There has been a lot of discussion from various angles on the nugget hunting forums lately about mining claims. Claim jumpers, claim jumpees, new clubs and organizations and the dreaded “my nugget patch got claimed” oriented discussions are prevalent.

There are always two schools of thought on the subject of mining claims and therefore two types of people. Those who file claims for whatever reason and those who do not. For those that tend to file mining claims, the game is the same. They find an area, file claim, mine it and try to keep others off it. There is no question that they have the advantage of being on the legal side of the fence when it comes to mineral rights. Still, there are disadvantages to claiming. Some people have no respect and I’ve heard it said that a discovery marker is like putting up a sign that says “dig here”. The ground and it’s contents is no longer a secret. It’s now a matter ofvisual and public record. It can be hard enough keeping the wanderers off the claim much less preventing deliberate mineral theft from those not willing to do their own legwork.

The other school of thought belongs to those who do not claim for whatever reason. Either they are inexperienced in the process of filing a mining claim and avoid it or they choose to find an area and avoid claiming in order to keep the area a secret fromvisual and public record . There can be an advantage to this method. It’s a secret. Get in and get out in a stealthy manner, maintain secrecy and nobody is the wiser. These people have a disadvantage. If someone else finds the patch, the non claimant has no say in the matter. “Hey, that’s my patch” hold no weight because the ground is open. Further, the new discoverer may opt to file a mining claim and then who is on the right side of the law? The new claimant!

So, what is the right path for the nuggetshooter? I think it depends on the situation and situations change, especially in the recent past. More and more placer claims are being filed each month and open ground can and does disappear quickly. Easy access areas that have sported a lot of open ground in the recent past are now being heavily claimed. Areas that used to be considered off the beaten track are seeing more prospectors and thus more claims. It’s no longer wise to set out without prior claims research. A prospector from the 2nd school of thought now has to seriously weigh the risks of using secrecy alone to protect their finds. Is it far enough out? Is there road access or is it a hard hike? Either way, it is certainly well worth learning to do mining claims research and understanding the mining claim filing process while keeping a pulse on the changing attitudes as more and more people change their minds about claiming.

What are your thoughts? Do you claim and why? Do you avoid it and why? Are you considering changing your methods to protect your spots?

I’m looking forward to any comments from registered goldplacer members.