Buying A Gold Claim [PATCHED]
In the United States, a placer claim grants to the discoverer of valuable minerals contained in loose material such as sand or gravel the right to mine on public land. Other countries such as Canada, Mexico, and Australia grant similar rights. In the United States, the valuable mineral in a placer claim is almost always gold, although other nations mine placer deposits of platinum, tin, and diamonds. Another type of mining claim is a lode claim.
buying a gold claim
A mining claim allows some security of tenure for the owner, providing an incentive to invest time and money developing the deposit. Mining claim laws vary from state to state, but claims staked over federal minerals follow federal mining law. Federal minerals are managed by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM).
Mining claims staked under either State or federal laws (state claims may only be staked on state-owned and managed lands; federal claims may only be staked on minerals owned by the federal government) are limited to lands available for claim staking at the time the claims are staked. Thus, if the land is not available for mineral entry (example: withdrawn due to its status as a park or refuge), then the claim is said to be invalid ab initio. An additional requirement is "Discovery", which follows the "Prudent Man Rule." This means that a sufficient indication of valuable mineral(s) would encourage a "Prudent Man" to further invest time and money developing the deposit towards the goal of mining it.
The holder of a mining claim does not own the surface, the water, or even the rocks and gravel. A mining claim grants the holder with the preferential right to extract the valuable minerals within the claim, and for uses incident to that goal, such as prospecting, exploration and development. Gold mining is one of the most common uses for the staking of mining claims.
In Alaska, state mining claims may be up to 160 acres (0.65 km2), and there is no distinction between lode or placer claims. The boundaries of the claim must follow the 4 cardinal directions, with an exception being adjustments for existing valid claims. "Claim jumping", which happens to this day, is a case where one person overstakes the claims of another. This results in civil action, and sometimes violence.
Claims staked on Federal-managed lands fall under Federal rules. Typically, the claim size is limited to 660'x 1320', or 20 acres (81,000 m2). The claim must be either placer or lode, and the discovery point must be clearly marked.
The claim staking procedure includes setting a monument (a post of at least 3" in diameter and at least 3' visible above the ground, or a rock monument at least 3' in height) at the NE corner of the claim. This is known as the Number 1 corner, and it is here that the claimant places the location notice. Three additional monuments, one at each corner of the mining claim, must be set, numbered in a clockwise direction.
Copies of the claim documents must be filed in the local offices of the land managers, and filing fees paid. This must be completed within 45 days of the staking. In addition, fees for annual rental, filing, and work (or payments in lieu of labor) to fulfill requirements of "annual labor" must be completed by the deadlines set by the regulations in order to hold the claim. Failure to meet any of these requirements will result in a declaration of abandonment, and the claim cannot be restaked by the original locator or a successor in interest for one year from the date of abandonment. During this time, the claim may be relocated by others.
Petersville Area #1 - Updated 05/28/2021. Four forty acre claims located near Poorman and Cottonwood creeks. Road access. Two creeks drain into Cottonwood. Have info of area and geologist report. Asking 100K motivated to sell, serious inquires only. Contact Michele Stevens 907-345-9655 or email: goldengirl@petersvillemining.com website: Thank you for looking.
Petersville Area #2 - Updated 05/28/21. Six State of Alaska mining leases totaling 2,690 acres. State of Alaska Mining Leases are a 20-year lease with the State of Alaska which I own the lease and the lease has 14 years remaining and are renewable. Also available are 25 forty-acre claims with 6 buildings and 3 airstrips. Located in historic and present Petersville/Yentna Mining District area, that has seasonal road access to all claims and leases. Located in Talkeetna C-2 Quadrangle north of the Peters Hills and all above tree line on Cottonwood, Poorman, Pass, Willow, Little Writer, and Peters Creeks where very limited mining of present alluvium has occurred. Drill logs, sampling, and certified geophysical information are available. Owner would like to see the property brought to commercial production. Prices have been dropped and owner is motivated to sell. Leases can be subdivided and sold as smaller leases if need be. Serious inquiries only. For more information contact Michele Stevens @ 907-345-9655, website: or email: goldengirl@petersvillemining.com Thank you for looking.
