Prospectors Research Tools

[Clay Diggins]

Prospector's Research Tools

I haven't been around much this summer and with the desert prospecting season just starting it's a good time to show off what I did this long hot summer. I have been working with a few friends on a new non-profit organization to give you a single place for all your land research.

The result is MyLandMatters.Org. This is the gateway to your land information repository. Maps, books, tutorials, community resources and quality, easy-to-access information about the land around you.

No ads, No memberships, No log-in required.

This past spring while sitting around with some friends we came to the conclusion that most of the important and useful things that we want to know about the land around us was difficult to locate and tough to understand. Despite the many sources of information there was no single place to find the information available.

We decided we could do something about that. We agreed to put our time and energy into creating a single place that anyone could find the answers to questions about the land.

It's a big project. It has taken a lot of work, learning and resources to get things started. But after six months of long days, and more than a few nights, the Land Matters repository is ready for you to use.

Land Matters is all about the land. You can find Land Status Maps, Active Mining Claims Maps (with live direct links into the current LR2000 claims database), A great collection of mining books, Land Laws, Geology books and maps, Forest Travel Plans and a whole lot more.

Land Matters is for land users. Our collections are guided by community input. That's you. Let us know what kind of material you would like to find in our Library or a particular map you would like to see. Help us build Land Matters to best serve the community.

We've already got a lot of things that prospectors have been asking for - the claims maps alone were almost universally requested. Land Matters isn't just for prospectors and miners. But you can help prioritize our efforts and drive the content of Land Matters. Prospectors now have a unique opportunity to help guide and build an information resource designed by prospectors and for prospectors.

We are just getting started filling the Library but there will be hundreds of books, maps and items added in the next few weeks. We've even got a Newsletter so you can get regular updates about new additions to the Land Matters repository.

Check it out and let me know what you think. Here are a few good places to start:

Tutorials - the current focus is on understanding Land Status.
Maps - We all like maps and we've got some you will love.
Library - search for something.

Heavy Pans
Barry & Leigh

 

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[utahgoldguy]

Thank you for sharing this Clay There are two on the Utah list that were smack dab in an area I have been researching online during the last few months. So much so that I knew where the were by the township and range numbers. It almost seemed to good to be true until I verified on land matters.

As soon as I have recouped the small amount I have invested in gear, I will definitely be supporting land matters with a membership.

 

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[Goldwasher]

$3,000 for 5.33 acres that he can't work due to a back injury yet it was only claimed last week? Is it just me or is anyone else smelling week old fish here? Only other thing I can say seeing as that it's E-Bay would be.....

DANGER WILL ROBINSON!!! DANGER!!! DANGER!!!!

He goes by Maxx on facebook go ahead and make a comment about pricing and see how nicely he responds to you. There is another "mining company" that sells also. Owner initials are J.R. you will find claims mostly on nevada and sierra counties. You will see them selling very shortly after they are located.
I don't think it's legal to locate claims with the intent to sell.....at least it isn't very ethical.
The way I see it a claim that isn't perfected or at least has drill maps and a report of resources and reserves is worth about the first years maintenance fees and filing fees.
Upping value based on the mining history and trying to base value on what you may dig and how long the claim was previously held are hardly selling points as far as reserves go.
Claim flippers are to me one of the few people that are truly mining the miners and it shouldn't be supported.

 

[goldenIrishman]

That seems to be an area of the mining laws that have a lot more than 50 shades of gray to them. Clay.... Could you give us the lowdown on this when you have time? How long are you supposed to hold onto a claim before you can sell or trade it without fear of breaking the law? Not that I'd want to buy or sell a claim, but there are many that do and having the info could save them a lot of grief in the long run.

 

[Goldwasher]

I think there should be a " holding" period. I guess it would come down to someone contesting validity

 

[Clay Diggins]

Making a claim just to resell it is illegal no matter what the time frame. There have been many claims invalidated by the feds over the years for claims flipping schemes. These laws are all about intent - not how long a claim is held.

Usually intent is hard to prove since the judge can't read minds. In this case Mayo made his intent clear - he made a claim so he could sell it at a profit. He admits he won't be mining the claim (intent) and his actions of putting up the claim for sale right after he made it shows he didn't make the claim for the minerals (intent). In fact with a little research you will see there is a pattern of bad intent to Mayo's claiming activity.

Careful about wishing for more regulation. There are a bunch of agencies out there just waiting for you to want some more regulation. They will be happy to fulfill your wishes and add on some more regulations for free. It makes them happy to know you want to be regulated.

