HELP: How to file a placer claim

[406Gold]

Hello,

I am somewhat new to prospecting, and I am looking to see if anyone can assist me in understanding the steps to file a a basic placer claim on some gold bearing ground.

I am located in Montana. I have looked for those pre-made fill in the blank packets that some states have, however I could not find any for my specific state.

What I am looking for is basically just where to start, other than checking to see if the area is already claimed etc, as I have done that already.

If anyone could provide even a basic check list for what steps I need to take, or a good website.

I have looked on the internet and found multiple sources telling me multiple different things.

Thanks in advance.

 

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[Mackaydon]

406 Gold
Welcome to treasurenet !!
You may wish to start with some general information found here:https://thediggings.com/usa/montana
Then contact them here with your specific questions: https://thediggings.com/contact-us
Don.......

 

[Goldwasher]

Fill out two location notices.

leave one in your discovery monument.

Record a copy with your county recorder. file a copy of that at Montana BLM they will charge you your first year filing fees then.

When I get a copy recorded . I replace the original in the location monument so it shows its been stamped and recorded at the county. Montana BLM link the location notice form can be found under "forms" then land..then minerals. They make you dig for it. I'm not in Montana so look into your states specifics on how your claim needs to be located on the ground.

https://www.blm.gov/sites/blm.gov/files/3830-003_0.pdf

 

[Clay Diggins]

Montana location law:


82-2-101. Manner of locating claim. A person who discovers upon the public domain of the United States, within the state of Montana, a vein, lode, or ledge of rock in place bearing gold, silver, cinnabar, lead, tin, copper, or other valuable deposits or a placer deposit of gold or other deposit of minerals having a commercial value that is subject to entry and patent under the mining laws of the United States may, if qualified by the laws of the United States, locate a mining claim upon the vein, lode, ledge, or deposit in the following manner:
(1) The person shall post conspicuously at the point of discovery a written or printed notice of location containing the name of the claim, the name of the locator or locators, if there is more than one, the date of the location, which must be the date of posting the notice, and the approximate dimensions of the area of the claim intended to be appropriated.
(2) Within 30 days after posting the notice of location, the person shall distinctly mark the location on the ground so that its boundaries can be readily traced. It is prima facie evidence that the location is properly marked if the boundaries are defined by a monument at each corner or angle of the claim, consisting of any one of the following kinds:
(a) a tree at least 8 inches in diameter and blazed on four sides;
(b) a post at least 4 inches square by 4 feet 6 inches in length, set 1 foot in the ground, unless solid rock should occur at a less depth, in which case the post should be set upon the rock and surrounded in all cases by a mound of earth or stone at least 4 feet in diameter by 2 feet in height. A squared stump of the requisite size, surrounded by a mound, must be considered the equivalent of a post and mound.
(c) a stone at least 6 inches square by 18 inches in length, set two-thirds of its length in the ground, with a mound of earth or stone alongside at least 4 feet in diameter by 2 feet in height; or
(d) a boulder at least 3 feet above the natural surface of the ground on the upper side. When other monuments or monuments of lesser dimensions than those described in subsections (2)(a) through (2)(c) are used, it is a question for the jury or for the court where the action is tried without a jury as to whether the location has been marked upon the ground so that its boundaries can be readily traced. Whatever monument is used, it must be marked with the name of the claim and the designation of the corner, either by number or cardinal point.
(3) Within 60 days after posting notice, the locator shall comply with the United States mining laws.

https://leg.mt.gov/bills/mca/82/2/82-2-101.htm

Heavy Pans

 

[firebird]

You should check first to see if someone hasn't already filed a claim on it yet, most gold-bearing areas here are already claimed by someone else so you're left with slim pickings.

Land Matters Montana Mining Claims

 

[russau]

This months Mining Jounal has a good artical on this subject !

 

[winners58]

Tom Kitchar president of Waldo mining district wrote a book
Researching & Locating Mining Claims by Tom Kitchar

good write-up by Chris Ralph in the Mining journal but its by subscription
https://www.icmj.com/magazine/article/how-to-stake-your-own-mining-claims-part-i-3420/
and his video on staking a mining claim

 

[406Gold]

Thank you everyone for your help!

 

[Bejay]

406Gold. You should realize that surveys have been conducted by the USGS and that the country is structured with Sections per Township and Range. That said you should be able to ascertain where your corners are to be located. If you go to MyLandMatters.com and get into the mapping you can even determine the aprox GPS coordinates for your corners. Additionally you may want to post your location notice where the access to your claim is most obvious. There are metal Placard signs available at most mining shops that can be placed in a conspicuous tree. What you will see in the Monatana Regs is the requirement to make your claim and location obvious to others. Per the metal placard signs there are two that look the same; but say things a little different. The one that says you are claiming per the rules of the state should be avoided.....your claim is filed per the rules of the Federal Mining Laws....plain and simple.

Normally placer claims are in 20 acre increments. Each 20 acres, if a multiple requires a locator for each 20 acres. Although one locator can have many independent 20 acre claims.

Hope this helps

Bejay

 

[Mine Shaft]

Welcome 406Gold, if you do file a claim in the next few weeks or month check when your fees are due. If its like in California we got our claim paid our fees in May only to find out fees were to be paid again in September. Good luck.

