Claim Permitting

[ghostminer]

Does anyone have any experiences to share relating to Notices of Intent, Plan Of Operation, or Use Permits as relating to gold mining claims? Seems to be getting tougher and more costly. What do you think?

 

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[motohed]

Your not only dealing with local law , but you are also adding in federal law , I would look to a proper attourney , that works with or in the minning industry . It is never cheap to under take the development of a new mining endever . Yes it's very expensive , maybe a couple hundred thousand or more , by the time you can run dirt . Just pasted experiance from a Gravel miner . I started mine in the late 1980s , and I spent close to that then .

 

[M.E.G.]

http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/g...ng-idaho-facing-tyrannical-government-p2.html

 

[ghostminer]

Let me clarify the thread. I understand what it takes to permit a claim. We've done two and have three pending. I would just like to hear from anyone on their past experiences. Thanks.

 

[motohed]

Let me clarify the thread. I understand what it takes to permit a claim. We've done two and have three pending. I would just like to hear from anyone on their past experiences. Thanks.

I still think a good attourney would help to speed things up , I know it helped me in the 80's

 

[fowledup]

An NOI or a POO is not a requirement to have a gold claim, regardless of what the USFS would lead you to belief. Beware the second you sign one you have just entered into a contract with the Forest Service and other rights that are or were afforded to you will no longer apply. Do a search on here as there are quite a threads on here about this. You'll find it can be a rather subjective topic. First off before you file for one, learn what sets off the requirements for having to have one. Good luck.

 

[motohed]

An NOI or a POO is not a requirement to have a gold claim, regardless of what the USFS would lead you to belief. Beware the second you sign one you have just entered into a contract with the Forest Service and other rights that are or were afforded to you will no longer apply. Do a search on here as there are quite a threads on here about this. You'll find it can be a rather subjective topic. First off before you file for one, learn what sets off the requirements for having to have one. Good luck.

Thats one of the reasons , I said to use an attourney .

 

[KevinInColorado]

To merely file a claim only costs a few hundred dollars (county recording fees, BLM fees). Permits for more industrial scale work can be complex and expensive...warranting use of an attorney.

So the key question is - what sort of equipment do you plan to use? How many acres of land will be in a disturbed state at a time?

 

[fowledup]

The average claimant shouldn't need a lawyer once they know and understand the laws, the lawyers come later when the USFS or other regulatory agencies come along and overstep their boundaries, lol. You will also soon find out as you learn this stuff that those choosing to regulate you will know little to none of it, and are only following memos and dept. policy. Some suggested reading:

What Is A Mining Right? - Miner's News - ICMJ's Prospecting and Mining Journal
US vs. Tierney
US vs. Terry Mc Clure
US vs. Lex-Waggener
1872 Mining Law & Summary - ICMJ's Prospecting and Mining Journal

Title 36, Part 228
Final Rule on Section 228.4 by U.S. Forest Service

Code of Federal Regulations

TITLE 36–PARKS, FORESTS, AND PUBLIC PROPERTY

CHAPTER II–FOREST SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

PART 228–MINERALS–Table of Contents

Subpart A–Locatable Minerals

Sec. 228.3 Definitions.

For the purposes of this part the following terms, respectively, shall mean: (a) Operations. All functions, work, and activities in connection with prospecting, exploration, development, mining or processing of mineral resources and all uses reasonably incident thereto, including roads and other means of access on lands subject to the regulations in this part, regardless of whether said operations take place on or off mining claims.
(b) Operator. A person conducting or proposing to conduct operations.
(c) Person. Any individual, partnership, corporation, association, or other legal entity.
(d) Mining claim. Any unpatented mining claim or unpatented millsite authorized by the United States mining laws of May 10, 1872, as amended (30 U.S.C. 22 et seq.).
(e) Authorized officer. The Forest Service officer to whom authority to review and approve operating plans has been delegated.

Sec. 228.4 Plan of operations–notice of intent–requirements.

(a) Except as provided in paragraph (a)(2) of this section, a notice of intention to operate is required from any person proposing to conduct operations which might cause disturbance of surface resources. Such notice of intention shall be submitted to the District Ranger having jurisdiction over the area in which the operations will be conducted. If the District Ranger determines that such operations will likely cause significant disturbance of surface resources, the operator shall submit a proposed plan of operations to the District Ranger.
(1) The requirements to submit a plan of operations shall not apply:
(i) To operations which will be limited to the use of vehicles on existing public roads or roads used and maintained for National Forest purposes,
(ii) To individuals desiring to search for and occasionally remove small mineral samples or specimens,
(iii) To prospecting and sampling which will not cause significant surface resource disturbance and will not involve removal of more than a reasonable amount of mineral deposit for analysis and study,
(iv) To marking and monumenting a mining claim and
(v) To subsurface operations which will not cause significant surface resource disturbance.
(2) A notice of intent need not be filed:
(i) Where a plan of operations is submitted for approval in lieu thereof,
(ii) For operations excepted in paragraph (a)(1) of this section from the requirement to file a plan of operations,
(iii) For operations which will not involve the use of mechanized earthmoving equipment such as bulldozers or backhoes and will not involve the cutting of trees. Each notice of intent to operate shall provide information sufficient to identify the area involved, the nature of the proposed operations, the route of access to the area of operations and the method of transport. If a notice of intent is filed, the District Ranger will, within 15 days of receipt thereof, notify the operator whether a plan of operations is required.

***And anything you can on what constitutes "significant disturbance" since that's the driver for most of what you'll read.

 

[ghostminer]

Yes, as I said, we have been through the process of permitting on Forest Service land. We have done two 1000 yard permits for testing and we did them ourselves. We are in the process of doing three more for the next season. This involved excavation and a trommel and building a recirculating water system. There are agencies that specialize in permitting. They will charge from $5000 on up for a 1000 yard permit. The next step is a Use Permit which goes through the county and you usually need professional help for these and we have been quoted from $30,000 to $100,000 depending on the issues faced. It can take two years or longer. We posted a bond for the 1000 yard permits which cost $3000 and when you do the reclamation the bond gets transferred to the next area. When your finished the money is returned. I personally have found the Forest Service to be fairly easy to work with on this scale but am not sure about the larger scale where thousands of yards per week will be run. This is where the county also gets involved. I was hoping to find someone to share their permitting experience. Anything involving significant disturbance which would be excavators requires a permit. The smaller the acreage of disturbance, the less the reclamation is and the bond will be smaller also. Once you get over three acres of disturbance it also adds to the cost for the permit with the county. Most permitting agencies advise a gradual scale of increasing production as you build relationships with the Forest Service and county. Our goal is to run 15 yds/hr. or 100 to 150 yds/day. This is a very small scale. Then at some point we would like to bump that up. We are building our own trommel.

 

[goldenIrishman]

I'm sure glad that I no longer work on National Forest lands! One less agency suffering from a case of R.C.I. I have to deal with! (If you have to ask about R.C.I. pm me since I can't post it in the open)