How to stake a mining claim on federal land

The General Mining Law lets citizens locate unpatented lode and placer claims on federal land open to mineral entry. Here are the steps, with the federal rules that apply in every state.

1. Find open ground. Confirm the land is federal land open to mineral entry: not patented, withdrawn (for example wilderness or a national monument) or already claimed. BLM's MLRS shows recorded claims and land status.
2. Make a discovery. A claim is valid only when you have discovered a valuable mineral deposit within its boundaries (43 CFR 3832.11(b)). For a lode claim that means a vein or lode of mineral-bearing rock in place.
3. Lay out the claim. A lode claim is up to 1,500 by 600 feet with parallel end lines. A placer claim is 20 acres per locator (up to 160 acres for 8 locators), described by 10-acre aliquot parts and complete lots, compact under the Snow Flake rule.
4. Post the notice and set monuments. Post a location notice on the claim and mark its boundaries so they can be readily traced, following your state's rules for monument size, placement and markings.
5. Record with the county. Record the notice or certificate of location with the county recorder within your state's deadline (30 to 90 days), with any map and notarization the state requires.
6. File with BLM. Within 90 days of location, file a copy of the recorded notice, a map and the fees ($274 per claim, or per 20 acres of placer) with BLM. A claim not recorded with BLM and the county in time is void.
7. Keep the claim. Pay the annual maintenance fee by September 1, or file a small miner waiver and do assessment work, and make any annual county filing your state requires.

Federal rules to know

• Record each claim with BLM within 90 days after the date of location, with a copy of the notice or certificate recorded (or to be recorded) in the county, a map, and the full processing, location and initial maintenance fees. BLM will not record a claim without the full fees (43 CFR 3830.95), and a claim not recorded with both BLM and the local office within 90 days is void (43 CFR 3833.1).
• Each year, pay the maintenance fee by September 1, or file a small miner waiver (Form 3830-2; 10 or fewer claims nationwide) by September 1 and then the annual affidavit of assessment work or notice of intent to hold by December 30.
• A claim located before September 1 but recorded after it (a "bridge" claim) must also pay the next year's maintenance fee, or file a waiver when it is recorded.
• Placer claims are described by aliquot parts of at least 10 acres and complete lots (30 U.S.C. 36; George Kendall, 184 IBLA 71 (2013)); smaller parts are allowed only where a 10-acre part would put the claim's lines on prior claims or the claim is surrounded by prior claims (Snow Flake Fraction Placer, 37 L.D. 250; U.S. v. Meyers, 17 IBLA 313). Parts that touch only at a corner are not contiguous (W.G. Singleton, 75 IBLA 168 (1983)).
• Using other people's names as "dummy" locators to claim more ground than the law allows voids an association placer (43 CFR 3832.22(b)).

Your state's rules

Alaska · Arizona · California · Colorado · Idaho · Montana · Nevada · New Mexico · Oregon · South Dakota · Utah · Washington · Wyoming

Lay out a claim on the map

Sources

• 43 CFR Part 3830 (fees, definitions)
• 43 CFR Part 3832 (locating claims)
• 43 CFR Part 3833 (recording claims)
• 43 CFR Parts 3834-3835 (maintenance fees and waivers)
• 30 U.S.C. 23, 28, 35, 36 (General Mining Law)
• George Kendall, 184 IBLA 71 (2013) (10-acre minimum parts)
• BLM mining claim fees
• BLM Mineral & Land Records System (MLRS)