owning a gold claim

Owning a gold, gemstone, or precious metals claim can be an excellent asset in a portfolio, an operational commercial gold mine, or just recreational property that is utilized and shared through generations of families. Claim ownership comes with many benefits that can be highly rewarding for many years to come.

The BLM defines a claim as such: A mining claim is a parcel of land for which the claimant has asserted a right of possession and the right to develop and extract a discovered, valuable, mineral deposit.

There are 2 primary types of claims that most are familiar with and those are Lode and Placer claims. Lode claims are generally rock in place bearing valuable minerals such as gold bearing quartz veins, or minerals in great volume that would warrant the continued removal. Placer claims are claims where the deposits are located not within the lode. These deposits are usually found as alluvial deposits in lower lying ground then the originating source depositing through means of erosion and wash.

Purchasing a mining claim is a very financially positive choice when it comes to investing money into your personal or business portfolio. As with any proper investment there is needed maintenance, continued research to maintain proper investment value, or diligent pre-purchase exploration/documentation. Mining claims on an investment only perspective can be a great alternative to mining stock, commodity investments, or royalty investing. It is very common to see an initial claim purchase costing roughly $15-$65 per acre with the average claim size being 20 acres. Which if held onto for a few years and properly documented and researched for value reserves can see a 10-100x return on property investment. Unless you are planning on establishing a mining operation I always caution purchasing a claim as an investment through a company selling mining claims. Some of these claims are best suited for commercial mining operations and some of these claims can cost $50-$100/acre. These can be great if you wish to establish a JV investment or lease to a commercial operation for a royalty. I recommend still contacting the mining claim sales company and working with them to file a claim on your behalf which costs a fraction of the cost of most mining claim sales which can be anywhere between $15-$25/acre. Mining claim sales companies sometimes also have low cost investment claims that can be purchased for the purpose of either self exploring, or hiring an explorative/professional prospecting service to document all the values on the property to increase the market value for resale.

Many purchase a gold precious metals claim for recreational use with family or friends. The BLM and other federally owned land generally allows for camping at the claim for 14 day periods. This is great for families who enjoy the outdoors, and gold prospecting is part of the goal. These are amazing and very low cost land usage options for vacations. These claims are very rewarding with the sense of adventure that it can provide. Continued prospecting will allow even the recreational user with some great claim data that can be used in the future to leverage sale and reinvestment into something else. We always recommend keeping a booklet available when prospecting your property so you can record each gps location you find gold. Making continued notes of how much you found VS the amount processed in each area can illustrate the concentration areas the gold created allowing more gold to be found.

Operating a precious metals claim on a commercial level can be very lucrative for the right operation. Understanding your operations capabilities and the relationship between that and your claim type is very important. Placer gold mining equipment looks and costs vastly different than that of Lode gold mining. With lode claims there generally will be underground workings where the removal of precious metal ore is crushed and processed to release the target mineral. For lode gold this is generally done with the use of jaw crushers, hammer mills, ball mills, shaker tables, floatation, and a long list of various equipment variations. The gold is then collected to be sold on the open market through smelting. Placer claims usually have some sort of wash plant onsite cleaning and classifying material until it moves through a sluice and the gold is separated from the other lighter material. These concentrates are then cleaned and refined further to be weighed and sold to the open market or smelted. The biggest hurdle individuals run into when it comes to operating or starting a commercial mining operation is obtaining the proper permits to start work. Making sure you have all the proper maps and their sub-types, plan of operations or notice of intent, state specific permits, on-site interviewing with required agencies are all very important steps in getting an operation off the ground. This can be one of the largest financial steps in the process minus the equipment used for operation. Properly managing any permits and requests that are needed with the agencies in charge can greatly impact surety bonding, terms, even general relationship with the governing bodies in charge. Utilizing either excellent due diligence on the claimants part or hiring a competent agency to help with managing claim permitting is absolute key in initial startup success.

With a mining claim there is so much information available to digest and read with regards to advice on how and what to do and not do. Take advantage of every resource you can and figure out what will work best in your situation and the type of claim you are looking to purchase or operate. Mining claim ownership is a journey that is both fruitful and beautiful. Make the most of it and do not be afraid to learn new things.