subscribe attempts for this email address. Please try again in about 5 minutes. (#8736)"

Other thing I can't find the CA DVD that you had for sale. Is it still available or could it already be outdated by the work done this year?

"Another map set we are eager to bring to the public is the subsurface (mineral) ownership maps. It's a little known fact that there are about 200 million acres of claimable land not in the Federally managed public lands. Once we complete that map prospectors will have a world of new opportunities open to them."
Can't wait!

Thanks for everything you have provided to us. My income is so small CA and the Feds almost apologize to me for making me file taxes...until I ask for benefits then they say I have too much

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

Cry Of The Eagle: History And Legends Of The Cherokee Indians And Their Buried Treasure - Grab it through Amazon!

[Clay Diggins]

Two things Barry. I tried to subscribe to the news letter and got "Too many subscribe attempts for this email address. Please try again in about 5 minutes. (#8736)"

Other thing I can't find the CA DVD that you had for sale. Is it still available or could it already be outdated by the work done this year?

"Another map set we are eager to bring to the public is the subsurface (mineral) ownership maps. It's a little known fact that there are about 200 million acres of claimable land not in the Federally managed public lands. Once we complete that map prospectors will have a world of new opportunities open to them."
Can't wait!

Thanks for everything you have provided to us. My income is so small CA and the Feds almost apologize to me for making me file taxes...until I ask for benefits then they say I have too much

You are welcome Jeff.

You have an income? All of mine is outgoing!

I just tried the newsletter form and it seems to be working fine? You should receive an email to confirm your subscription.

You can still get the California Treasures DVD HERE.

Heavy Pans

 

[Jeff95531]

Still got the error message. I pm'd you

 

[Jeff95531]

I found the problem. I was using chrome auto-fill and it didn't like it. Everything typed in manually took care of it.

 

[chlsbrns]

Anyone ever check this site out?

Virtual Prospector

Newly updated layers include:
Historic Topos and Maps
BLM Land Ownership Map
International Gold Locations
State Placer Gold Locations
All completely free!

Virtual Prospector « USminer ? Placer Gold Maps and Gold Prospecting Tutorials

 

[Clay Diggins]

Anyone ever check this site out?

Virtual Prospector

Newly updated layers include:
Historic Topos and Maps
BLM Land Ownership Map
International Gold Locations
State Placer Gold Locations
All completely free!

Virtual Prospector « USminer ? Placer Gold Maps and Gold Prospecting Tutorials

I'm very familiar with Virtual Prospector.

Way back in 2009 I created the Gold Atlas to help miners do their research. The Gold Atlas was a free Google Earth map set that included the features of Virtual Prospector plus some goodies like current active mining claims and geology.

The Gold Atlas was a huge success and was copied by many others. Google Earth map links are easily copied and reused in other projects. The Virtual Prospector showed up about that time along with several other copies of the Gold Atlas. Most of those are gone now.

I finally killed the last of the Gold Atlas project just last month, I had only kept it active so new Google Earth users could learn to create their own custom Google Earth maps. With the lack of useful map layers available and the poor accuracy of Google Earth itself I felt that the usefulness of these GE maps had run it's course and the right thing to do was to bury the dead code.

The problems with using the government streaming layers to create a map, as the Gold Atlas did and the Virtual Prospector does, is unreliability and inaccuracy. The data is ancient from those servers and often incorrect. Many of the those map layers depend on government servers that frequently are out of commission resulting in the frustrating big red X after a long wait.

After April 14, 2011 when the BLM began removing virtually all the useful or informative map layers including Mining Claims and mineral leases the Gold Atlas and all it's copies became less than helpful. My work and many others went down the tubes in a matter of days in the spring of 2011.

Many think if it's a free then the inaccuracy, unreliability and lack of current information is acceptable. I found that incorrect land status maps were causing problems on the ground. The lack of educational materials in the Google Earth format was causing some users to believe the information presented could be relied on to prospect or challenge land owners on their property lines. Obviously something better, more accurate and more reliable was needed.

And now you find yourself on this Land Matters thread. Land Matters is the constantly evolving result of the lack of good usable tools in the Google Earth format. It's taken a he77 of a lot of work and money to bring accurate reliable mapping information to the internet but Land Matters has done so and will continue to.

