Filed my first claim with BLM

[Ragnor]

Well I am officially claim holder on my dream claim, woohhhooooo!

Made it to Portland on monday and after a casual strip search we made our way upstairs and did the deed.
Now I can finally brag about my claim a little . There is literally visible gold laying on the bedrock falling from the high bench and a clay seam yielding free gold on a fault contact!
Sheer zones cut the creek and the high bench at 90° like a sluice box. It's beautiful!
An ounce a week should be easy, it yeilded that much and more with just a sluice and a gold pan back when I first found it some 20 years ago.
I didn't even know what I was doing then.


As soon as the snow melts enough to get to it I'm gonna be all over it.

 

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[OwenT]

So what mining methods do you use there?

 

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[boblemon]

congrads on your claim and best wishes. I'm in need of help to buy a claim , I'm looking at Colorado and don't have a clue. I did join G.P.A.A. so i can get my education. Now if someone has a claim for sale with gold on it get hold of me. I'm looking to buy.

 

[bobw53]

congrads on your claim and best wishes. I'm in need of help to buy a claim , I'm looking at Colorado and don't have a clue. I did join G.P.A.A. so i can get my education. Now if someone has a claim for sale with gold on it get hold of me. I'm looking to buy.

BobLemon... You don't have to BUY a claim... You can go out and get your own...

If somebody is selling, it probably doesn't have good gold...

Seriously, go find some ground to get...

Quick story... 18 months or so ago I PAID for a claim on e-bay. I didn't BUY it, I just PAID for it... Why? I was green, and excited, and the claiming some land was SCARY and COMPLICATED.

Guess what. I lost a few $100... I went out, I did some testing, I found some gold, I paid... Then I got NOTHING..

I wanted that ground and in a way, I was forced to learn the ropes really fast... I still don't know ALL the ropes, but I do know enough (I think).. Turned out the claim I PAID for, but didn't actually
BUY was open ground... I banged my own stakes and filed my own paperwork...

The biggest reason to educate yourself about how to research, then stake and file a claim... EVERYTIME you go out, you should already know the status of the land you are going to be on... You
should have already done the research, you should know the status, you should KNOW what the county clerk's office looks like inside.. After that, its just banging some stakes into the ground, drawing a map,
filling out a piece of paper and writing a few checks...

I had a blast learning all this stuff, and I still enjoy learning even more... Its like mining sitting at your desk, not as shiny, but its still fun, and your back doesn't hurt...

Start a new thread, and ask, there are people here that know FAR FAR more than I could ever know, and they are very free with the info... Where I got confused, being a newb at it,
I didn't know what the heck they were saying... Clay Diggins.. I wanted to kick his ass, he would sort of answer a question, but not really answer it... What was this guy hiding?
Why was he being so round about and vague? Looking back.. That is really how this whole mineral rights thing is, its a bit vague, its quite confusing at the onset... He was literally
giving the best answer possible, while confusing the heck out of me...

Its a very steep learning curve, but its a lot of fun... I can't even imagine how hard the research was before the internet. From 2 standpoints, the dizzying array of info available and the
fact that in a nanosecond, I can get help from some random person on the other side of the country on a message board such as this.

 

[Bodfish Mike]

Great story and I hope you show us all the pics and more stories when the snow melts.
Wishing you a heavy hike out.
Mike

 

[Ragnor]

So what mining methods do you use there?

I have only ever used hand tools up till this point. That is what I will be starting out with this year also. Panning and sluicing.
I have an idea in mind for a small gravity powered jig type wash plant once I can afford to build it.
I have pretty much unlimited hydraulic power available from a steep stream that cuts the corner of the claim. So I can do just about anything I need to without using motorized equipment.

I am real excited to get a dredge in there. But for now that looks like I will probably only be doing that in official dredging season...... mumble, mumble.

 

[QNCrazy]

Congrats on your claim. Standing by for some pics. Good luck and be safe.

