Prospectors Research Tools

Clay Diggins

Clay Diggins

Silver Member
Nov 14, 2010
4,958
14,509
The Great Southwest
Primary Interest:
Prospecting
Prospector's Research Tools

I haven't been around much this summer and with the desert prospecting season just starting it's a good time to show off what I did this long hot summer. I have been working with a few friends on a new non-profit organization to give you a single place for all your land research.

The result is MyLandMatters.Org. This is the gateway to your land information repository. Maps, books, tutorials, community resources and quality, easy-to-access information about the land around you.

No ads, No memberships, No log-in required. :thumbsup:

This past spring while sitting around with some friends we came to the conclusion that most of the important and useful things that we want to know about the land around us was difficult to locate and tough to understand. Despite the many sources of information there was no single place to find the information available.

We decided we could do something about that. We agreed to put our time and energy into creating a single place that anyone could find the answers to questions about the land.

It's a big project. It has taken a lot of work, learning and resources to get things started. But after six months of long days, and more than a few nights, the Land Matters repository is ready for you to use.

Land Matters is all about the land. You can find Land Status Maps, Active Mining Claims Maps (with live direct links into the current LR2000 claims database), A great collection of mining books, Land Laws, Geology books and maps, Forest Travel Plans and a whole lot more.

Land Matters is for land users. Our collections are guided by community input. That's you. Let us know what kind of material you would like to find in our Library or a particular map you would like to see. Help us build Land Matters to best serve the community.

We've already got a lot of things that prospectors have been asking for - the claims maps alone were almost universally requested. Land Matters isn't just for prospectors and miners. But you can help prioritize our efforts and drive the content of Land Matters. Prospectors now have a unique opportunity to help guide and build an information resource designed by prospectors and for prospectors.

We are just getting started filling the Library but there will be hundreds of books, maps and items added in the next few weeks. We've even got a Newsletter so you can get regular updates about new additions to the Land Matters repository.

Check it out and let me know what you think. Here are a few good places to start:

Tutorials - the current focus is on understanding Land Status.
Maps - We all like maps and we've got some you will love.
Library - search for something.

Heavy Pans
Barry & Leigh
 

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The BLM and other government websites are often down or non functional. The BLM database is rarely available on weekends or after 9 pm Eastern time - this weekend is like most others - sporadic at best.

That's one of the main reasons we created Land Matters. The government just can't be trusted to deliver the information we've paid for.

At the end of this past September the entire National Atlas was taken down with the promise beforehand that those more than 400 map layers would be moved to the National Map before it was closed. Those maps are still not there nor is there any indication we will ever get access to that information again.

There are many more examples of this accelerating trend. Up until 2009 there was a culture of providing free access to more of the public's information every year. Since 2009 the exact opposite is true. Information is being removed from public access at an alarming rate.

At Land Matters our goal is to become a storehouse for all that disappearing public information. That is a monumental task. By making that information available from our fast servers that are open 7 days a week 24 hours a day instead of maybe 5 days a week during most daylight hours people are getting used to having access to important public information without hunting half dead sites.

Some of that information still needs to be accessed through the government servers. Sadly the LR2000 is one of those government sites we can't reproduce entirely on our own servers. You are just seeing a perfect example of the current state of government service. They will serve you when they get around to it. Maybe today wasn't convenient for them?

The irony here is that the BLM originally provided a claims mapping service similar to what Land Matters provides now. That service was shut down in February of 2011 without warning or any explanation. The BLM couldn't do for millions of dollars a month what Land Matters is now doing for hundreds of dollars a month.

As far as closed claims? Turn on that historical claims layer at the bottom right of your map layers. It displays all the claims by section from 1976 onward. Some are still active but many are closed. There is very little useful information in closed claims data. Most claims that are closed really weren't worth keeping - otherwise they would have been maintained by their owners.

If you are looking for a specific closed claim and know the name, owner or location many of those claims that were closed less than 4 years ago can be found on the LR2000. The older closed claims case files are sent for archive at NARA and local case file is destroyed.

If you want to study closed case file history you will need to learn to use the LR2000 database. We have a nice illustrated easy to understand three part tutorial available on the Land Matters Tutorials Archive page.

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Thank you for the reply, Clay. That explains a lot of stuff that I've been wondering about. I remember using the old GeoCommunicator back in the day and at the time it seemed pretty slick, when it worked that is. Yeah, the federal government is out of control, lazy, and way oversized. I wish BLM and NF land could somehow be turned over to each state and each state could take care of it's own mining claims, I think Alaska does their mining claims without the feds involved and I bet it's a lot easier and more problem-free.
 