If you find Virtual Prospector useful please enjoy the Google Earth entertainment experience. When you are ready to move up into the realm of advanced land research you might give the subject of this thread a try. Land Matters really is a huge step up in quality, quantity and accuracy from the Google Earth offering. I can say this with confidence because I wrote the code for both.

Heavy Pans

 

[delnorter]

Amen Barry,

It was my pleasure to just donate a little more to the effort.

Thanks,
Mike

 

[Clay Diggins]

Thank you very much Mike. You have been a great supporter of Land Matters and better land information.

Without donors like Mike prospectors would still be fumbling around with the LR2000 and the General Land Office or worse yet calling the BLM for information. Every little bit does make a difference.

Heavy Pans

 

[okbasspro]

Some $$$$ on the way Clay

 

[Clay Diggins]

Some $$$$ on the way Clay

Thanks okbasspro! You've been a consistent supporter of Land Matters from the beginning.

For those of you who don't know Jeff he's always been willing to help bring this information to the public. He's sponsored the Oklahoma Geology Map since the early days of Land Matters. Jeff's generosity has enabled other users to go directly to the map without needing to load another page or click through the splash screen.

Jeff is also a major miner. Maybe someday Jeff will share some pictures of the great gold he gets from Oklahoma - a State most miners wouldn't even think could produce ounces of gold from it's rivers. Quite the skill!

Let me know when you will be on your Arizona claims Jeff and we will meet up for pie and a good BS session. I'm eager to meet the man that gets Oklahoma Gold.

Heavy Pans

p.s. Just got back from an out of country trip and will have the info you were looking for soon.

 

[okbasspro]

Thanks okbasspro! You've been a consistent supporter of Land Matters from the beginning. For those of you who don't know Jeff he's always been willing to help bring this information to the public. He's sponsored the Oklahoma Geology Map since the early days of Land Matters. Jeff's generosity has enabled other users to go directly to the map without needing to load another page or click through the splash screen. Jeff is also a major miner. Maybe someday Jeff will share some pictures of the great gold he gets from Oklahoma - a State most miners wouldn't even think could produce ounces of gold from it's rivers. Quite the skill! Let me know when you will be on your Arizona claims Jeff and we will meet up for pie and a good BS session. I'm eager to meet the man that gets Oklahoma Gold. Heavy Pans p.s. Just got back from an out of country trip and will have the info you were looking for soon.

The least I can do. LANDMATTERS is a tremendous tool in my arsenal.

 

[goldenIrishman]

Tonight is our monthly meeting for Mohave Prospectors Assoc. so I will of course be letting everyone know about the site. Snowbirds are starting to arrive for the winter so the meetings will be getting a lot more crowded.

 

[Clay Diggins]

Tonight is our monthly meeting for Mohave Prospectors Assoc. so I will of course be letting everyone know about the site. Snowbirds are starting to arrive for the winter so the meetings will be getting a lot more crowded.

Thanks Jeff. It's a good thing to share Land Matters with prospectors.

I'm always surprised when I meet prospectors that haven't discovered Land Matters. Our server is very busy, we've served up more than 32 Gb of books, videos and maps just so far today! Even so I guess there are a lot more land users out there that just haven't heard yet. Thanks for spreading the word!

Heavy Pans

Barry

 

[Clay Diggins]

Mining Claims Maps Updated to September 15, 2015!

The Mining Claims Maps have been updated to September 15, 2015.

Not many changes this time. The BLM is moving slow this year. We are working on some new features for the Land Matters Mining Claims Maps including getting daily updates! All of this is taking a lot time (months) but it feels like we are close to cracking that nut.

We will be introducing a series of Mining Claims statistics this Federal Mining year and should have the first of the charts for you in the next week or two.

Heavy Pans

 

[goldenIrishman]

The Mining Claims Maps have been updated to September 15, 2015.

Not many changes this time. The BLM is moving slow this year. We are working on some new features for the Land Matters Mining Claims Maps including getting daily updates! All of this is taking a lot time (months) but it feels like we are close to cracking that nut.

We will be introducing a series of Mining Claims statistics this Federal Mining year and should have the first of the charts for you in the next week or two.

Heavy Pans

Cool Clay! Now I can check the rest of those downsized claims we talked about earlier. I'll check it all out as soon as I get back from the MPA claim this afternoon. Daily updates will be a great feature.

