Certificate of Location
The document recorded in the county and filed with BLM to establish a mining claim. Some states call it a certificate and require it in addition to the notice posted on the ground.
Detailed Definition
A certificate of location is the recorded document that establishes a mining claim or site in the county records and with BLM. Federal rules treat the two terms together: locating a mining claim means "Recording a notice or certificate of location as required by state and Federal law" (43 CFR 3832.1(a)(2)). For the notice posted on the ground and the federal recording deadlines, see Location Notice.
Posted notice versus recorded certificate
Some state codes separate the two. Alaska requires a notice posted on the ground and then a certificate of location recorded "within 90 days after the date of posting the notice of location on the claim" (AS 27.10.050). California requires recording "Within 90 days after the posting of his or her notice of location" a true copy plus "a statement by the locator of the markings of the boundaries ... and the character of the markings," including section, township, range, and meridian (Pub. Res. Code 3911).
What state certificates must contain
State requirements vary. Examples from the codes:
- Alaska: "(1) the name or number of the claim; (2) the number of feet in length and width of the claim; (3) the date of discovering and of posting the notice of location; (4) the name of the locator or locators; (5) a description of the claim" tied to natural objects or permanent monuments (AS 27.10.050)
- Montana: the certificate must be verified (sworn) and recorded with the county clerk within 60 days after posting (MCA 82-2-102)
- Idaho: one of the locators must "make and subscribe an affidavit, in writing on or attached to the notice," at or before recording (Idaho Code 47-611)
What BLM requires of it
The copy filed with BLM must include the name or number of the mining claim, "The names and current mailing addresses of the locators," the type of mining claim or site, the date of location, and "A complete description of the lands you have claimed" (43 CFR 3833.11(b)). The description must use state, meridian, township, range, section, and aliquot part "to the quarter section," with a map or sketch (43 CFR 3832.12(a)). Lode claims are described "by metes and bounds beginning at the discovery point" with a tie to natural objects or permanent monuments, which may include "Official U.S. mineral survey monuments" (43 CFR 3832.12(b)).
What the certificate does not do
Recording "does not make a claim or site valid if it not otherwise valid under applicable law" (43 CFR 3833.1(b)). Changes are made by amendment; see Amended Location.
Why it matters in mining claim research
The certificate is the recorded statement of where the locator placed the boundaries. BLM's data notes that mining claim boundaries "as staked and monumented, are found in the accepted Notice/Certificate of Location as part of the official case file." Research compares the county and BLM copies, checks each against the state's content rules, and reads its ties and monuments to place the mining claim on the ground.
Related Terms
Mining Claim Staking
The process of locating a mining claim on the ground under state law and recording it with the county and BLM within 90 days of the date of location.
Location Notice
The notice a locator posts on a mining claim and records with the county and BLM, giving the locators, the date of location, and a description of the ground claimed.
Paper
Field shorthand for posting the location notice on a mining claim, the step that pairs with staking its boundaries.
Amended Location
A recorded change to a mining claim's notice or certificate of location that corrects defects, fixes the description, repositions lode side lines, or reduces its size, relating back to the original location date.
County Recording
Recording a mining claim's location notice or certificate, and later documents, in the local recording office of the county or borough where the mining claim lies, as state law requires.
Staking Package
The set of maps, location notices, monument lists, and recording documents prepared before fieldwork so mining claims can be staked, posted, and recorded correctly and on time.
Locator
The person who locates a mining claim or site by staking it, posting the notice, and recording it, and who is named in the location notice. Ownership may later pass to others.