Lode or placer: which kind of claim do I have?

Short answer: a lode claim covers minerals in place in solid rock, such as a vein. A placer claim covers loose deposits, such as gold in sand and gravel. The type is shown on the location notice and on the claim’s record in the BLM’s system, and it affects the claim’s size, its fees and what a buyer can do with it.

Lode claims

Lode claims cover veins or lodes with well-defined boundaries and other minerals in place in rock. By federal law a lode claim can be up to 1,500 feet long along the vein and up to 600 feet wide, 300 feet on each side of its centre line, or about 20.7 acres.

Placer claims

Placer claims cover deposits not subject to lode claims, most often gold in stream gravels, benches and old channels. One person can locate up to 20 acres. An association of locators can locate 20 acres per person, up to 160 acres for eight or more.

Mill sites and tunnel sites

Mill sites and tunnel sites are not claims to minerals. They support mining claims, for example as ground for processing or for a tunnel to reach a vein.

How to tell which you have

The location notice recorded with the county names the type, and the claim’s record in the BLM’s Mineral & Land Records System (MLRS) shows it too. How to check a claim yourself.

Why it matters

Fees: the BLM maintenance fee is $200 per lode claim, but $200 for each 20 acres, or part of 20 acres, of a placer claim, so a 160-acre association placer owes $1,600 a year. Value: buyers look for different things. Placer ground is judged on gravels, water and recovered gold; lode ground on veins, assays and underground workings. What you can sell: the claim covers the deposit type it was located for, so it is worth knowing exactly what you hold before you price it.

Sources: BLM, explanation of location; BLM, 2027 mining claim season fees. General information, not legal advice.