Prospecting

Prospecting is the search for a mineral deposit. The U.S. Bureau of Mines' Dictionary of Mining, Mineral, and Related Terms (1968) defines it as "the search for outcrops or surface exposure of mineral deposits," and as "searching for new deposits; also, preliminary explorations to test the value of lodes or placers already known to exist." It adds: "The basic meaning of the term prospecting is search and the objective is discovery."

Prospecting and exploration

The same dictionary explains where one ends and the other begins. A surface discovery "only proves its superficial existence and further work is necessary to establish its quality and extent. The term exploration is sometimes applied to this extension of the discovery work." A prospect, in its words, is "a mineral property, the value of which has not been proved by exploration." The dictionary also uses prospecting for instrument surveys: gravity, magnetic, seismic, and electrical prospecting.

Where prospecting is allowed

The Mining Law declares valuable mineral deposits in federal land "free and open to exploration and purchase" (30 U.S.C. 22). BLM's brochure "Mining Claims and Sites on Federal Lands" says "mining claims and sites may be prospected and located on lands open to mineral entry." Land that is withdrawn is closed to new mining claims; see Withdrawal and Open to Entry. BLM's surface management rules count prospecting among "operations" on public land (43 CFR 3809.5).

Casual use

Most prospecting on BLM land is casual use, which needs no notice to BLM (43 CFR 3809.10). BLM's definition says casual use "generally includes the collection of geochemical, rock, soil, or mineral specimens using hand tools; hand panning; or non-motorized sluicing," and "generally includes use of metal detectors, gold spears and other battery-operated devices for sensing the presence of minerals, and hand and battery-operated drywashers" (43 CFR 3809.5). It "may include use of small portable suction dredges." Casual-use disturbance must still be reclaimed. See Casual Use.

Before a mining claim is staked

BLM's "Staking a Claim" page says: "Prior to locating a claim, a prospector should check BLM records for prior recorded claims. Ultimately, the prospector must check for prior existing claim markings on the ground." It also notes that departmental decisions "require a discovery on each claim, based on actual physical exposure of the valuable mineral within the claim boundaries."

What prospecting does not give

Searching the ground creates no mining claim. A mining claim comes from location: staking the boundaries, posting a notice, and recording it (43 CFR 3832.11), and it is valid only with a discovery. See Discovery and Pedis Possessio.

Why it matters in mining claim research

A prospector's first records search answers two questions: is the land open to mineral entry, and is it already covered by a mining claim? Master title plats, BLM mining claim records, and county records answer both before anyone goes to the field. See also Exploration, Stake, and Area of Interest.