Where can I find information on old mining claims?
If you are looking for an ‘old’ mining claim, you need to go to the county office where the claim was located for information. Claimants were not required to file mining claims with the federal government, including the Bureau of Land Management or it’s predecessor the General Land Office before 1976. The Federal Land Policy Management Act of 1976 (FLPMA) required the mining claimants to file existing and new claims with BLM by 1979. Many old mining claims, such as those owned by our ancestors, were no longer valid by 1979. Check the county records for information about these ‘old’ mining claims.
