Prospectors Research Tools

Clay Diggins

Silver Member
Nov 14, 2010
4,862
14,180
The Great Southwest
Primary Interest:
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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. :thumbsup:

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.

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Clay Diggins

Clay Diggins

Silver Member
Nov 14, 2010
4,862
14,180
The Great Southwest
Primary Interest:
Prospecting
Land Matters updated their mining claim maps last Friday morning.

We are back on schedule and will be updating claims maps twice a month just as we have done since 2014. The next update will be next week. :thumbsup:

It's a booming mining year! There have been more than 104,000 new mining claims located since last September. It's mining season all across the United States.

It's still out there. Go get U sum!

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Terry Soloman

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May 28, 2010
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Shared on Facebook Groups!:hello2::headbang::icon_thumright:
 

southfork

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Jun 15, 2014
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I saved MyLandMatters.Org to my favorites a wealth of information but when I try to search its layer after layer to get down close or even near the area I'm trying to look at. I don't see an option to type in a road or address.
 

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Clay Diggins

Clay Diggins

Silver Member
Nov 14, 2010
4,862
14,180
The Great Southwest
Primary Interest:
Prospecting
I saved MyLandMatters.Org to my favorites a wealth of information but when I try to search its layer after layer to get down close or even near the area I'm trying to look at. I don't see an option to type in a road or address.
Forget Google maps for a minute - Land Matters maps do more but they work different. . Land Matters maps have a zoom tool that lets you draw a box around the area you want to see on the map. Just click, drag and release when the red box is around your area of interest. The map will automatically zoom to the area you selected.

Want to go back to where you were before the zoom? Just click on the left (back) arrow in the map tools, the map will zoom to the last area you were mapping. The forward and back buttons are unlimited so you can go back and forth as far as you want as many times as you want. You can even change what shows on the map as you go back and forth.

To find a particular road, city, mining claim, forest or any other feature on any Land Matters map use the binocular search tool. Literally anything on the map can be searched for and zoomed to with this tool. You can even combine searches so you only get the road section in a certain county or get all the mining claims owned by one person. It's a very powerful tool.

All these tools and a lot more are described in detail, with illustrations and instructions on each map. Click the HELP button, in the window that opens click a map tool name like "SEARCH" or "ZOOM" and another window with detailed information on how to use the tool will open.

There is a wealth of information on Land Matters maps. If we were just presenting streets, cities and the address for the pizza place like the other online maps we probably would have made a map system like google maps - except they already did that quite well.

To present more information on a map you need different tools than the ordinary web map. We've tried to create a mapping system that is interactive (unlike web maps), has the ability to guide the user to vetted sources of information (unlike web maps) and do so in a secure online mapping application that doesn't track users, sell advertising, or share user information (unlike ALL web maps).

Land Matters map system is different from any other. It does have a learning curve. I think once you learn to use the system you will find it very useful. Look through the help section, spend a little time getting used to the tools and then please come back and tell us where we went wrong, what could work better or what features you would like to see added. Land Matters really is guided by user requests, what we do next is determined by our users. :thumbsup:

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Clay Diggins

Clay Diggins

Silver Member
Nov 14, 2010
4,862
14,180
The Great Southwest
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Yeah of course Land Matters updated their Mining Claim Maps last week. - just like we do twice a month every month. It looks like Land Matters is the only one updating twice monthly now and unlike the others it's FREE. :thumbsup:

Next update will be next week. For those of you in Southern California several interesting claims were closed last week around Los Angles. 8-)

It's still out there. Go get U sum!

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Rail Dawg

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Clay Diggins always keeps us on the right side of claim locating and maintenance.

What is the most current “Claim Maintenance Flow Chart”? Very handy tool!

Edit: Found it in Clay’s July post! Nice job as always especially mylandmatters.org!

Chuck
 

OwenT

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Feb 11, 2015
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Clay Diggins always keeps us on the right side of claim locating and maintenance.

What is the most current “Claim Maintenance Flow Chart”? Very handy tool!

Edit: Found it in Clay’s July post! Nice job as always especially mylandmatters.org!

Chuck
Very handy indeed. I just used it for my first small miner waiver. Next up the NOI to hold.
 

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Clay Diggins

Clay Diggins

Silver Member
Nov 14, 2010
4,862
14,180
The Great Southwest
Primary Interest:
Prospecting
Yeah we did it again. The Land Matters Mining Claim Maps were updated today. For you. :thumbsup:
We update the mining claim maps twice a month. Even when I don't post here. We've been doing that 24 times a year since 2014. Nearly 9 years. Hopefully Land Matters will be doing that for you for the next 9 years and more.

