Buying a mining claim
 

I have been thinking about buying a mining claim somewhere in Colorado where I can go with the dog, camp out, and look for gold.

Does anyone here have any good references for buying mining claims and selecting sites?

Thanks,
D
F

Re: Buying a mining claim
 

You mean your wife....:bull-buddy-icon:

Re: Buying a mining claim
 

If I was in your shoes I'd talk with the guy at "Golden Detectors" in Golden, CO. He is very helpful, and he might even have one to sell you. He has several of his own just west of Denver.

Re: Buying a mining claim
 

I use to dream of working a claim too. I frequented this site. This is another one of those DYODD type things I'm sure.


http://www.goldandsilvermines.com

Re: Buying a mining claim
 

Hello DF,
The gentleman Reno Chris,
He has his own website for this kind of stuff.
PM him maybe ??
Regards,
Haystackneedle

Re: Buying a mining claim
 

Be careful! There are far more mining "claims" folks want to sell then there is gold. Be sure to check the legal history of the claim and the owner of the claim...and the history of finds: amounts & sizes of colors, purity (high quality native gold is 22-23 Kt.), type of deposit(s), and the process(es) that have been used to separate out and recover the gold.

Owning the rights to work a "claim" area that doesn't hold any or a sufficient amount of desired minerals is a complete waste of time and money.

Historically, many of this type of "claim" rights have consistently been offered for sale to the public by unscrupulous individuals....and not infrequently these owners "salt" the claim so when a prospective buyer happens along and "prospects" the area, gold is found.

Beware and be wise. Do your homework. Talk to locals about the claim, it's history, and it's owners.

And don't forget to research the reason the owner is saying s/he is selling the claim. If there's gold present in sufficient quantity to make the claim economically feasible to work, someone would probably be working it - not selling it. Gold is over $900 per ounce and miners aren't stupid.

If you just want to prospect and enjoy the outdoors, fresh air, and comeraderie, get some good exercise, and find some colors, you only need to find work streams and/or metal detect public lands in gold bearing geographic areas. There's a lot of gold out there, the challenge is finding deposits with concentrated colors (reasonably "rich") that make the dirt worth working.

Re: Buying a mining claim
 

DF:
If you are in Colorado, go to Georgetown-Idaho Springs Area and check out the local real estate listings and Mining Claims will pop up. I checked them out a few years ago for a Travel Trailer pad and here was my findings:

1. Differentiate between Patented and Non-Patented Land claims.

Patented means you have Fee Simple Title, non-patented means you have to "prove" the claim by DOI (Dept of Interior) Rules (Search Mining Law of 1872).

2. Research land usage, title, liens and enviromental stuff.

3. GET A LAWYER there are more fishhooks in this stuff now than you can imagine.

Re: Buying a mining claim
 

You can file a claim of your own for about $150 and keep it for $135 per year. Check with your state bureau of mines or the federal Bureau of Land Management. If you can't find them ask at the county recorder's office. They are quite eager to help you file a claim and they have tons of information. Well, pounds at least.

TIP: Find out what area has produced the most gold and go there.

BTW, a claim is worth $500 at the very most, and that would be with a cabin or some equipment.