Purchasing a claim

[Arachnofreak]

Hello All,

I am considering purchasing a recreational claim near the Bloody Basin area in Arizona but I have never purchased a claim before. Does in anyone with experience in this area had any tips or advice? What questions should I ask and what are the pitfalls to look out for when purchasing a claim?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Charlie

 

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[prospect007]

test...test....test. sample the claim every where. don't believe what you hear from the seller, they will tell you anything to sell the claim. if you're not pemitted to test the claim then don't buy the claim. there are a lot of scams out there.
do you know the owner very well?

 

[goldenIrishman]

Get eyes on and boots on the ground and then test, test and test some more. Like Prospector007 said, there are a lot of scammers out there. Also be sure to check records at the county recorders office to make sure that it's even their claim to be selling!!!!! Plenty of people through the years have been sold claims by people that had no right to be selling the rights because it wasn't theirs to start with. A quick trip to the county recorders office in the county in which the claim is located in could save you a lot of heartache as well as your hard earned cash.

Signs that everything may not be on the up and up:
1. won't allow you to test the claim, or insists that you only test in certain spots. (good sign it's been "salted")
2. insists that everything be rushed
3. wants to do everything by mail/phone/e-mail
4. can not produce copies of the paperwork showing ownership
5. names on paperwork don't match with the seller and they can't produce a "Quit claim deed" showing that they bought it from someone else.

There are other signs that it might not be a valid claim. Just be sure to check everything over and do your research with the county.

...Oh... And no claim is for recreation. They're too much work to be doing it for fun!

 

[John_Arizona]

Hello All,

I am considering purchasing a recreational claim near the Bloody Basin area in Arizona but I have never purchased a claim before. Does in anyone with experience in this area had any tips or advice? What questions should I ask and what are the pitfalls to look out for when purchasing a claim?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Charlie

Hey Charlie.

I have a few links you can educate yourself on.

I don't post mining claim or no trespassing signs. No signs and you won't be visited.

Get a claim that is away from civilization (places people generally go to hike, camp or fish).

Don't tell anyone you have a claim, or they will hound you to death or try to follow you. Always carry a rifle/pistol. You don't know whats out there, etc.

There are tunnel, lode and placer claims available. Get one that best suits you, for what your going to do with it.

Get soil samples and have them assayed.

I use Southwest Mineral Research Lab. Contact: Christian Phillips at: SWAssaylab@gmail.com, 480-540-6193. They are located in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Visit a BLM office and see what people didn't renew on.

Below: For Informational Purposes

Mining uses Nad 27. North American Datum of 1927 (NAD27). North American Datum - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Geodetic datum - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

NAD27 is not used by Google Earth. Google Earth is based on NAD WGS84. (Freeware to convert between datums) GPS Receiver Information, Software, and Hardware Reviews of Garmin, Lowrance, Magellan and other GPS Receivers

(This device uses NAD27) Garmin eTrex H Handheld GPS Navigator (if you don't want to convert NAD27 to NAD WGS84)
Amazon.com: Garmin eTrex H Handheld GPS Navigator: GPS & Navigation


Types of Claims

Mining Claim Information - Minerals & Mining - BLM Arizona (click on the links in green on this page as well)

http://www.blm.gov/pgdata/etc/medialib/blm/az/pdfs.Par.5345.File.dat/3830-002 Waiver.pdf

I hoped this helped a little bit, Charlie

 

[Clay Diggins]

Most of Bloody Basin is closed to claims. What isn't is still mostly open to prospecting and claim.

If the claim is genuine (I doubt it) the right price to pay would be about $214. That's the cost to you to make your own claim - one that actually has gold on it as proven by your own free prospecting of the area.

I prospected extensively up there 35 years ago before the closure. Claims up there just aren't worth much. There is some gold in some areas. Go find it and then make your claim, it's the same process that's been used by real miners for thousands of years. There are no shortcuts. People don't sell claims for less than the proven gold reserves minus the cost of recovery. If the seller doesn't already have those calculations backed by verifiable proof I wouldn't go over the $214 figure.

If you decide to ignore the advice I've shared here follow the basic rules:

1. Check with the County Recorder and with the BLM for claim status - don't rely on just one or the other and don't rely on the seller offered documents.
2. Check the current status of the land on the Master Title Plat.
3. Check for suits or administrative challenges to the claim.
4. Walk the entire claim alone and verify the boundaries.
5. Don't buy an association placer claim if you are an individual, a good placer up there will never exceed 20 acres.
6. Sample on your own without the seller present with your own equipment.
7. Never sample where the seller tells you to.

Heavy Pans

 

[Arachnofreak]

Thank you very much Clay, I think I will follow your advice. How would I know I am not wondering around on someone else's land though? Does the BLM have maps for sale charting claimed and unclaimed land?

