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

 

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[Clay Diggins]

"Funny" but true story...

Twice a month on the 1st and the 15th the BLM compiles all their databases. These databases include a lot more than mining claims. All the stuff that happened on the public lands like recreation leases, oil drilling, permits and plans are in each new database compilation. All the branches of government as well as any individuals, nonprofits like Land Matters, and corporations use these compilations to know whats happening on the public lands.

Last Friday was the 15th - time for the newest database download. We download and keeps copies of each entire database and from that we update the mining claims maps as well as a bunch of other things. So Friday we are waiting for the main servers to be updated in Denver. We keep signing into our account and checking but no update. This has happened before and in the past the server crew in Denver have worked past quitting time to make sure these downloads are available on the day they are due.

Well 5pm Denver time rolls around then 6pm - still no update.

This past weekend was a three day federal holiday so we know there wasn't going to be any update until Tuesday (yesterday). Tuesday comes and by noon there is still no update! We contact the boss at the data center, who has always been a big help, and she is really surprised there is no update yet. She calls down to the IT department and finds out - they forgot to upload the final database to the servers last Friday.

In a few minutes the database was ready to download and everything went well after that. A few red faces I'm sure but no harm.

I'm just wondering why we were the only one from those thousands of users that knew enough to contact the right person to get er done? I'm imagining workers in offices all over the world Tuesday just twiddling their thumbs and waiting for.... ?

The Land Matters Mining Claims maps were updated yesterday afternoon.

Heavy Pans

 

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[Goldwasher]

"Funny" but true story...

Twice a month on the 1st and the 15th the BLM compiles all their databases. These databases include a lot more than mining claims. All the stuff that happened on the public lands like recreation leases, oil drilling, permits and plans are in each new database compilation. All the branches of government as well as any individuals, nonprofits like Land Matters, and corporations use these compilations to know whats happening on the public lands.

Last Friday was the 15th - time for the newest database download. We download and keeps copies of each entire database and from that we update the mining claims maps as well as a bunch of other things. So Friday we are waiting for the main servers to be updated in Denver. We keep signing into our account and checking but no update. This has happened before and in the past the server crew in Denver have worked past quitting time to make sure these downloads are available on the day they are due.

Well 5pm Denver time rolls around then 6pm - still no update.

This past weekend was a three day federal holiday so we know there wasn't going to be any update until Tuesday (yesterday). Tuesday comes and by noon there is still no update! We contact the boss at the data center, who has always been a big help, and she is really surprised there is no update yet. She calls down to the IT department and finds out - they forgot to upload the final database to the servers last Friday.

In a few minutes the database was ready to download and everything went well after that. A few red faces I'm sure but no harm.

I'm just wondering why we were the only one from those thousands of users that knew enough to contact the right person to get er done? I'm imagining workers in offices all over the world Tuesday just twiddling their thumbs and waiting for.... ?

The Land Matters Mining Claims maps were updated yesterday afternoon.

Heavy Pans[/QUOT

ooh ooh me me ...pick me ... pick me.

I know why.




It's because we live in a stupid vortex right now.

People are both dependant on the gov. to compile info they need to do a lot of things..

and they also expect that same gov. to screw up....and as it gets worse..count on it to stay craptastic.

Luckily there are still people who have long enough memeories to remember what swith to flip .. or box to bang your head on

Every day I see it getting worse. With millions just getting in line.


Thats what happens when the people in charge get paid to just show up.

 

[Clay Diggins]

Yep! Those Land Matters Mining Claim Maps were updated again on Friday the first.

A lot of new claims being made this year - we are just 5 months into the mining year and there are already 20,520 new mining claims located!

Heavy Pans

 

[Clay Diggins]

Land Matters Mining Claims Maps were updated right on schedule yesterday.

Big changes in Idaho and Colorado the last two weeks.

Several new claims around Denver and Colorado Springs. More than 200 new claims in Colorado these past two weeks.

Idaho is really starting to move with more than 450 new claims and more than 1,100 claims closed in the last two weeks.

It's starting to look like a busy spring season.

Heavy Pans

 

[Clay Diggins]

Land Matters Mining Claims Maps were updated again yesterday July 16th as they are twice each month.

The BLM National Operations Center (NOC) is still struggling to update their databases on time. New management = late and confused. Without going into details (yet) basically their whole system is about 24 hours behind schedule. For the time being you can expect updates to be posted on the 2nd and 16th of each month at best.

This update shows little activity except California just getting around to closing lots of claims from last year. California BLM is about a year behind on their claim case files so the BLM NOC looks pretty good in comparison.

Heavy Pans

 

[Clay Diggins]

Land Matters Mining Claims Maps were updated again yesterday August 1st as they are twice each month.

The most closed claims these past two weeks come from California. Here'a a heatmap of where the placer claim closures in the western United States took place.



Curiously ALL those claims closed in California were closed back in 2017 and 2018 but they are just now getting around to making it public. Yeah they are that far (years) behind on updating their claim case files. It's been that way for a long time.

