An unpatented mining claim is a right to mine a mineral deposit on federal land. The holder doesn’t own the land, and the surface stays public. A patented mining claim is different: it’s private land.
Nearly every active claim you’ll see in BLM’s records is unpatented. The word “patent” here has nothing to do with inventions. It’s the deed the federal government gives when it passes land to a private owner.
What an unpatented claim gives you
BLM describes a claim as a piece of land where the holder has asserted a right of possession and the right to develop and take out a valuable mineral deposit. So the holder can mine the deposit, and other people can’t take those minerals. To be valid, a claim needs a real discovery of a valuable mineral, and it has to be filed and kept up the way the law requires.
It doesn’t give the holder exclusive use of the surface. The US Forest Service puts it plainly: “The surface of an unpatented mining claim is NOT private property.” A holder also can’t put up a building without approval. On national forest land, the Forest Service says that takes an approved plan of operations.
Patented vs. unpatented mining claims
| Unpatented claim | Patented claim | |
|---|---|---|
| Who owns the land | The federal government | A private owner |
| What the holder has | The right to mine the deposit | The minerals and, in most cases, the surface too |
| Can the public cross it? | Usually yes, without getting in the way of mining | Only with the owner’s permission |
| Yearly federal fee | $200 per lode claim, or $200 for each 20 acres of placer | None. It’s taxed like other private land |
| Can you get a new one? | Yes, on land open to mineral entry | No. BLM isn’t taking new patent applications |
Can you still patent a mining claim?
No. Congress stopped the funding to process new patent applications starting October 1, 1994, and BLM says it won’t accept new ones until that changes. The patented claims out there today are older ones, many of them from the big mining booms. You can still buy one from its owner like any other private land.
How holders keep an unpatented claim
A claim doesn’t last on its own. On or before September 1 each year, the holder has to pay $200 per lode claim, or $200 for each 20 acres of a placer claim. People with 10 or fewer claims can file a waiver instead and do at least $100 of work on each claim. If the holder misses it, the claim ends and the ground can open up again. Those dropped claims are what our guide to abandoned gold claims is about. BLM keeps the current numbers on its mining claim fees page.
Can you go on an unpatented claim?
Usually you can cross one or camp there, as long as the area is open to the public and you stay out of the way of the mining. The Forest Service says it manages “recreational public use of the area and public access across lands covered by the unpatented mining claim.” What you can’t do is dig or take the minerals without the holder’s permission. That’s claim jumping.
Rules can differ by agency and by state, so check with the local BLM or Forest Service office if you aren’t sure. Patented land is private, so stay off it unless the owner says yes. A patented claim can look just like the public land around it, and BLM says it’s on you to know where you are.
How to tell what you’re looking at
Our Google Earth maps show claims from BLM’s records. Yellow boxes are active lode claims and orange boxes are active placer claims. Both are unpatented. Some closed claims went on to become patented, so a closed claim on the map doesn’t always mean open ground. Our guide on how to check a mining claim walks through the record lookup, and the county can tell you who owns private land.
More words explained in our gold prospecting glossary.