How long have the laws for owning mining claims been around anyway?
The General Mining Law of 1872 is one of the major statutes that direct the federal government’s land management policy. The law grants free access to individuals and corporations to prospect for minerals in public domain lands, and allows them, upon making a discovery, to stake a claim on that deposit… Currently, mineral claimants must pay an annual maintenance fee of $100 per claim to hold the claim. Once a claimed mineral deposit is determined to be economically recoverable, and at least $500 of development work has been performed, the claim holder may file a patent application for title to both the surface and mineral rights. If approved, the patent can be obtained for $2.50 or $5.00 per acre depending on the type of claim. Presently, because of the moratorium on issuing Patents, no applications are being accepted. Again, this is subject to change in the future.