Nevada is the busiest BLM claims office by far. They seem to have no problem keeping up to date. Utah too. Anybody want to venture a guess why California fails so badly at handling mining claim files?


Heavy Pans

 

[Goldwasher]

Uh ummm..My guess at this point is that they literally do it on purpose.

Because they can!!

 

[Clay Diggins]

Land Matters Mining Claim Maps were all updated this morning.

Lot's of new claims in Colorado and California. Just turn on the "New Claims"layer on the right of the map to see where they are located.

Heavy Pans

 

[Clay Diggins]

Land Matters Mining Claim Maps were all updated this afternoon.

More closed claims in Idaho and Utah these last two weeks. California has closed more than 500 claims dating back to 1872 this year. Go get u sum!

Heavy Pans

 

[Lanny in AB]

Thanks for all of your hard work and dedication to keep things up to date, nicely done!

All the best,

Lanny

 

[Clay Diggins]

I'm sorry about the aerial photo basemap glitch on Land Matters yesterday and today. It affected all the Land Matters maps.

Our aerial photo data source had problems with their server beginning yesterday evening until this afternoon. I did my best to replace those aerials with various different government sources but the quality and reliability was pretty discouraging. I hope no one was inconvenienced.

Everything is back to normal now.

Heavy Pans

 

[delnorter]

Are these server problems somehow internet/system wide in some fashion? I was having terrible server problems last night. 502 errors and such on prospecting and metal detecting sites I visited.

Mike

 

[Clay Diggins]

They might be related Mike. It's hard to say for sure because server errors are only reported to the server operators. Users are just left to wonder what happened.

It was a huge mistake moving data into the "cloud". It's temporarily less expensive for users and makes the big internet companies (Google, Amazon, Microsoft) more money on arbitrage but it's inherently insecure and unstable. If you are getting "502 Bad Gateway" errors that's usually a failure of the cloud service.

Heavy Pans

 

[delnorter]

Thanks Barry. One more question (if appropriate), which you may have answered obliquely above. Do you store any of your personal data, photos etc on the cloud. So far, except for one file of photos by mistake, I’ve resisted doing so myself.

Mike

 

[Clay Diggins]

Thanks Barry. One more question (if appropriate), which you may have answered obliquely above. Do you store any of your personal data, photos etc on the cloud. So far, except for one file of photos by mistake, I’ve resisted doing so myself.

Mike

I have never used any cloud service.

The servers I maintain for Land Matters never have any personal information on them. Not even a name or email address. These are physical servers, I know where they are and on which drive the data is stored.

When one of my server suppliers (not Land Matters) said they were going to move my account into the cloud I made them erase the data and cancelled the account. I will never do business with that company again.

Land Matters does not advertise or track it's users. Land Matters is probably missing out on a lot of money by not allowing their users to be tracked. (Land Matters is in the top 1% of sites worldwide)

It just doesn't seem right to me that we all sell our personal information so we can get "free" services like Facebook and Twitter. It seems to me selling yourself or your users information leads to a different society, one I choose not to participate in. When people finally realize we have become a society that informs on their neighbors and friends for "free" entertainment I think things may change.

I still like to think the internet can be a place that's helpful and useful to the average person without commercializing every click. Land Matters is a case in point. Supported by users - not advertisers, trackers or corporations.

Different strokes for different folks I guess.

Heavy Pans

 

[delnorter]

Thank you. All the best.
Mike

 

[BoydBros]

Is there a way to convert those TSR coordinates to EXACT GPS location, instead of the current "general location"?

 

[Clay Diggins]

Is there a way to convert those TSR coordinates to EXACT GPS location, instead of the current "general location"?

From the front page of the Land Matters Mining Claims Maps:

"The mining claims represented on these maps are only displayed to the nearest section and DO NOT display the actual claim location. Sections are about one square mile and actual mining claim locations can vary considerably from their mapped location.

The only way to determine an actual claim location is to obtain the County Recorder Location Notice and amendments for the claim in question, study the mapped location and then find the location marker on the ground. Members of the public and other prospectors do not have the right to determine whether an existing claim location is valid, only a court of record can make that determination."

Land Matters supplies a link on the claims map to the County Recorder's office so you can do the research needed while you still have the map open.

Heavy Pans

 

[Clay Diggins]

Mining Claim Maps updated

The Land Matters Mining Claim Maps were updated this weekend.

In the last 15 days nearly 500 new claims were located in Arizona. There were nearly 800 new claims made in Nevada during the same period.

Big changes in Utah with more than 80,000 acres of mining claim closed in the last 15 days. Sounds like it might be a good time to visit Utah?

Heavy Pans

 

[Goldwasher]

The Land Matters Mining Claim Maps were updated this weekend.

In the last 15 days nearly 500 new claims were located in Arizona. There were nearly 800 new claims made in Nevada during the same period.

Big changes in Utah with more than 80,000 acres of mining claim closed in the last 15 days. Sounds like it might be a good time to visit Utah?

Heavy Pans

Gonna be two new claims added in Ca. pretty soon