Maitland said:
Thank you for the reply, Clay. That explains a lot of stuff that I've been wondering about. I remember using the old GeoCommunicator back in the day and at the time it seemed pretty slick, when it worked that is. Yeah, the federal government is out of control, lazy, and way oversized. I wish BLM and NF land could somehow be turned over to each state and each state could take care of it's own mining claims, I think Alaska does their mining claims without the feds involved and I bet it's a lot easier and more problem-free.
Click to expand...

The sad part about the geocommunicator is that it is still fully funded. Who knows where all those millions go now that are supposed to be spent there. The BLM, like so many bureaus under the Department of the Interior, simply refuse to do the job Congress ordered them to do. The missing funding could be used to help the American people enjoy the fruits of all the taxes they pour into these agencies.

Most of the Alaskan "mining claims" are actually mining leases on State land. They are not federal mining claims made under the mining grant. Alaska does not handle federal mining claims.

The BLM is in charge of the federal mining claims case files in Alaska just as they are in the rest of the public land states. There is little Public Land in Alaska available for claiming because more than 75% of public lands have been closed to mineral entry (mining claims).

The BLM in Alaska does not use the LR2000 system for their case files. they have their own rather dated and primitive system known as ACRES. You can check that out at this LINK. As you will see it's a very 1980's system with limited information and a severely limited number of entries returned. The Alaska BLM is historically very unfriendly to mining. They have a long history of harassment and lying to miners.

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Clay Diggins said:
I'm glad you like it, I hope it's giving you some hints where there is some gold you haven't dredged yet! :laughing7:

I'll have more geology for you this weekend okbasspro. Anybody who works as hard as you do for gold deserves all the breaks he can get. :thumbsup:

Heavy Pans
Click to expand...

Already got some spots to sample gotta fund my drywasher for the Arizona claim.:thumbsup:
 

Montana Mining Claims Map!

Montana isn't just a beautiful State it has some of the best opportunities for the small placer miner in the West. Add in the fact that metal detectorists have many locations to find nuggets and you've got a fine summer destination. I plan on spending some time there myself next summer. A great place to beat the heat. :thumbsup:

Here is the new and much requested Montana Mining Claims Map.

Montana Mining Claims Totals:

11,030 Lode Claims
..2,691 Placer Claims
..1,378 Millsites
.......22 Tunnel Sites
15,121 Total Claims

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Update and Correction to South Dakota Mining Claims Map

We've added 1 Placer Claim and 13 Lode Claims to the South Dakota Claims Map.

We discovered the error while working on the Montana Mining Claims Map. It seems the BLM made a LITTLE BooBoo. :laughing7:

They put the wrong Meridian on those 14 South Dakota Mining Claims so they ended up putting those South Dakota claims more than 600 miles away in Montana! :BangHead:

We fixed that LITTLE BooBoo for them on the Land Matters map.

This is a good opportunity to make a point that can't be made too often. The BLM database is managed by very ordinary people who make very ordinary mistakes about Claims that are very important to prospectors. The information we present on these claims maps is only as good as the work that has been done by the BLM (Or maybe a little better in some cases? :laughing7:).

Without going into the obvious problems created by these mistakes I want to remind everyone that these maps are only the beginning of a longer process of doing the research required by law before you enter the public lands to prospect. Do your own due diligence before prospecting or claiming. Land Matters is here to help you with that research but in the end it will be you making the final decision to prospect or claim public lands.

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Well looks like I'll just have to go check out the Montana maps since I've got a couple of friends I'VE been meaning to go see. Might as well make it a "Working Vacation" !!! Only problem is that they're so far north in the state I think I'll be able to chuck a rock into Canada from their place. Better pack my woolies too!
 

Montana Geology Map

Since we finished up the Montana Claims Map it just made sense to put together a geology map to help our fellow prospectors to find more gems and gold. Montana has both in abundance. Some of the finest Sapphires in the world come from the Yogo gulch district and you can find good gold ground for sluicing, detecting or drywashing all in some of the most beautiful settings you could wish for.

Enjoy the Land Matters Montana Geology Map with Faults and Dikes layers. :thumbsup:

Heavy Pans
 

Mining Claims Maps

With the completion of the Montana Mining Claims Map Land Matters has now finished the complete collection of the 12 western public land states with claims. We will continue to update these maps to keep you as current as we can.

Time to tally up the results of more than three months of work building these maps.

There are a Total of:

400,816 Mining Claims in the western mining states

345,069 of them are Lode Claims - thats 86% of all claims.

..43,930 of them are Placer Claims

..11,647 are Millsite Claims

.......170 are Tunnel Site Claims

49.4% of all Claims are in Nevada - 197,959 claims total - by far the most claims in any State.

The next largest number of claims is Arizona with just 11% of the total.

