Getting in the Gold Game

"Mining claims were developed because of fights," said minerals land expert Brian Tognoni. "People have been shot over claim disputes. And shootings occasionally occur today."

The first step in acquiring a claim is to go to the Bureau of Land Management and obtain a master title plat.

"You have to know where your property is and most people don't," said Tognoni. "If it's federal land open to mineral entry then you are okay. Youcan locate claims in national forests and most of the land mined is in national forests.

"You stay away from private land unless you can deal with the owner. You just don't go in and dig, especially if there is a claim notice. You can getshot. Miners are very possessive," Tognoni said.

There are two types of claims: lode and placer.

"The difference is a lode claim is a vein between two walls of solid rock, and you mine it by digging a hole and digging out of it. When gold is washed out of a mother lode and ends up in a stream, that's placer gold."

A lode claim is 300 feet on each side of the vein and 1500 feet long. A placer claim is 300 feet on each side of the middle of a stream and 1500 feet long.

All mining claims have to be filed with the federal government and a $5 fee is charged. A person also must file a location notice with the county recorder at a cost of $3.00.

"Anyone person can file as many claims as he wants, if he has the money and will," said Tognoni. "But once you locate a claim, you have to pursue development of a claim. Legally, you have to do $100 worth of assessment work each year on each mining claim on federal land.

"But the most important thing is to know the exact location of the area you want to work. That is the biggest mistake people make. They have the wrong location and that makes the claim null and void, legally," said Tognoni.

Editor's note: Claim filing is a very involved process. We suggest contacting the following sources for more information: the Bureau of Land Management, 2400 Valley Bank Center, Phoenix, Arizona, 85073 and the appropriate County Recorder's office in the various county seats.