 

[406Gold]

Thanks buddy! I'm in contact with my local BLM mineral specialist or whatever you want to call them. She sent me a email with step by step instructions. I'm having her look over an area I am about to claim.

 

[Mine Shaft]

Thanks buddy! I'm in contact with my local BLM mineral specialist or whatever you want to call them. She sent me a email with step by step instructions. I'm having her look over an area I am about to claim.

The lady at our BLM helped me in so many ways, she went above and beyond to help me locate our claim. Don't be afraid to ask questions. Have fun stay safe.

 

[Minerrick1]

BEFORE YOU DO ANYTHING..... go to the LR2000 and note the claim names, locators and claim locations of other surrounding claims adjacent to the one you want to claim. Then go the the Country Recorder or BLM and get the original filings of the other claim holders to make sure the claim you want to file, doesn't infringe on other's claims. I spend a lot of time at the recorder's office and a HUGE PERCENTAGE of the newly filed claims appear to be some enterprising person(s) who drive along Highway 49 in Sierra County (For instance) and decide "THIS looks like a good claim"" and they go and file it (without bothering to check to see if ANYONE ELSE owns the claim). When you file a claim, the county takes your money, the blm takes your money and gives you a receipt for your money (called a CAMC number) and then those enterprising claim filers go out and post the claim for sale on Ebay or craigslist for $7k. NO, they didn't bother to check that the claim they filed on was actually overfiling someone ELSE... they don't care, they sell the claim for $7k and walk away to let the new claimholder deal with it. I see it over and over again. And until people realize that the seller needs to supply the buyer with original paperwork of already active claim holders in the immediate area- and a map showing the relationship of the claim for sale and the surrounding already active claims, this will continue to happen and people will keep getting ripped off. I know of actual locations on the N Fork of the Yuba where the claims are filed 3 deep. And apparently the 3 different claim holders never show up at the same time to discover that all 3 groups are sharing the same claim. As for the people at the BLM..... last fall a guy walked into the BLM and asked for a "good claim on xxxx creek" and the guy at the BLM told him to OVER FILE ON MY CLAIM. I do mapping pretty much for a living and my maps are so good a blind person can see what I am trying to claim. So I have no idea WHY the guy at the BLM thought that MY CLAIM was a good claim for the guy to file on, but he gave he miner my coordinates and the miner overfiled ME. Fortunately I talked to the miner, we worked it out and he is now a friend of mine.... but the point is DON'T TRUST ANYONE'S research but your own. I am pretty sure I am the only person who has mapped all the exact locations of all the mining claims in Plumas, Sierra, Nevada and Placer counties (dating back to 1870)and I update the maps pretty frequently, I have offered to the mining community an unbiased 3rd person point of view to overview possible claim location filings. Send them my way, and I will review the proposed claim filing vs what my maps show, and I will suggest whether you should do more research before your proceed further with the claim. And I don't charge anything for this service, since no one else seems to be able to track the exact locations of the mining claims in this region.

 

[Bejay]

It is up to the Locator to establish a proper location.....the only obligation of the BLM is to take your money (or your affidavits of work) and keep a file on your claim per the maint or work..(or location fee). The BLM does not keep a record....only a file. Any location information you get from the BLM is not warranted....most everything the BLM does (per claims) is not. If you rely on the BLM for location info you will be in a mess...sooner or later.....because even if you get it right the next guy will probably go down the wrong path as stated by Merrick1.

The BLM only has Active and Closed case files. They have no legal duty or right to determine if claims are valid if the land status is open to claim at the time of location.

Getting legal advice from the BLM is about as useful as asking your plumber about your medical condition.


Bejay

 

[Minerrick1]

It is up to the Locator to establish a proper location.....the only obligation of the BLM is to take your money (or your affidavits of work) and keep a file on your claim per the maint or work..(or location fee). The BLM does not keep a record....only a file. Any location information you get from the BLM is not warranted....most everything the BLM does (per claims) is not. If you rely on the BLM for location info you will be in a mess...sooner or later.....because even if you get it right the next guy will probably go down the wrong path as stated by Merrick1.

The BLM only has Active and Closed case files. They have no legal duty or right to determine if claims are valid if the land status is open to claim at the time of location.

Getting legal advice from the BLM is about as useful as asking your plumber about your medical condition.


Bejay

I had a discussion with the guy down there suggesting it wasn't in their purview to be telling people where to file claims. Especially when it entailed them telling people to overfile my active claim. They denied that anyone did so, but the guy who overfiled me swore he got the info from the guy at the BLM. They are just paper pushers and my experience with them is most of the info you get from them will be challenged on the next call to them. Bejay is right.

 

[Goldwasher]

I had a discussion with the guy down there suggesting it wasn't in their purview to be telling people where to file claims. Especially when it entailed them telling people to overfile my active claim. They denied that anyone did so, but the guy who overfiled me swore he got the info from the guy at the BLM. They are just paper pushers and my experience with them is most of the info you get from them will be challenged on the next call to them. Bejay is right.

I figure there are maybe three to six people working for the BLM that know a damned thing at all about mining claims.

They are about to retire!! Then it will be the worker drones that the Bureaucratarians want in the cubicles, In the cubicles.

Sucking up the budget.