Crooks are in every walk of life and the solution is to prosecute the crooks and let everyone else go on their way. An arbitrary waiting period on claims would only treat everyone as if they have bad intentions (intent). More regulation is a lot easier than actually enforcing the existing laws but it takes away good citizens freedom to act.

In my opinion restricting good peoples actions to make the job of prosecuting bad people easier is how California became what it is today. Asking for more of the same is just following the downward trend. It becomes a habit expecting the government to make your life better by regulating what you don't like or want to deal with. The nanny state.

If Mayo and his kind bother you as much as they do me you might need to do something about it. I've come around to the idea that educating people about claims will help put the Mayos of the world out of business. The fact that we are discussing this particular claim fraud here with some facts to back us up is just a little bit of hope that the education thing is helping. These type of discussions help reveal the Mayos of the world for the crooks they are. A lot more people read these forums than post here so our discussion of these claims flippers is getting more consideration than just the few of us having this conversation.

Heavy Pans

 

[Goldwasher]

Yea no waiting period ...heard

 

[goldenIrishman]

Thanks for clearing that up for all of us Clay. I think you know me well enough to know that I've no intention of flipping claims but knowing the laws is always a good thing. Now I MIGHT sell any claims I have should I get to old to be working them myself but that won't be happening for many years to come. (Lord willing and the creek don't rise) Who knows... I might find something that's worth having others either work it for me or lease it from me for a royalty Like Tony was doing with Parker. It would have to be some really good paying ground though. Knowing me, I'd pass it/them along to a friend(s) for the cost of getting the paperwork done.

I really can see your points and they make perfect sense. I would like to see some of these blatant claim flippers get busted though. I feel they've done much more harm than good.

 

[Clay Diggins]

Thank you for sharing this Clay There are two on the Utah list that were smack dab in an area I have been researching online during the last few months. So much so that I knew where the were by the township and range numbers. It almost seemed to good to be true until I verified on land matters.

As soon as I have recouped the small amount I have invested in gear, I will definitely be supporting land matters with a membership.

You are welcome. I noticed a couple of good areas still open in several states. I hope you get a good place to prospect and even a claim if it's a good spot. Keep on researching and Land Matters will do their best to provide you what you need.

Heavy Pans

 

[Clay Diggins]

Thanks for clearing that up for all of us Clay. I think you know me well enough to know that I've no intention of flipping claims but knowing the laws is always a good thing. Now I MIGHT sell any claims I have should I get to old to be working them myself but that won't be happening for many years to come. (Lord willing and the creek don't rise) Who knows... I might find something that's worth having others either work it for me or lease it from me for a royalty Like Tony was doing with Parker. It would have to be some really good paying ground though. Knowing me, I'd pass it/them along to a friend(s) for the cost of getting the paperwork done.

I really can see your points and they make perfect sense. I would like to see some of these blatant claim flippers get busted though. I feel they've done much more harm than good.

You aren't alone in that feeling Jeff. I've been fighting the claims flippers for years. I know some of them pretty well and I continue to try to reform them. It takes a particularly black heart to take money from newbies for bad claims. It makes all of us look bad in the eyes of the general public. Congress gave us the power to police ourselves but lately most miners don't seem to care.

I've been updating the claims mapping on my FootPrints software and I'm seeing some areas opening up because the claims flippers aren't making enough to keep their inventory paid up. I'm still seeing a couple of the flippers making multiple claims by the same name in the same location so they have plenty of easy to sell claims for the suckers. That particular practice really makes me mad.

Heavy Pans

Barry

 

[Clay Diggins]

Portions of the California PLSS (CadNSDI) were updated yesterday on Land Matters.

About 800 sections and 8,000 Special Surveys were added.

You can see when the most recent update for any given state's PLSS was. Each time there is an update to a State's PLSS the date is updated on the information window return. Same is true of Mining Claims updates. We will be adding this feature to all the map layers that change over time.

Heavy Pans

 

[Clay Diggins]

We work with a lot of different government offices to keep land status current and accurate. We have regular contact with a lot of County Recorders. Just like your Sheriff the County Recorder is an elected office that is directly responsible to the citizens of the County.

When the Counties are large and population is sparse, as they often are in the Western States, these County Recorders are often working on a shoestring budget. Many Counties have a hard time maintaining basic police service and public records so the Sheriff and County Recorder have a big task with little reward in these huge counties.

With a small recorder's office we tend to get to know these people over time. Treating your County Recorder with respect and patience can go a long way to making research a pleasant experience for both sides.

One of these hard working County Recorders is in Mohave County, Arizona. Carol Meier. Carol has always been helpful and respectful. A true professional. Carol passed away recently and now Mohave County has one less person to keep that large County running smoothly. We will miss Carol and hope the people of Mohave County will be able to elect a new County Recorder that is as worthy as Carol.

