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.
Detailed Definition
A location notice (also called a notice or certificate of location) is the document a locator posts on the ground and records to establish a mining claim or site. Federal law sets the minimum contents and deadlines; state law adds the details.
Posting on the ground
Under 43 CFR 3832.11(c)(3), locating a mining claim or site includes posting "the notice of location in a conspicuous place on the claim or site." The posted notice must include:
- The name or names of the locators
- The date of location
- A description of the claim or site
- The name or number of the claim or site
The Mining Law itself requires that records of mining claims "contain the name or names of the locators, the date of the location, and such a description of the claim or claims located by reference to some natural object or permanent monument as will identify the claim" (30 U.S.C. 28).
Recording with the county
State law requires recording in the county (or borough). BLM's brochure says the maximum period "is 90 days from the staking of a claim or site on the ground," but "some states require earlier filings, such as 30 or 60 days from the date of location." Examples from state codes:
- Utah: within 30 days after posting the notice (Utah Code 40-1-4)
- Arizona: within 90 days, with a map (A.R.S. 27-203(A))
Recording with BLM
- A copy of the notice or certificate recorded in the county must be filed in the proper BLM State Office "by the 90th day after the date of location" (43 CFR 3833.11(a); 43 U.S.C. 1744(b)).
- The BLM filing must show the claim name or number, the names and current mailing addresses of the locators, the type of claim or site, the date of location, and a complete description of the lands (43 CFR 3833.11(b)).
- Recording requires the processing fee, a one-time $49 location fee, and an initial $200 maintenance fee per lode claim or site, or $200 for each 20 acres or portion of a placer claim (43 CFR 3830.21(a)). BLM "will not record any mining claim or site that is not accompanied by the full processing, location, and maintenance fees" (43 CFR 3830.95).
If it is late
A mining claim or site not recorded with BLM and the local recording office by the 90th day after location "is abandoned and void by operation of law" (43 CFR 3833.1(a)). State codes carry their own rule. Alaska says failure to record in 90 days "constitutes an abandonment of the claim, and the ground is open to location" (AS 27.10.060).
Why it matters in mining claim research
The location notice fixes the date of location, the locators, and the ground claimed. Those are the facts a researcher compares against land status on that date and against other mining claims on the same ground. The county copy and the BLM copy should match, and each recording date has to fall within both the state and the federal deadline.
Related Terms
Mining Claim
A parcel of federal land on which a claimant asserts the right to possess and develop a valuable mineral deposit under the Mining Law of 1872.
BLM (Bureau of Land Management)
The Bureau of Land Management, the Interior Department agency that manages the federal mineral estate and records and maintains unpatented mining claims and sites.
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.
Discovery
The finding of a valuable mineral deposit within the boundaries of a mining claim. A lode or placer claim is not valid until a discovery is made.
Paper
Field shorthand for posting the location notice on a mining claim, the step that pairs with staking its boundaries.
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.
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.