Buying a claim

N

Nuggetbrain

Jr. Member
Mar 9, 2015
31
15
Los Angeles
Primary Interest:
Prospecting
Upvote 0
This may sound a tad bit backwards to you but I highly suggest one takes the time to first understand the claiming process. The reason I say this is because it's not as hard as you think and no matter which route you go you still need to understand the process when you do get one. You can also search this topic here as it's been hammered on a time or two. Mucho info availible online at BLM, Mylandmatters, Western Mining Alliance (they also list claims but have a report of recently forfeited claims and and insructional how to that goes with it). If you decide to buy one from someone or some company insist on sampling where you want, not where suggested. Ask for refrences (a random one you could pick would be nice but not probable), do a search for the location at the county recorders and on BLM's LR2000 system in order of to try and ascertain the previous claim holder, if your lucky you may get some contact info and you can ask them about it. We have one that we researched, lucked out and found the last owner who has turned out to be a wonderful individual with a ton of knowledge and is a valuble resource in our efforts. Not saying that's the norm but it happens. Good luck, and don't let it intimidate you plenty of folks on here to help if you get bogged down or confused, just becareful on the details you share it is an open forum, use PM"S for specific questions.
 

This may sound a tad bit backwards to you but I highly suggest one takes the time to first understand the claiming process.
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Yeah, ^^^ That.

I bought one, or "thought" I bought one on E-bay.. It wasn't a lot of money that I lost. I thought I had a grasp on the process. Turns out
I didn't have a complete understanding of it.. I got stiffed either way...

In my research on the E-bay seller... First off I learned a LOT, though it can still be confusing.
Second... just because all the paperwork in order does not mean its valid.. I found a ton of stuff that was being sold
that was overclaimed... In my research of the area I'm in, I found a ton of stuff that is overclaimed. Lode claim over a placer
claim over a placer claim.. the BLM doesn't care, they just make triple off the land, the county doesn't care, they just record
it...

If I had to do it all over again.. I would do "practice" research.. Because the research is really the hardest part.. And weather
you buy a claim or stake it yourself, you really need to do the research yourself.

Pick an area, an area you are in, or an area that you are interested in.. Life would be much easier if the county of your
"practice" area has online records, or if you are close to the clerks office.

Go down to the BLM and get some maps so you will know the land status. The Geocommunicator is pretty fun to play with, but
there is a ton of info that is not on there. Plat maps are fun too... Then figure out the LR2000, I suggest watching a youtube video
or 2, otherwise its not very intuitive.. From there you will be able to find the county book and pages, then you can go check that
out and see what all the paperwork looks like, find out EXACTLY where the claims are...

By the time you "practice" doing all that stuff, familiarizing yourself with what all the maps and documents are telling you, you may
just find that there is some open land where you can knock some stakes in the ground and get yourself a claim without buying one...
Or you may find land that is open to the public that can't be claimed that you could prospect on. You may also find small areas of
unclaimed land in between claimed land that isn't big enough to claim, or bother claiming to prospect on...

The research is actually kind of fun, if you like maps and old documents (I like the old homestead documents myself). The folks at the
BLM have been very friendly and the ladies at the county have been fantastic... And remember the laws for marking and claiming a claim
are different in every state, similar, but different, which makes little sense.. Recorded at the county, on federal land, governed by state
and federal laws...
 

azblackbird said:
Think about this. Who is more likely to sell a gold claim? A person with a claim that is producing oodles of gold... or a person with a claim that is basically worthless?
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Ya hit the nail squarely on the head with that one.............:thumbsup:
Now with that said there are a few legitimate reasons for selling...... health, death, financial hardships even if the claim is producing.
Also consider the fact that virtually every one on this forum is a hobby miner..... Myself included.
 

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azblackbird said:
Think about this. Who is more likely to sell a gold claim? A person with a claim that is producing oodles of gold... or a person with a claim that is basically worthless?
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Basically true, of course, but I can think of a few other reasons. If the claim owner got too old or had medical issues or needed money quickly. Granted these are probably not going to relate to most of the claims being offered on e-bay. But, if you luck into a situation when a miner is selling for one of those reasons, I suspect they could/would be very helpful, like fowledup mentioned (above).

I had a friend that sold a claim to another friend. We had all been invited to work the claim in the past. My friend that owned it just got too, well, not sick, not exactly medical issues, but just did not have the energy to work the claim properly anymore. So he sold it to one of us that had the money to buy it and the time to work it. The rest of us were still invited to work it. That is about the best possible situation in buying a claim. The buyer knew what he was getting, having worked on it many times. There was nice gold, including some very coarse gold on it. That was a win-win for everyone involved. These situations are rare, however.
 

johnedoe said:
Ya hit the nail squarely on the head with that one.............:thumbsup:
Now with that said there are a few legitimate reasons for selling...... health, death, financial hardships even if the claim is producing.
Also consider the fact that virtually every one on this for is a hobby miner..... Myself included.
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claiming to be a hobby miner will end up you loseing your claim! don't fall into that trap! you are a miner PERIOD!
 

russau said:
claiming to be a hobby miner will end up you loseing your claim! don't fall into that trap! you are a miner PERIOD!
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Good point. But I don't have any claims nor do I expect to file for any, I just go and hit the beach for the zen of it. Get some fresh air, some exercise and a little color. I don't seem to have the fever...:laughing7:
 

One speck or a million specks you are a miner all the same. If you do not protect that right there are many people who would have you enjoying your Zenlike state on the beach without any gold or the right to persue any gold. Think Miner Be Miner. Good Luck in your pursuits.
 

