Somebody mentioned a special form to file mining claims with a gps description.
. . . Then we wondered if you still have to put up a claim marker on each corner.
. . . . If so, what is the best claim marker to use . . . In the old days we used 4" x 4' tall pvc pipes. Then I heard that a 3"x3" wood post , 3' tall was big enough.
Just not sure . . . I would say a GPS description would pretty much nail it down in a court of law. Searcher Exploration . . . "Have Dredge . . . Will Travel"
Replies
It still needs a "discovery" monument and marked on the ground. (and, we take pictures every year as we replace them, since folks like to break them, take them, etc.).
Beth
Legelly in Alaska you have to physcially stake claim but that is with Division of Natural Resources or DNR maybe different with Federal Claims.
sharon
Hey there HDWT
Check out Title 43 CFR 3800 (3832) Locating Mining Claims or Sites. Your state BLM office will tell you what is required to stake your claim. YES, it must have corner stakes, and identified on a Government map by legal subdivision ( for example: the E NE 1/4 NE 1/4, Section 2, Township 10 south, Range 21 East, Mount Diablo Meridian). I don't believe that the BLM will except a placer claim located with GPS Coordinates. Check out this site, it has some good info, has not been updated in a while. The prices shown are old. Good luck. http://www.theprospector.com/html/howtostakeclaims.html
The government agencies move very slowly. They are not very techno savy. If they were, we would probably have been forced off all Public land. So, support all efforts to keep pubic lands opened to ALL persons wanting to enjoy the out of doors. Hunters, fisherman, boaters, hikers, bikers, bird watchers, 4X4 & motorcyclers, and most importantly the GOLD PROSPECTORS of all types.
Gramps
but BLM requires range and township data and information from a fixed point. If you are filing a new Claim then, they will have thier surveyors verify the location, thus the need for claim markers.
Also if you have no monuments posted, how does the guy who files for a claim next to yours know where your 'Property Line', claim lines lay.
Those requirements are for your benifit. Let's say there is a dispute, with a claim jumper; the local Sheriff is called not BLM, so you better be able to have the ability to show them your Claim on the map and the required monuments. Showing GPS coordinates will not settle a beef in the field or help when you are arguing a case that someone filed a claim over yours.
You may think technology rules but in the end it is the monuments and maps with legal description of the claim that will win in court, and with all agencies involved.