Locator

A locator is the person who locates a mining claim or site: who stakes it, posts the notice, and is named in the location notice and the recorded certificate. Locators hold the mining claim when it is made, but ownership can pass; BLM's rules note that "The claimant may be someone other than the person who originally located the claim or site" (43 CFR 3830.5). See Claimant.

Who may locate

Under 43 CFR 3830.3, persons qualified to locate mining claims or sites include:

• "United States citizens who have reached the age of discretion under the law of their State of residence"
• "Legal immigrants who have filed an application for citizenship with the proper Federal agency"
• "Business entities organized under the laws of any state, including but not limited to corporations and partnerships"
• "Duly constituted and appointed agents acting on behalf of locators qualified" under the other three

Proof of citizenship "may consist, in the case of an individual, of his own affidavit thereof," and for a corporation, of a certified copy of its charter or certificate of incorporation (30 U.S.C. 24).

What the locator's name controls

• The notice. The posted notice must include "The name or names of the locators," with the date of location and a description (43 CFR 3832.11(c)(3)).
• The records. Records of mining claims must "contain the name or names of the locators" (30 U.S.C. 28), and the BLM filing must show "The names and current mailing addresses of the locators of the claim" (43 CFR 3833.11(b)(2)).
• Placer size. An individual placer mining claim may not exceed 20 acres; an association placer needs "at least eight co-locators" to reach 160 acres, and "You may not use the names of other persons as dummy locators (fictitious locators) to locate an association placer claim for your own benefit" (43 CFR 3832.22(b)).
• Later transfers. An association placer conveyed to fewer owners must have had a discovery first, or be reduced on BLM's notice to meet "the 20-acre per locator limit" (43 CFR 3833.33).

The locators' right

The Mining Law gives "The locators of all mining locations made on any mineral vein, lode, or ledge, situated on the public domain, their heirs and assigns," the exclusive right of possession of the surface within their lines, so long as they comply with federal and state law (30 U.S.C. 26).

State requirements

Idaho requires one of the locators named in the notice to "make and subscribe an affidavit, in writing on or attached to the notice" (Idaho Code 47-611). Utah requires the locator to "erect a monument at the place of discovery, and post thereon the locator's notice of location" (Utah Code 40-1-2).

Why it matters in mining claim research

The locators on the original notice are the start of the chain of title. Research compares the names on the posted notice, the county record, and the BLM filing, and checks each association placer for enough real co-locators to support its acreage.