Is a claim legal if the claim boundary posts arent marked with info?

[gold hound]

Is a claim legal if the claim boundary posts aren't marked with info?

Just got back from New Mexico. 90% of the claim boundary markers don't have claim owner info etc., about claim and claim owner. Are these still legal claims? Saw 2 Mohave greens and 2 diamond backs. 3 less rattlers to bite the prospectors in the area. 6 ft Mohave green got away. He sized us both off in a stand off. Beautiful, snake... Then was informed by locals they are the most toxic pit viper in all of North America. No worries though... Wasn't there to kill snakes. There to find the yellow metal.
I'm guessing we found about 4 grams and ran 10-15 yards. My buddy has the material and is letting it air dry instead of putting it over fire. YES!!! I'm pissed!!! I want to know the weight. If I knew this would have been the case, I'd have done the clean up.
Also, had a swarm of migrating bees fly over us!!! It was freaking awesome!!! Although we didn't find the amount of gold we were hoping for, we have some memories that'll last a life time!!!

 

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[hawkeye39]

Gold hound,
No need to kill the snakes. I guess you had to shoot some thing after all the trouble you went to finding about about "packing" in New Mexico.

 

[Clay Diggins]

Sure the claim is "legal". Only a court of record can declare a claim void for lack of proper staking. Until that happens they are all "legal" whether there are markers or not.

Nothing in New Mexico law says anything about marking corners or maintaining monuments. Once it's staked and recorded the claim is "legal" no matter what happens to the monuments the following week or years.

Read for yourself:

2013 New Mexico Statutes
Chapter 69 - Mines
Article 3 - Mining Locations and Operations
Section 69-3-1 - Mining claim location and posting notice. (1981)

Universal Citation: NM Stat § 69-3-1 (2013)

A. Any person or persons desiring to locate a mining claim upon a vein or lode of quartz or other rock in place bearing gold, silver, cinnabar, lead, tin, copper or other valuable deposit must distinctly mark the location on the ground by four substantial posts or monuments, one at each corner of the claim, so that its boundaries may be readily traced, and post in some conspicuous place on such location, a notice in writing stating thereon the name or names of the locator or locators and his or their intention to locate the mining claim, giving a description thereof by reference to some natural object or permanent monument as will identify the claim.

B. The locator shall, at the time of making location of any placer mining claim, cause a notice of the location to be placed at a designated corner of the claim so located, stating the name of the claim, the purpose and the kind of material for which the claim is located, the name of the person locating same, and, if located upon surveyed lands, the notice shall contain a description of the claim by its legal subdivision. If upon unsurveyed lands, the notice shall contain a description of the claim by metes and bounds, with reference to some known object or monument. And whether upon surveyed or unsurveyed lands, each corner of the claim shall be marked by a post at least four feet high, securely set in the ground, or by a substantial stone monument.

C. The date of posting of written notice on the location pursuant to Subsection A or B of this section is deemed to be the date of location. Within ninety days after the date of location, the locator of a lode or placer claim shall file for record in the office of the clerk of the county in which the claim is located, a written notice of location for the claim containing:

(1) the name of the claim;
(2) the name and current mailing address of the owner of the claim;
(3) an identification of the claim as either lode or placer;
(4) the date of location;
(5) a description reciting, to the extent possible, the section in which the claim is located and the approximate location of all or any part of the claim by quarter section. In addition, there shall be furnished the section, township and range; and
(6) either a topographic map published by the U.S. geological survey or copy of such map on which there shall be depicted the location of the claim, or a narrative or sketch describing the claim with reference by appropriate tie to some topographic, hydrographic or man-made feature. Such map, narrative description or sketch shall set forth the boundaries and positions of the individual claim with such accuracy as will allow the claim to be identified and located on the ground and shall be no larger than eight and one-half inches by fourteen inches. More than one claim may be shown on a single map or described in a single narrative or sketch if they are located in the same general area, so long as the individual claims are clearly identified.

D. Nothing in the requirement for a map or description found in this section shall require the locator or locators of a claim to employ a professional surveyor or engineer.

 

[Clay Diggins]

The only Mohave ever found in New Mexico are south of Lordsburg along the border. The longest Mohave on record was just under 4.5 feet. There are no six foot Mohaves. They tend to look real big when you run into one in a compromising position.

It is almost impossible to determine if a live rattlesnake in the wild is a Mohave. You would have to get very near their head to see the defining two large scales between the supraoculars. Most people who get that close don't make it home that day.

It's considered bad juju by most desert dwellers to kill snakes unless they are threatening children or livestock. Snakes eat a lot of rodents. Rodents in New Mexico are known to spread hantavirus and bubonic plague (the Black Death). Both diseases will kill you in extremely unpleasant ways. Given the choice between watching where you step and being killed by pestilence most people choose the snakes.

 

[Goldwasher]

So next time I go to the El Dorado fair I'm gonna get a shirt airbrushed that say's "I Heart Clay Diggins" you know with the heart airbrushed in a deep red and the words in gold The majority of the people will believe as usual that I am a weirdo. Yet, a few maybe due to the region I call home will know what the hell my shirt means.

 

[gold hound]

All I know is that, the locals called them Mohave greens. They had a greenish tent to them, and before there rattle it was pure black. The diamond backs had white stripes in the black before the rattle. We were working by a copper mine. The copper mine has a security patrol the area to make sure nobody gets hurt or wonders onto the private land. He killed the first one and said he always kills them. I guess we felt like we were doing the right thing after that...
Plus we met a guy up there that was kinda showing us around... He has a dog he brings out with him. If the dog sees one I'm sure she'll go after it and get bit. Oh well...,live and learn. Purpose of the thread was to let everybody know we had a blast!!! The Eco system will recover. As stated there were a crap load of pack rats!!! They ran off with some of our stuff. My buddy found one of our gloves and some Teflon tape in one of their nests by our camp

 

[russau]

A smart thing todo when putting up your posts/markers/stakes is to tale a gps reading while your there and take pictures of your markers/info also to file with the BLM or whatever agency your dealing with! BECAUSE there has been people that love to tear down monuments/posts and such just to cause problems with claim owners. if done, you now have proof that you've done what is required for your claim. and im meaning to do this in any state that you can claim!!!

 

[Clay Diggins]

I wasn't trying to hack on you about the snakes gold hound. Just giving you a more realistic local perspective on the snake thing. It's not an ecological disaster or anything. I'm guessing those packrats think you are their hero for killing the one animal that keeps their population manageable. The point is that there is a lot more to the equation than a couple of snakes missing from the area.

Mohaves and other rattlers can be green or pink or gray or red or just about anything between white and black. Color is not an indicator for a Mohave. Neither is the banding on the tail or their pattern. Besides DNA the most obvious differences are the Mohave has only two scales between the superoculars (eyebrows) - unlike other rattlesnakes and of the two white lines on the head the top one extends beyond the corner of the mouth - unlike other rattlesnakes. Neither one of those features can be defined from a safe distance.

I'm glad you got out and enjoyed your trip. New Mexico is a beautiful state and right now is one of the best times of year to visit. How many days did you prospect? How many days digging?

Heavy Pans

 

[Clay Diggins]

So next time I go to the El Dorado fair I'm gonna get a shirt airbrushed that say's "I Heart Clay Diggins" you know with the heart airbrushed in a deep red and the words in gold The majority of the people will believe as usual that I am a weirdo. Yet, a few maybe due to the region I call home will know what the hell my shirt means.

I gotta tell you upfront man. You are a nice guy and all but I'm happily married... to a woman.

Flattery will get you just about wherever you want in Clay's world. Wanna buy a T-shirt?

 

[Goldwasher]