Heavy Pans

 

[russau]

R.I.P Carol Meier!

 

[goldenIrishman]

Carol and her staff have always been fantastic to work with and Carol will be greatly missed. Knowing her staff, they will maintain the high level of quality service they give to the people of Mohave County as a tribute to Carol.

 

[winners58]

I have a question about describing a claim when the 1/4 1/4 section is small but I would like it to be a full 20 acres.
I filed on the East 1/2 of the 1/4 1/4 section that the PLSS shows at 36.08 but looking closer it may have cut off the corner
of the stream that goes through on the west side. right now its filed as 18 acres.
can I describe it as the E 1/2 of the SE 1/4 of the SW 1/4 plus an estimate of 66 feet the full length of the western side?
I would have got the other half but couldn't afford it, right now I'm waiting on a powerline report what I already know, that it is open to mining.
the south west corner is 500' straight up so its hard to tell were the line cuts off the corner, or maybe I shouldn't worry too much about it?
.

 

[SpecJet]

You could add an additional description that includes
E 1/2 E 1/2 W 1/2 E 1/2 SE 1/4 SW 1/4, seems like a mouth full but it would equal an 82.5 foot strip along the west side of your previous description.


Edited to add: I didn't account for the 1/4 1/4 being smaller than normal.

 

[SpecJet]

You could go for a metes and bounds description to get the full 20 acres.

 

[Clay Diggins]

I have a question about describing a claim when the 1/4 1/4 section is small but I would like it to be a full 20 acres.
I filed on the East 1/2 of the 1/4 1/4 section that the PLSS shows at 36.08 but looking closer it may have cut off the corner
of the stream that goes through on the west side. right now its filed as 18 acres.
can I describe it as the E 1/2 of the SE 1/4 of the SW 1/4 plus an estimate of 66 feet the full length of the western side?
I would have got the other half but couldn't afford it, right now I'm waiting on a powerline report what I already know, that it is open to mining.
the south west corner is 500' straight up so its hard to tell were the line cuts off the corner, or maybe I shouldn't worry too much about it?
.
View attachment 1273391

If the quarter quarter is small then it's not an aliquot part or a quarter quarter. More than likely it's a government Lot and has a designation like L3 instead of SESW. Whether you can claim more than the E1/2 of L3 ( or whatever) depends on the nature of your discovery, land status of the surrounding lands and whether you can make a proper legal land description or need to describe by metes and bounds. Since you seem to be concerned about the PLSS designation and 20 acres I assume you are making a placer claim?

Usually power lines, roads or other easements have nothing to do with whether you can make a claim or not. Are you claiming in a powersite withdrawal and waiting the 60 days?

Heavy Pans

 

[winners58]

ya its a placer claim on an old powersite withdrawal, looks like it has to be by aliquot parts
found some of the requirements if it would be described by metes and bounds, to paraphrase
"if its unsurveyed, bench or gully, surveyed as a lot and is odd because of patented land, odd north or west boundary of a township,
or a stream is a boundary, it would otherwise have to be described by aliquot part and complete lots using the PLSS
If a placer claim takes in a portion of a lot, the total claim area must be described by metes and bounds."

I remembered reading something somewhere on approximation on the boundarys it must have been on unsurveyed lands
like the south west corner is approximately 300 feet upstream of blabla creek.
I don't think anybody is going to just claim 60 feet just on the corner
but who knows this is an area above a dam with the salmon blocked
it may be one of a handful of areas open to mining under Oregon's moratorium starting this year.

 

[Reed Lukens]

I have a question about describing a claim when the 1/4 1/4 section is small but I would like it to be a full 20 acres.
I filed on the East 1/2 of the 1/4 1/4 section that the PLSS shows at 36.08 but looking closer it may have cut off the corner
of the stream that goes through on the west side. right now its filed as 18 acres.
can I describe it as the E 1/2 of the SE 1/4 of the SW 1/4 plus an estimate of 66 feet the full length of the western side?
I would have got the other half but couldn't afford it, right now I'm waiting on a powerline report what I already know, that it is open to mining.
the south west corner is 500' straight up so its hard to tell were the line cuts off the corner, or maybe I shouldn't worry too much about it?
.

I have a claim that I took down to 18 acres, personally I wouldn't worry about it unless it is the spot that you know is going to pay.

 

[winners58]

its just hard to get a good view of the line with a ruler held up to my computer screen
I'll GPS my corners and get some flagging up to get a view from up the hill on my SW corner it's like 500' up.
haven't done much exploring yet, got up my posting's that's about it, its been pretty cold.
if they don't close dredging down in this area too, I'll just start on the corner first.