Prospectors Research Tools

[Clay Diggins]

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.

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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[winners58]

could be that I haven't updated anything since 2008... my mouse doesn't understand HTML5 html5 scroll test

Never mind its just me...

 

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[Clay Diggins]

Mining Claims Maps Updated to March 1

Land Matters updated their Mining Claim maps on Wednesday the first of March.

Land Matters updates those claims maps twice a month - the most frequently updated claims maps available at any price!

The BLM didn't get the data ready for us until 5pm Pacific time so we worked most of the night getting the map uploads ready. The BLM only provides a spreadsheet style database and we convert that into a useable mapping system so there is nothing "automatic" about how these claims updates work.

Being midnight when we finally wrapped up the updates I once again forgot to announce the update was ready. From the 14,000 + maps being served that evening I'm guessing a lot of people are using Land Matters as their go to place for claims status. I know the mining companies use the maps a lot so don't be shy about jumping in and getting some yourself. There are still millions of acres of good ground out there open to prospecting.

If you are ever wondering how up to date the Land Matters claims map you are using is just run an information request and to the right of the return window you will see when the last update was made. Here's what that looks like:


It's still out there Go get u sum!

Heavy Pans

 

[Clay Diggins]

Mining Claims Maps Updated to April 1

Land Matters Mining Claim Maps have been updated to April 1.

They were also updated on March 15th but I got busy and forgot to post here.

The PLSS has been updated too. Lot's of additions and changes there all across the U.S. Big changes in Florida, California, Alabama, Colorado, New Mexico and Missouri. Oklahoma finally got the new CadNSDI and second division (sections etc.) for the first time. Minnesota added a lot of Special Surveys.

The Master Title Plat downloads are fixed now. The BLM General Land Office changed their access code system and didn't bother to tell us. We get a lot of this with government access - stuff changes all the time and sometimes it's all we can do to keep up. I use the MTP function quite a bit so I think it was only down for a day or so. Please let us know if a function isn't working so we can track down the problem and correct it.

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[Clay Diggins]

Mining Claims Maps Updated to April 15

As Land Matters does twice each month the Mining Claims Maps have been updated again.

Where else can you get up to date Mining Claims, Land Status and PLSS all on the same map?

Crickets and silence.

Support Land Matters.

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[Clay Diggins]

Well the Land Matters Mining Claims Maps were updated last Monday as they are twice each month.

And just like last time I forgot to post those updates here.

The season is just beginning in most of the west. It's still out there and I have a feeling this is going to be a banner year for many here.

Go get u sum!

Heavy Pans

 

[Clay Diggins]

Mining Claims Maps Updated to June 1

Gosh it's that time again. Spring has sprung across all the states and prospecting is going into full swing for the season.

Land Matters updated their Mining Claims Maps last Friday morning. We also updated them on the 15th of May but I just haven't had time to post that up here.

In any case Land Matters always provides the most up to date claims mapping available at any price. We serve up thousands of these maps every hour and those numbers keep growing so I know folks are getting their prospecting mojo on with the help of Land Matters. That's a good thing!

We've got some new tools coming soon to make your research even easier and more productive. Keep an eye out for those updates soon.

For those of you who are Claims Advantage Members you may have noticed there has been a significant change to one of the most famous mining districts in California. New ground opening up for the first time since 1890.

Here's the number of claims closed so far this mining year:



Land matters has made maps of all those 27,127 Closed Claims for our Claims Advantage Members.

Heavy Pans

 

[Goldwasher]

hey barry does the report compile for claims advantage members? As in what I see is the total for the year?

Is that why I cant go to a report from April?

 

[Clay Diggins]

hey barry does the report compile for claims advantage members? As in what I see is the total for the year?

Is that why I cant go to a report from April?

The twice monthly reports only show the claims that had their BLM case status changed to CLOSED in the previous 15 days. Each report is independent of the others so your April reports should open to only display the 15 day period shown near the top of each page of the report.

On the beginning page of each Member Report there is a claims closed summary for the report period as well as the totals so far this mining year. I shared the summary table from that front page. in the post above yours.

If you are missing reports just contact Land Matters and they will send you a new report. Members also receive Annual reports and various Special Reports. If you would like copies of those just include the request in your email. This stuff is all free for members on request.

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[Clay Diggins]

Mining Claims Maps Updated to June 15

The Land Matters Mining Claim Maps were updated to June 15th on Friday.