Thanks again to all.

Charlie

 

[KevinInColorado]

Thank you very much Clay, I think I will follow your advice. How would I know I am not wondering around on someone else's land though? Does the BLM have maps for sale charting claimed and unclaimed land? Thanks again to all. Charlie

no they don't. But in some areas clay does. Send him a private msg for more info on his offerings.

 

[goldenIrishman]

I have to disagree with John on the signs statement. AZ mining law REQUIRES them to be posted. Most true miners will respect the signs and your claim. If it's not posted, don't whine when someone starts testing or working your claim. In my area, people are good about having their claims marked as required but I can't say about other parts of the state.

I don't know the "Bloody Basin" area but if it's on FS land then you don't want to go with "No Trespassing" signs as it IS public land. Your claim only gives you the exclusive rights to the minerals on it. Our claim has a section of the Arizona Trail running right through the middle of it so we have hikers, mountain bikers, equestrian types etc going through it all the time when the weather is good. We've met many nice people using the trail and we are always willing to give them an impromptu mining lesson if they ask. Goes a long way to help improve our image as miners.......

 

[Hoser John]

The Arizona site Nuggetshooter.com has 100s a locals who are all over them rules,areas and info pertinent to what ya need. Forget buying as 90% bs-would you sell a claim loaded with gold for peanuts--god I hope not-John

 

[Arachnofreak]

Thanks again to all, I got three days off next week to go wondering around prospecting, I'll let you all know if I find anything worth talking about Thank you all again very much, I am sure that your info and advice saved me from a costly mistake. I'll check out that Nuggetshooter.com too Hoser John.

Charlie

 

[Clay Diggins]

Thank you very much Clay, I think I will follow your advice. How would I know I am not wondering around on someone else's land though? Does the BLM have maps for sale charting claimed and unclaimed land?

Thanks again to all.

Charlie

Sorry it took me so long to respond to this spiderdude. I've been out the last week making a living. It's a busy time for miners.

As Kevin noted the BLM doesn't keep claim maps. Besides our maps and a few private maps in mining company hands there are no comprehensive maps made of the actual claim locations. We don't offer a map of the Bloody Basin area. As I wrote most of it is closed to claim and the areas that aren't hold little interest to the serious gold prospector.

As to how you would know where you are wandering... There is a process that will lead you to a good understanding where you can prospect and claim. This involves researching location notices at the County Recorder's office and checking land status with the BLM LR2000 and the Master Title Plat. The same process, with a few changes, has been used by miners for more than 140 years so it's pretty well established.

I research and plot thousands of claims locations each year. To me it seems like a pretty easy process to check land status. In my office I can usually nail down what areas are open to prospecting and claim in any given square mile in about 20 - 60 minutes. For the first time prospecting researcher the process can be pretty daunting - part of the reason we make prospecting maps.

You can get a start by learning to use the BLM LR2000 database. We've provided a three part tutorial to help you. You can read it online here:
Demystifying the LR2000

We will be providing some new free online mapping tools to make all of this easier soon. The LR2000 will be much simplified and most of what you need to do land status research will be at the click of a mouse instead of the rather convoluted process the various government agencies want you to use to find out basic information about our lands. In the meantime search for my posts on the subject explaining the current hoop jumping required to find what you need to know.

Heavy Pans

 

[TerryC]

Thanks again to all, I got three days off next week to go wondering around prospecting, I'll let you all know if I find anything worth talking about Thank you all again very much, I am sure that your info and advice saved me from a costly mistake. I'll check out that Nuggetshooter.com too Hoser John.

Charlie

Check with TimC, My brother. He has AZ claims and will gladly take your phone call to step you through the process of filing your own claim. He has none for sale but can put you on good areas. He has even been known to literally walk you through the process of staking out a claims and then walking you through the paperwork filing. Check out his and my archives. we have put together instructions on doing just that One of our "students" has sold one of his claims for more than $5000. That is to say, filed a claim and "turned" it in less than a year. Check with TimC by PM to get his phone. TTC

 

[Arachnofreak]

Wow, that's a lot of information, Thanks again Clay, I hope you don't mind if I PM you with questions as I am sure I will have a few

 

[Arachnofreak]

Check with TimC, My brother. He has AZ claims and will gladly take your phone call to step you through the process of filing your own claim. He has none for sale but can put you on good areas. He has even been known to literally walk you through the process of staking out a claims and then walking you through the paperwork filing. Check out his and my archives. we have put together instructions on doing just that One of our "students" has sold one of his claims for more than $5000. That is to say, filed a claim and "turned" it in less than a year. Check with TimC by PM to get his phone. TTC

Thank you Terry, I will do that!