 

[HistoryHunter22]

sellin any paydirt? lol

 

[goldenIrishman]

congrads on your claim and best wishes. I'm in need of help to buy a claim , I'm looking at Colorado and don't have a clue. I did join G.P.A.A. so i can get my education. Now if someone has a claim for sale with gold on it get hold of me. I'm looking to buy.

No need to "Buy" a claim or to be intimidated by the claiming process. It does take some research and some time poking around out in the field but it's no great mystery. The main things to remember:

1. Do your proper due diligence! Take the time to visit the county recorders office and check out the OFFICIAL records. The records at the BLM are nothing more than a list of who has or hasn't paid their fees to the feds. All claims have to be filed with the county in which they're located and the county records will have the full description of any claims boundaries while the BLM only lists them down to the quarter section. Many county recorders will allow you access to their records on-line. Most charge a small subscription fee for this but some don't. My county recorders office has a public terminal in their office that you can use for free, but if you need to print anything out it's a buck a page.

2. Use your on-line resources. If you're in Kansas and looking in Colorado this will save you a ton of time and fuel going back and forth to check areas out. Researching an area before you head out will pay off in a big way. Look into the mining history, go through any old records you can find and keep notes on everything no matter how small a detail it may seem at the time. As in many other things, with mining, "The devil is in the details!" MyLandMatters is a great place to start. The link is in my signature. SOME people here think it's slow and inaccurate but I've never had a speed problem and everything is always kept up to date. I guess they're on the latest generation of CRAY super computer if they think it's slow.

3. Before you file or buy a claim, test it as much as you can and then test it again. If buying, make sure that the current owner is the actual owner of that claim and that he will allow you to test anywhere you wish. Considering all of the scammers out there trying to sell claims to greenhorns it's always a good idea to double and triple check anything the seller tells you. If you'r doing your own locating and testing, keep everything under your hat until such time as that all the Tees are crossed and "I"s dotted!

 

[AU_Solitude]

There is a very good article in this months ICMJ by Chris Ralph on staking claims.

 

[Mad Machinist]

I thought about that some. I doubt most of them are bright enough to figure out where that map represents. Besides there are other far easier to work spots open for someone who is not too lazy to do they're own footwork. As long as my fees are payed on time I don't think I have much to worry about. Anyone who thinks they can slip in and take what is mine will be hard pressed to find a day I am not on site once the snow melts.
It's amazing to think that there are still people who will go out and steal what somone else has found rather than go out and find it for they selves. If they had any sense at all they would use the info I shared to find they're own honey hole. There are others out there still. I even know of a potentially richer one, but it is on state land. Go and steal the states gold you old pole cats, lol

There are still those who choose to use intimidation tactics to get what they want. Prospecting and PROVING a resource are hard damn work. And it is far easier for those who want to make a fast buck to stalk people doing the work and taking from them than it is trying to find this stuff yourself. It has happened to me more than once, except I won in the end, and it is happening to a friend of mine right now. It actually got to the point that wayward rounds were being fired in our direction in an attempt to chase us off. We had a nice little "chat" with those people.

I suppose we will have to "hide in the bushes" again and have a "chat" with those that are up to this again. I have a funny feeling it is the same group again.

It is rather disgusting that things have descended to this point once again here.

 

[KevinInColorado]

congrads on your claim and best wishes. I'm in need of help to buy a claim , I'm looking at Colorado and don't have a clue. I did join G.P.A.A. so i can get my education. Now if someone has a claim for sale with gold on it get hold of me. I'm looking to buy.

Bob, before you get focused on staking or buying a claim here in CO, try hitting some of the spots that are open to the public. I have a list in one of my blog posts from a couple months ago at:
www.findinggoldincolorado.com and more to come!

 

[G-bone]

Here's a picture of you many years from now. (couldn't resist)

View attachment 1277107

My wife's biggest fear!!

 

[G-bone]

Ragnor,

Please more updates if you have any?
would love to be updated on your progress.

Cheers

G