for BLM a notice of intent to hold is only filed the first year or the first year switching from the small miners waver to paying the maintenance fees.
some states like California recorders require a filing every year for taxes or acknowledgement of waved fees
All states require an annual public record be made for your claim, usually at the County Recorder. Only a few states/counties require tax payments. There are several situations where an intent to hold will apply, not just the first year of a small miner's waiver. When just maintenance fees are paid every state still requires an annual recording. Often that annual record is called a Notice of Intent to Hold and sometimes it's just called an affidavit, no matter what it's called the requirement is there.
It's a good idea to get acquainted with your State's laws on mining claims because often there are additional requirements and shortened recording deadlines compared to the federal laws. Here's an example of an often misunderstood mining claim law in California. it's just part of the law and it's a little long but there are several items highlighted that might be a surprise to many claim owners:
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"3913. (a)
Whenever labor is performed, improvements are made, or
a
maintenance fee is paid as required by law upon any mining claim, the
person on whose behalf the labor was performed, improvements made,
or a maintenance fee was paid, or someone in his or her behalf,
shall, within 30 days after the time required by law for performing
the labor, making the improvements, or
paying the maintenance fee,
make and have recorded by the county recorder, in the county in which
the mining claim is situated, an affidavit setting forth all of the
following:
(1) The name of the claim and the serial number, if any, assigned
to the claim by the Bureau of Land Management in the United States
Department of Interior.
(2)
A reference by book and page or document number to the public
record of the notice of location of the claim and, if amended, of the
last recorded amendment thereof.
(3) The section or sections, township, range, and meridian of the
United States survey within which all or any part of the claim is
located.
(4) A description of the labor performed or improvements made upon
or for the benefit of the claim for which the proof is made, the
value of each item, and the dates on which, or the period of time
within which, the labor was performed or the improvement was made, or
a statement that a maintenance fee in the amount prescribed by the
laws of the United States has been or will be paid, the amount of the
maintenance fee, and the date of payment or anticipated payment.
(5) The name, current mailing address, and current residence
address of the person who makes the proof and of the owner of the
claim, as known to the affiant.
(6)
A statement that the claim is held and claimed by the owner,
or the person making the proof if he or she is entitled to possession
thereof, for the valuable mineral contained therein.
(7) The name and address of the person who performed or made the
work and improvements described in the affidavit, as known to the
affiant, if applicable.
(8)
A statement that all monuments required by law to have been
erected upon the claim and all notices required by law to have been
posted on the claim or copies thereof were in place at a date within
the assessment year for which the affidavit is made and a statement
of the date.
(9) A statement that, at that date, each corner monument bore or
contained a marking sufficient to appropriately designate the corner
of the mining claim to which it pertains and the name of the claim.
(b)
An affidavit recorded as required by subdivision (a), or a
copy thereof duly certified by the county recorder, shall be prima
facie evidence of the performance of the labor, the making of the
improvements, or
the payment of the maintenance fee as stated in the
affidavit.
(c)
The neglect or failure of the owner of any mining claim to
record, or cause to be recorded, within the time allowed by this
section an affidavit containing the statements required by
subdivision (a) creates a prima facie presumption of the act and
intent of the owner to abandon the claim at the end of the assessment
year within which the labor should have been performed, the
improvements should have been made, or the maintenance fee should
have been paid under the laws of the United States, and imposes the
burden of proof upon the owner of the claim to show that the labor
has been performed, that the improvements have been made, or that the
maintenance fee has been paid in any contest, suit, or proceeding
touching the title to the claim. "
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Notice that all these things
must be done by September 30 of each year in California to keep the claim. Although California is fond of making laws with a lot more words than other states you will find similar requirements in every other mining state.
Heavy Pans