The smallest number of claims in a State is Washington with 2,720 Mining Claims - Just 0.68% of all claims.

These numbers tell a part of the story of mining in the west.

There is a lot more to tell of that story and we at Land Matters will continue to tell that story.

I've been burning the midnight oil for days to give you all the research materials I can for your Holiday Gift. :icon_santa:
Use it wisely, research well, and you will find the golden prize. :thumbsup:

More to come - after I rest. :sleepy2:

Heavy Pans to all

Barry
 

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Barry, Leigh and the rest of the team,

I'd like to thank you folks for what has got to be the best Christmas present that the prospecting and mining members of the T-Net community have ever received from a fellow member. Your efforts toward educating this ragged crew of miners and prospectors is without equal. Thanks to your efforts, not a one of us in the western states has anything close to a valid excuse for not being able to up our game in the hunt for that elusive metal that we all love to play hide and seek with!

I know that I will be elbow deep in research for quite some time to come and if the other members here are as smart as I think they are, they will be too!

Knowledge like this is TRULY the gift that keeps on giving!

Jeff
 

The thanks is much appreciated. And surely for the mining community the ability of miners to obtain all the information they need to have their own claim(s) has become extensive! Many individuals were buying claims off of Ebay etc....with a monetary cost. The amount of hours spent providing this information by dedicated, expert individuals is beyond ones belief. Public TV broadcasting and Public Radio are always asking for contributions.

There is no doubt such monetary giving is necessary to keep Land Matters ongoing; as it cost money just to keep it alive on the net. More important will be the ability to obtain the 501C3 non-profit status and the ability of Land Matters to acquire grants and support from other monetary givers. Land matters is designed as a Learning Tool providing endless amounts of information/knowledge.

While there is no doubt Christmas is a time demanding a lot from individuals, please give thought to supporting Land Matters with a giving contribution....every little bit helps at this time of year. Thank You and all thanks is appreciated.
Merry Christmas to all....enjoy
Bejay
 

Bejay said:
The thanks is much appreciated. And surely for the mining community the ability of miners to obtain all the information they need to have their own claim(s) has become extensive! Many individuals were buying claims off of Ebay etc....with a monetary cost. The amount of hours spent providing this information by dedicated, expert individuals is beyond ones belief. Public TV broadcasting and Public Radio are always asking for contributions. There is no doubt such monetary giving is necessary to keep Land Matters ongoing; as it cost money just to keep it alive on the net. More important will be the ability to obtain the 501C3 non-profit status and the ability of Land Matters to acquire grants and support from other monetary givers. Land matters is designed as a Learning Tool providing endless amounts of information/knowledge. While there is no doubt Christmas is a time demanding a lot from individuals, please give thought to supporting Land Matters with a giving contribution....every little bit helps at this time of year. Thank You and all thanks is appreciated. Merry Christmas to all....enjoy Bejay
Click to expand...

Well said bejay I have donated and supporting the Oklahoma geology map for 6 months
 

Alright all my Oklahoma friends get over to Land Matters and check out the Oklahoma Geology Map. It has a wealth of info and will help in our search for the elusive yellar metal. I have sponsored the map for 6 months starting 1/1/15 so no donation popup but please consider that option there is untold hours that was put into Land Matters to help everyone that uses public land. I can not thank Clay Diggins enough.
Heavy Pans to all I got to go mining:occasion14:
 

Thank you! :headbang:
I donate to PLP, I will now send donations your way.
So do you plan to do a land Matters Canadian version?:laughing7:
 

You folks have truly provided a wonderful and useful tool to the mining and prospecting community. I'm sure other user groups will catch on as well.
Thank you so much, a very Merry Christmas to you all.

If you ever get back this way, feel welcome to look me up.

Mike
 

Well just as I was starting the last of my planned sections for my "field kit" version of the AZ claims map, things started wigging out with Verizon again. While I can still get the map to load it is not complete. Map shows up after a very long wait and it has the layer selections shown, but none of the map controls. (Zoom in/out, Info, Search, Refresh etc) Needless to say I'm not a happy camper right now when it comes to our Verizon service. It took me over half an hour just to get to this thread because EVERYTHING is loading so slow. I know it's not this computer as I've tried on the others with the same results. The computers here are not networked so I doubt it's some kind of virus causing this. that can only leave me to assume it's Verizon playing around with their compression algorithms again.
 

We're thinking of moving back to Alaska. Sure would like to see some detailed maps of the Independence area down to Eagle River. Probably going to buy or build somewhere in that area again. Maybe up to Talkeetna. I need a good gold bearing stream where I can dredge and fight with the salmon again, hehe. I checked the Alaska map or world map and I know the area but everything helps :)
 

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