The update and reports were a bit late this round because the BLM made a little goof and uploaded the wrong files to the server. Thanks to the quick response from Kathy at the Denver data office to get those files corrected. It was probably overtime in Denver when the right files went up but they stuck to it and got the right update loaded up to the server. There will always be human errors in a complex system like this but with good employees like Kathy it can all be sorted out.

Land Matters has been developing an historical mining group for the mining claims maps. Some of that is live now with more to come. I'll get into the details later but in the meantime keep an eye out for these map additions, I think you will find them helpful in your research.

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[Clay Diggins]

Land Matters Server Whoops!

We had to do a little routine maintenance on the Land Matters Server databases this afternoon and it ended up being more of a drain on the server than we planned. Some mapping users may have experienced unresponsive maps for a few minutes. I apologize for any inconvenience that may have caused Land Matters users.

All is back to normal now. The maps in general should be a little speedier and in the next few weeks we have plans to bump server speed even more.

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[uklfester]

Y'all keep up the good work.

 

[Clay Diggins]

Mining Claims Maps Updated to July 1

The Land Matters Mining Claim Maps were updated on Wednesday. The BLM was a bit late getting the files out on Monday the 3rd and I actually took a day off on the 4th so there was no update until the 5th.

Lots of older claims closed in California and the New Claims layer is seeing quite a bit of activity in some states this report period. I hope folks are finding some good gold on those new claims.

There are a lot of changes happening on the Mining Claims Maps. Not all States have the new features yet but keep an eye out for a new set of Historical Mining Claims map layers. Let me know what you think.

Heavy Pans

 

[KevinInColorado]

The ONE new claim in Colorado is my new claim

 

[Clay Diggins]

The ONE new claim in Colorado is my new claim

Congrats on the claim Kevin. Looking forward to reading about your adventures there.

Yeah it's kind of cool that you can find the new claims so easy. I use pro mapping software in my business but a lot of my research starts online with Land Matters. I've found I use the new claims layer quite a bit.

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[Clay Diggins]

The Land Matters Mining Claims Maps were updated yesterday evening.

This bimonthly update shows a lot of claim activity in California. 267 claims were closed and 18 new claims were added in California over the 15 day period. That's a bunch of new open ground for prospecting. From the Claims Advantage Report I see that a lot of those closed claims were on the American river and in Mariposa County.

Might be a good time to do some exploring on those California Rivers!

Heavy Pans

 

[et1955]

Was there a problem with this last update, I always check on the claims around mine for closures but now no claims are listed now, not even mine, before this update all info was there, now nothing. Check up river from Sawyers Bar, N.F. Salmon river. Flapjack bar is my claim, thanks.

 

[Clay Diggins]

Was there a problem with this last update, I always check on the claims around mine for closures but now no claims are listed now, not even mine, before this update all info was there, now nothing. Check up river from Sawyers Bar, N.F. Salmon river. Flapjack bar is my claim, thanks.

Hi et1955. Thanks for bringing this to my attention. I looked at the files on the server and there seems to be some geometry problems there. California just updated their PLSS geometry and it looks like they overwrote some past corrections.

I'll look into that tomorrow and see if we can't get that fixed. It would help if you could PM me your claim name and the TRS description for your claim location.

Heavy Pans

 

[et1955]

Thanks, pm on it's way

 

[Clay Diggins]

Was there a problem with this last update, I always check on the claims around mine for closures but now no claims are listed now, not even mine, before this update all info was there, now nothing. Check up river from Sawyers Bar, N.F. Salmon river. Flapjack bar is my claim, thanks.

It's all good to go now et. As suspected the California "improvement" broke the PLSS in several places. It's been repaired and there are now procedures in place to double check for these type of errors.

Thanks again for your input. I encourage all Land Matters users to let us know if you see a problem or want a feature added to the site.

Heavy Pans

 

[Clay Diggins]

The Land Matters Mining Claims maps were updated again yesterday.

We are near the end of the federal mining year (August 31) and California BLM is really trying to get caught up before that day. 577 more California mining claims closed in the last month alone with about another 500 due to be closed this month. It's a good time to be looking for open ground in California.

Nevada and Utah had the most new claims located in the last 15 days with more than a thousand new claims between them.

Check it out. There might be a juicy new spot you have been just waiting to prospect!

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