It may be a zen thing for you, a Liberty thing for me or a monetary thing for someone else. For legal reasons we are all the same, miners or prospectors. We don't have the right to be hobbyists.
 

we are prospectors when we look for gold and we are miners when we find gold...good luck JOHN
 

goldog said:
It may be a zen thing for you, a Liberty thing for me or a monetary thing for someone else. For legal reasons we are all the same, miners or prospectors. We don't have the right to be hobbyists.
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I understand and agree with what we legally need to call ourselves ... Be that as it may it doesn't change the fact that most here are hobby miners... And thats ok too....:laughing7:
 

johnedoe said:
I understand and agree with what we legally need to call ourselves ... Be that as it may it doesn't change the fact that most here are hobby miners... And thats ok too....:laughing7:
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You are WRONG most on here are MINERS. Me included I travel 2500 miles round trip to my claim that is not a " hobby " as a miner I am entitled and protected by the mining laws set forth by congress. If you can't get that then take up stamp collecting that's a hobby.
 

okbasspro said:
You are WRONG most on here are MINERS. Me included I travel 2500 miles round trip to my claim that is not a " hobby " as a miner I am entitled and protected by the mining laws set forth by congress. If you can't get that then take up stamp collecting that's a hobby.
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OK, whatever floats yer boat.... I'm not going to get into a pissin match with ya over semantics......
By the way.... That's one hell of a commute.....:laughing7:
 

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Considering this is/was titled "Buying a Claim" it's not a whatever comment. You are free to have a hobby or whatever you want. To NuggetBrain and the rest of us it is important. Please refer to us as pros/miner. Let's leave it at that. Time to put the thread back on the rails.

To the original question , We all want ground where we can find our share of God's bounty. Good ground is hard to find so buying seems like a good idea. I became involved in a claim long ago because someone else claimed "my" spot. Honestly we won't recoup the costs and it's actually hindered the mining in some ways. But we have "our" ground.

Find some gold first NB. Find a club or group. Use open/ withdrawn areas etc... I'll help you find some areas to get some color locally (PM me) and if you can travel (north) many here have shown a willingness to share.

Good luck!
 

Miner -
One whose work or business it is to extract ore or minerals from the earth.

Hobby -
An activity or interest pursued outside one's regular occupation and engaged in primarily for pleasure.


Seems pretty clear cut and dry to me. All the BLM semantics and wording does not change the fact that a "miner" does it for a living and a "hobbyist" does not.

In my opinion (as a Colorado claim owner for 6 whole days now)....if you are not making this your life blood and paying your bills with it. Your have no "right" to call yourself a miner. You do it for a hobby.

You are using the BLM wording as a way to puff your own feathers....while real miners put food on their tables.

Walk into a mining towns bar and tell them all about your little sluice and trommel set-up and how you consider yourself a "miner". Enjoy your butt-whooping.

This will always be a hobby to me....unless I hit a pay-streak to retire on. They I will call myself a miner as I will be there 24/7 making my living.

Shame on you guys for jumping down his throat for calling a duck a duck. He meant no harm and he is absolutely right. 95% of the members here ARE hobbyists. Nobody considers weekend diggers true "miners" other then the small circles you populate with such talk.

If somebody ask you what you do for a living and you say "I am a miner" because that is what you do ALL THE TIME to make money.....then you have a right to make a fuss and I will apologize now for assuming.
 

So much for getting the thread back on track. I tried :}
 

Thank's huntergt for clarifying some definitions. I wasn't going to waste anymore time with it......

Geez, what a bunch of large but fragile egos.

Now about that claim, in a nutshell..... Buyer beware... Do your homework or you'll be spending money for nothin.
Also re-read foweledup's post.... Pretty well sums it up for you.

For me, I agree with huntergt, this is a hobby that gets me out of the office and is a healthy diversion.
The beach is not someplace that is going to make even wages for a person/miner mostly due to the regs we have to contend with, but I really don't need to go anyplace else for the amount of digging I want to do..... Hey I'm an old fart and the knees just aren't what they used to be.... Besides my business is what I rely on for a living and it does just fine with little stress.

Anyway , happy digging and don't sweat the small stuff... life's too short.
 

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johnedoe said:
Thank's huntergt for clarifying some definitions. I wasn't going to waste anymore time with it......

Geez, what a bunch of large but fragile egos.

Now about that claim, in a nutshell..... Buyer beware... Do your homework or you'll be spending money for nothin.
Also re-read foweledup's post.... Pretty well sums it up for you.

For me, I agree with huntergt, this is a hobby that gets me out of the office and is a healthy diversion.
The beach is not someplace that is going to make even wages for a person/miner mostly due to the regs we have to contend with, but I really don't need to go anyplace else for the amount of digging I want to do..... Hey I'm an old fart and the knees just aren't what they used to be.... Besides my business is what I rely on for a living and it does just fine with little stress.

Anyway , happy digging and don't sweat the small stuff... life too short.
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Hey, I understand about the knees. I loved playing football, but the knee problems, in retrospect actually were not worth it. Now, being able to get down to the creek (or river) and do some sluicing work is far more important to me than playing football nearly half a century ago.
 

I know a guy dealing with claims and I tell you - only buy a claim you visited in person before. There is so much fraud coming with claims and unresolved ownership. Watch out! That's a serious tip!
 

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