Discovery Monument

A discovery monument is the monument a locator sets at the point of discovery on a mining claim, usually carrying the posted location notice. Not every state uses one: some put the notice at a corner or on a separate location monument. For the notice itself, see Location Notice; for what counts as a discovery, see Discovery.

Federal rules

• Posting. The notice goes "in a conspicuous place on the claim or site" (43 CFR 3832.11(c)(3)). BLM's brochure "Mining Claims and Sites on Federal Lands" says "The conspicuous place on the mining claim is usually the point of discovery," and that "all mining claims and sites must have a location or discovery monument."
• Description. A lode mining claim is described "by metes and bounds beginning at the discovery point on the claim" (43 CFR 3832.12(b)). The brochure adds: "The discovery point must be tied to some well-known, permanent object."
• Correction. An amendment may "accurately describe the position of discovery or boundary monuments" (43 CFR 3833.21(a)(3)).

BLM's glossary defines the point of discovery as "the precisely indicated position at which a valuable mineral is exposed to view," and says "In the absence of proof to the contrary, the discovery point is held to be the center of the vein on the surface."

State rules

• Utah: "The locator at the time of making the discovery of such vein or lode must erect a monument at the place of discovery, and post thereon the locator's notice of location" (Utah Code 40-1-2). A lode notice states the feet claimed "along the course of the vein each way from the point of discovery."
• Montana: the notice of location is posted at the point of discovery (MCA 82-2-101).
• Colorado: before filing, a lode locator posts notice at the discovery and sinks a 10-foot discovery shaft, or files a map in its place (C.R.S. 34-43-106).
• Washington: a placer notice is posted at the discovery (RCW 78.08.100).
• Arizona: the notice goes on a location monument on the centerline, "a conspicuous monument of stones not less than three feet in height or an upright post securely fixed and projecting at least four feet above the ground." "Until the requirements of subsection A are complied with, no right of location is acquired" (A.R.S. 27-202).
• Alaska: a lode notice is posted "at the northeast corner of the claim" (AS 27.10.030), not at the discovery.

What the monument does not prove

The monument marks where the locator says discovery was made. It does not show that a valuable mineral deposit exists; BLM's brochure says Interior decisions "require a discovery on each claim based on an actual physical exposure of the mineral deposit within the claim boundaries."

Why it matters in mining claim research

For a lode mining claim, the discovery point anchors the description. Research reads the posted and recorded notices for its position and tie, checks it against the state's rule on where the notice goes, and notes any amendment that moved it.