Has anyone bought any claims from any of the sellers currently online? I have bought a couple, and there is the company Gold Rush Expeditions I have heard mixed things about. Their claims sure look promising... There are a lot of claims for sale, but I am wondering if anyone can give me some insight on the more frequent sellers. Any help or advice is much appreciated.
First thing to do is run down the claim to see if it actually exists in the sellers name. NEVER buy sight unseen. If the seller won't allow actually going out and sampling, RUN at mach 3. And don't just sample where the seller wants you to. Are you buying to use or to flip? Be aware there are two filing times of the year with BLM (end of August and end of Dec. Claim filing and proof of work) Also filing with the county. If over 20 acres, need to have one person per 20 acres or portion thereof. IIRC you can buy a bigger claim and hold it the first year as an individual, but the next year has to have the right number of folks to keep at size.
I'm always checking out the Gold claims on E-bay to learn and for entertainment...First the 'Clown' on E-bay who was selling a useless 'patented' Gold claim in the Cargo Muchacho mountains (So. Ca, & Az. and the Mexican border area) He stated that he didn't own all of the claim, just 90%. The other 10% wouldn't sell. Here's the funny part, you cannot ever mine there ever again because of endangered Bats living in the mine...And the tree hugging environmentalists threatens to sue anyone who even enters the mine (The mine has a locked steel bat gate). So the new E-bay buyer couldn't own the mine, couldn't enter the mine, and couldn't mine in the mine...Go figure...What a joke, and yet the bids were up tp $5000...Maybe the bat freaks bought it.
On the other hand, one seller who was very friendly & communicative, offered to meet me at the Big Bear Ca. Gold claim he was selling. He was ok with sampling, and the Pacific Crest Trail went through the claim, so there were people everywhere (by Crab Flats in Big Bear) I didn't buy it because it kept getting re sold on E-bay. I wondered if the USFS was interfering with restrictions in a sacred PCT area, but I don't know.
The Expedition seller on E-bay looks like he has some nice claims, but who knows...Are they mined out, free mill or expensive Sulfide ore? I would only be interested in a free mill site. And NOT in a 'Monument' & not in a 'Wilderness Area' (No vehicle access period). Our local FS Ranger said "The 1872 Mining Act gave you access with a Mule, it didn't say anything about a vehicle" So watch out for FS jerks wanting to stop mining in 'their' forests.
Thank you guys for the input. I did research for the claim I do currently own, it wasnt much investment to secure it once I confirmed it was a true claim, and it is definitely in a gold bearing area. I was also able to talk to the neighboring claim owner, The only reason I did buy it sight unseen. Now I am interested in looking for a larger area to start a placer operation but that wont be until further down the road, and I certainly will do plenty of testing. But for a couple small 20 acre claims, I do know there are a few sellers who stake claims in good areas for good prices (less than $5000). I would be interested in picking a couple up knowing they are legitimate, so I can have a couple to work as I jump from state to state. So as far as recreational, affordable claims go....I was wondering if there were any sellers who are better to go with. I like the individual I bought my claim from, but he only only does a few at a time in Arizona. GRE has quite a few in Oregon, Montana....they come off as a trustworthy company but they dont show any testing to back up their guarantee!!
Hello Rick WIlliams! Thank you for your input. I would absolutely like to claim my own land, after I spend some more time getting familiar with the producing gold areas I probably will. I have a couple programs I will be using (footprints and Gold Maps online) they are great resources for finding out current land information. I would be interested in making up some kind of arrangements with you for mining eachother's claims. Mine is in Yavapai County in Northern AZ, by the Bradshaw Mountains. I am currently on the east coast, but we need to keep in touch for when I get back out west.
@Rick WIlliams(again) Yes, I do agree with the MT claims that are for sale. The ores are amazing! They seem pretty legitimate, and for the price you really cant go wrong. I am interested in placer and lode. I would love to be able to come across a rich vein and crush out some free milling gold. It seems like people make out pretty well with that. But I would certainly need to be able to take a couple samples from any mine to have assayed before purchase.
Mineral and Placer Claims are acquired using the Mineral Titles Online (MTO) system. The online MTO system allows clients to acquire and maintain (register work, payments, etc.) mineral and placer claims. 041b061a72