Prospecting & Detecting
Reminder: Annual Claim Filings Due
August 2020 by Scott Harn
Mining claimants who wish to retain their mining claims on Bureau of Land Management and Forest Service lands through the 2021 assessment year must pay a maintenance fee or file a maintenance fee waiver certificate on or before September 1, 2020, to prevent the mining claim from being forfeited.
The maintenance fee for an existing lode claim, tunnel site, or mill site will increase to $165 on September 1, 2020. For placer mining claims only, the fees will be $165 for every 20 acres of land or portion thereof. Miners who file a Small Miner’s Waiver on or before September 1 will be required to file an Affidavit of Assessment Work Form on or before December 30, 2020, including the $15 processing fee per claim.
Each payment must be accompanied by a written list of the claim names and BLM serial numbers for which the maintenance fee is being paid. You can find your state BLM office at www.blm.gov.
Please note that new mining claims filed on or after September 1, 2020, will be subject to the new fee schedule.
We highly recommend you send your documents by registered mail or hand deliver them while retaining copies for your records.
Claimants may pay their annual maintenance fee online through the Mining Claim Maintenance Fee Payment Portal found at https://payp.blm.gov/eppcore/home for all states except Alaska.
When you get to the claim search page, select the state where your claims are located and enter either the last name of the claimant, the claim serial number or the lead serial number to search for your claim.
Claimants who file on paper must include a document listing the claim/site name(s) and the BLM serial number(s) assigned to each claim for which the fees are being paid.
Do not forget to file new claim forms or affidavits of assessment with your county recorder as well.
(Note: Updated charts and fee schedules provided courtesy of the Plumas County, California County Recorder.)
Prospecting Tales: Forest Service, Fires and Bears—Oh My!
I woke up on Sunday morning, August 10, to heavy smoke. I saw where it was coming from, but it seemed like it was a long way off so I thought I was okay for the time being.
Moore Creek, Alaska—Then and Now
The gold was very chunky and much of it had quartz attached. Even back then I knew that the gold was very close to its source.
How to Stake Your Own Mining Claims—Part II
I’d like to offer some practical comments about staking and maintaining mining claims. Owning your own claim is the dream of many prospectors. I’ve made good money off my mining claims, both from the minerals I have found on them as well as from leasing out some of my claims to larger mining and exploration companies.
Deep Nuggets From The Strange Little Patch
I began detecting at the bottom of the gully and started making my way upstream. About mid-way there was a nice, flat stretch for about ten feet.
Swing and a Miss
A very good baseball hitter might get a hit roughly one time out of every three at-bats, but for prospectors often the results are much sparser and it may take many trips before the prospector hits a home run.
Glacial Prospecting Basics Part 1
September 2022This article will focus on glacial deposits and some of my hypotheses regarding gold in the Midwest glacial area.
Why So Much Gold in Nevada?
Nevada produces about 75% of all the gold mined in the US. This means that all the other 49 states combined only produce 25%, and this includes California, Alaska and Arizona.
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