Mineral Survey

A mineral survey is the official survey of a mining claim or mill site made for a mineral patent. BLM's Glossary of Surveying and Mapping Terms (1980) defines it as "A cadastral survey of a lode claim, placer claim or millsite with all its notes and plats," executed "by a U.S. Mineral Surveyor for the purpose of marking the legal boundaries of mining claims on the public domain." It adds that "The location and estimated value of mining improvements are returned by the survey but no reference is made to mineral deposits."

When a survey is required

The Mining Law requires a patent application to include "a plat and field notes of the claim or claims in common, made by or under the direction of the Director of the Bureau of Land Management, showing accurately the boundaries of the claim or claims" (30 U.S.C. 29). BLM's Manual of Surveying Instructions (2009) says "Mineral surveys are required for lode claims and when a placer claim or millsite cannot be conformed to the public land survey or when the land itself is unsurveyed" (section 10-108).

How it is made

• The survey "must be made subsequent to the recording of the location of the claim," and a location survey "cannot be substituted for that required by the statute" (43 CFR 3861.1-2).
• A claimant may employ any qualified U.S. mineral surveyor, and all survey expenses "are to be borne by the mining claimants" (43 CFR 3861.5-2). BLM's brochure says the surveyor is "selected from a roster maintained by the BLM state office."
• The plat and field notes must show conflicts with prior surveys and the area in conflict with each (43 CFR 3861.2-1).
• The mineral surveyor's report includes the value of labor and improvements. The certificate filed with the patent application must show at least $500 of work "upon each location" (43 CFR 3861.2-2).
• "The mineral survey is given a single number" (Manual, section 10-124).

Mineral surveys today

The brochure notes that since October 1, 1994, BLM "has been prohibited by acts of Congress from accepting any new mineral patent applications." The surveys already made remain official records. BLM lists "mineral survey notes and maps" among federal land records, and its rules allow a lode claim description to be tied to "Official U.S. mineral survey monuments" (43 CFR 3832.12(b)(2)).

Why it matters in mining claim research

The Manual says "the date of the official filing of the mineral survey is the controlling event for survey and survey corners and boundary purposes, i.e., physical location or position, and (2) the date of the mineral patent is the controlling event for title purposes" (section 10-216). BLM's handbook for mineral reports (H-3890-3) calls for the "Mineral survey number if appropriate" in a report's land description and for "A mineral survey plat, if one exists." Unpatented mining claims located near patented ground have to be placed against those surveyed boundaries.