Land Matters provides you the most up to date mining claim maps available at any price anywhere (ours are free).
Land Matters provides you the only mining claim maps that allow you to see the owner's names (did I mention they're free?)

Go get U sum!

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Clay Diggins

Clay Diggins

Silver Member
Nov 14, 2010
4,862
14,180
The Great Southwest
Primary Interest:
Prospecting
The MLRS may or may not return next month. It's been offline since September.

There is no security problem. The MLRS was shut down so the BLM could remove 91% of all claim owner names from all their documents. I doubt they will be done by next month because of all the paper case files (millions) that are still to be censored.

When the MLRS does return it won't have much useful information left.

This isn't the first time the BLM has removed or censored the mining claims databases. They did it last beginning January 21 through April 1 2021. They took the entire system from the public in 2012 with the unannounced removal of the geocommunicator claim mapping system. The public were without access until 2021.

In fact out of the last 11 years the BLM has only provided land status and claims mapping for about 18 months. In all those 11 years the mapping program was fully funded - just not provided to the public.

It was the removal of the geocommunicsator mapping without notice or explanation in 2012 that prompted a group of civic minded individuals to create Land Matters non-profit to fill the gap. And they are still doing it today. :thumbsup:

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Bodfish Mike

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I wonder why they would remove all claim owner names?
I thought claims were treated like real estate and public record.
Yea I guess I can go to the county for the names but why.

This is a good link if you want to find out who your neighbor is and who owns what
https://regrid.com/ just click go to maps.

Cheers Mike
 

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Clay Diggins

Clay Diggins

Silver Member
Nov 14, 2010
4,862
14,180
The Great Southwest
Primary Interest:
Prospecting
I wonder why they would remove all claim owner names?
I thought claims were treated like real estate and public record.
Yea I guess I can go to the county for the names but why.

This is a good link if you want to find out who your neighbor is and who owns what
https://regrid.com/ just click go to maps.

Cheers Mike
Yeah Mike you have to make your name and mailing address a public record to record a mining claim so there is no reason to expect privacy. The BLM is way off base with this, we have a right to know who has an ownership interest in our public lands. Like I wrote this isn't the first time they have tried to censor. They censored all the claim information for more than three months in 2021. We fought that and got the information back, we were told it would never happen again. ???

How are you going to look it up at the county without an owner name? Most county recorders don't file by claim name.

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HeavyMetalThunder

Jr. Member
Aug 5, 2015
64
60
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Yeah Mike you have to make your name and mailing address a public record to record a mining claim so there is no reason to expect privacy. The BLM is way off base with this, we have a right to know who has an ownership interest in our public lands. Like I wrote this isn't the first time they have tried to censor. They censored all the claim information for more than three months in 2021. We fought that and got the information back, we were told it would never happen again. ???

How are you going to look it up at the county without an owner name? Most county recorders don't file by claim name.

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It's even worse then it appears...A few weeks ago I decided to access information from Californias, Riverside County recorders online portal...with intentions of assisting/ helping a Tnet poster...

I managed to pull up their ARCGIS map and it even had plots, boundaries and such but no ownership info...

It literally said on their web site...
ownership info is blanked out online to protect the Identity of government officials, and that any ownership info, can only be obtained in person at the recorders office physical location...
 

HeavyMetalThunder

Jr. Member
Aug 5, 2015
64
60
Texas/Colorado/Arizona
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
It's even worse then it appears...A few weeks ago I decided to access information from Californias, Riverside County recorders online portal...with intentions of assisting/ helping a Tnet poster...

I managed to pull up their ARCGIS map and it even had plots, boundaries and such but no ownership info...

It literally said on their web site...
ownership info is blanked out online to protect the Identity of government officials, and that any ownership info, can only be obtained in person at the recorders office physical location...
...Stupid internet sure has a way of making me feel/ look like a donkey...

so, after posting above quoted post, I then had a few cups of coffee while doing nothing of particular importance...

I said to myself...The proof is in the pudding, and went to Riverside and San Bernardido counties recorder/ assessors online portals to grab a screen shot in reference to above quoted post and....

Things have changed...and I can now view parcel ownership info online!

So today's score is internet 1 - HMT 0

heavy pans to all,
 

Treasure_Hunter

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I'm outta here. Maybe when the bot learns some manners I'll return. (I'm not holding my breath)
In the meantime I hope you all enjoy the distraction.

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Clay, please post by our rules, no insulting members .
 

Treasure_Hunter

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