Mining claims in an estate: a guide for executors and estate attorneys

What a mining claim is

An unpatented mining claim is a right to explore for and develop minerals on federal land. It is recorded with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the county, but the land itself stays federal. A patented claim is different: it is private land and is handled like any other real estate (patented or unpatented?). Most claims in estates are unpatented.

First: keep the claims alive

1. Find them. Search the BLM’s Mining and Land Records System (MLRS) by the decedent’s name or by serial number, and list every serial number. How to check a claim
2. Check the next deadline. Each claim needs the BLM maintenance fee ($200 per lode claim, or per 20 acres of placer, for the 2027 assessment year) by September 1, or a small miner waiver. A waiver is open only to holders of 10 or fewer claims and still requires at least $100 of work on each claim each year, recorded on time.
3. Check the county filings. Many states also require a yearly county filing, such as Nevada’s notice of intent to hold, due by November 1. State-by-state rules
4. Don’t let a deadline pass while probate runs. A missed fee forfeits the claim. There is no extension for an open estate, and the ground can then be located by anyone.

Then: move the claims to the heirs

• The transfer follows state law. It takes effect as state law provides, not on the date it is filed with the BLM. Record the deed or court document with the county where the claims sit, then file it with the BLM state office.
• What the BLM accepts. A quitclaim deed, or another legal document such as a will or court decision. Without a deed, the BLM asks for the death certificate (Social Security number redacted) plus a will, a probate decree, or a notarized statement from the heirs that they are the only heirs. In community property states, a surviving spouse named on the death certificate takes the claims automatically.
• What every filing needs. The claim name, the BLM serial number, the new owner’s name and current mailing address, the grantor’s signature and a notary stamp. A missing name, signature, notary stamp or address cannot be fixed later.
• The fee. A processing fee per claim for each new owner ($15 per claim, per grantee in BLM’s 2024 guidance).
• Until it is filed, the BLM treats the last owner of record as responsible and sends its notices there. Heirs who have not filed cannot later say they were not notified.
• Many heirs? Every claimant of record signs to sell a whole claim, so some families move the claims to one heir or one entity first. The estate’s attorney can advise on what fits.

Deciding what to do with them

The estate can keep the claims and keep paying, sell them, grant an option, assign them and keep a royalty, or partner with a developer. Letting them lapse is also an option, but a sale or option before the deadline usually returns more. Sale, option, royalty or joint venture

What a buyer will ask the estate for

• BLM serial numbers and the county recording of each location notice
• Proof of the last fee payment or waiver, and any county affidavits
• Maps, assays, sampling or production records, and photographs
• Any state permits, reclamation plans or bonds tied to the ground
• The documents showing who now holds the claims: deed, will, probate order or letters

For attorneys

If a client’s estate includes mining claims, John Shebanow, Triple 8’s Vice President of Acquisitions, will look at the records with you at no cost and tell you whether the claims are active and whether Triple 8 would make an offer. Call 480.253.9748 or email john@triple8mines.com.

General information, not legal advice. Triple 8 buys mining claims, so it has an interest in this subject. Sources: BLM, transfer of interest (2024); BLM, 2027 mining claim season fees; 43 CFR part 3833, subpart C (transfers). Rules and fees change; confirm them with the BLM and the county recorder.