"The BLM is moving slow this year"? LOL When have they EVER moved quick? From what I've been seeing while researching those downsized claims a pack of snails would be faster.

 

[goldenIrishman]

Hey Clay... While doing research on the Arizona mining claims map I noticed that there is some strangeness happening on the site since the last update. When I activate the information button to see what claims are in a quardant, everything is listed twice in the results window. It goes through the list and then repeats itself. I've checked both listings for several claims on the LR2000 and gotten the same information back on each of them. I don't know if this is something planned or not but I thought I should bring it to your attention. Haven't checked any of the other state maps to see if it's happening on them as well.

 

[Clay Diggins]

Hey Clay... While doing research on the Arizona mining claims map I noticed that there is some strangeness happening on the site since the last update. When I activate the information button to see what claims are in a quardant, everything is listed twice in the results window. It goes through the list and then repeats itself. I've checked both listings for several claims on the LR2000 and gotten the same information back on each of them. I don't know if this is something planned or not but I thought I should bring it to your attention. Haven't checked any of the other state maps to see if it's happening on them as well.

Thanks for the heads up Jeff! It's fixed now.

Been on the road for a few days, got a lot of catching up to do. The mining claims doubling was only on Arizona. Now to tackle this pile of emails and PMs...

Heavy Pans

 

[goldenIrishman]

This unworthy one lives but to serve Sensi Diggins.... Ahhhh WHAT am I talking about here? I just didn't like having to figure out where the list started repeating is all!!!

 

[Clay Diggins]

October 1st 2015 Mining Claims update!

The Land Matters Mining Claims Maps have been updated!

Not many changes this time. The BLM is still dragging their feet on claims updates. This update information became available on our BLM database account yesterday October 2 at 6 pm. It seems to be taking the BLM longer to get their twice monthly updates finished even though there are fewer changes.

It's never a simple matter working with government data. Besides having to be qualified for secure direct access to the BLM data servers in Denver we have to make that information usable and then map the results. Here's a very brief synopsis of that process.

After we complete the more than 1 Gb of data download (114 different database files) to our local database mirrors it takes about 5 hours to clean the databases of input errors, create new tables cross referencing to the physical locations and then posting the new database to our spatially enabled database server on the web. After that the info is checked by loading the various states and looking for errors. Only then do we "go live" with the maps for your use.

Of course there is a lot more than that going on but I think you will see why even the commercial mining claim programs only update every 1 - 2 months. Land Matters is committed to doing the job better than the government ever has and we have now accomplished that. We are even working on a massive custom code set to update our servers directly on a daily basis. That is a huge but much needed project.

That's just the Mining Claims portion of Land Matters. Add in the current Land Status, Topo Map downloads and Library updates to mention just a few and you can see this stuff is a lot of work.

Land Matters is just a few part time volunteers. We've already presented more useful and available information than the BLM multi billion dollar failed geocommunicator project ever did and we have done it with less than 400 dollars a month budget. We can do more and better but we are going to need some help. We will let you know how you can participate in those those planned improvements soon. In the meantime we wish you...

Heavy Pans

 

[Clay Diggins]

New Feature! Trans America Trail Map

Land Matters been working on bringing some useful new tools to our Recreational Maps and resources.

Since we have some friends riding the 5,500 mile cross country coast to coast off road Transamerica Trail on dirt bikes we thought this would be a good opportunity to add a really cool and relatively unknown set of off road trails.

Visit the new TransAm Trail Map. This trail is suitable for mountain and dirt bikes as well as 4 wheel drive vehicles.

gpsKevin plotted these multiple routes that include the Main trails (blue) - EZ alternate trails (green) - Advanced (oh cr^p!) trails (red) and scenic side routes (black). The waypoints layer shows gas, lodging, stores and scenic sites along the way. (Thanks Kevin, great work! )

Of course Land Matters includes Land Status, Wilderness and PLSS layers along with the usual base layers so you can get a detailed view of the terrain and features along the way.

Even if you don't plan to travel cross county off highway you should check out this map. Adventuring is still alive and well and the simple fact that a set of trails like this can exist today points to a freedom seldom celebrated or understood by those who, for whatever reason, can't get out and enjoy this wonderful country.

Heavy Pans