# Start a collective on a mining claim?



## Kim Chee

I see some pretty inexpensive mining claims out there which might provide:

A place to stay
Something to do
And
A few bucks for your efforts

I read something that says a person can live on a claim they are working. I'm thinking that if that is true, that a mining claim could be an ideal place for a community to live, work the land, make an existence and maybe eventually have enough to purchase land elsewhere. 

Anybody like to share some thoughts?


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## Sip

Sounds terrific, actually. Pretty ideal. How does one go about making a claim, and where?


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## Kim Chee

Sip said:


> Sounds terrific, actually. Pretty ideal. How does one go about making a claim, and where?



They are for sale! It would be cool to find something productive.
AZand NM look ideal. I hardly know shit about the subject, but I'm pretty sure somebody here has and that might be all it takes to keep the ball rolling.

...be a cool remote waystation for some too, I suppose.


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## LawrenceofSuburbia

I think the laws can vary a bit but yeah you can live on your claim so long as you can prove work is being done on actually mining it. It goes something like that anyway, and I doubt anyone actually enforces the clause of having to actually work on it. I'm not 100% sure of this though.


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## Kim Chee

LawrenceofSuburbia said:


> I think the laws can vary a bit but yeah you can live on your claim so long as you can prove work is being done on actually mining it. It goes something like that anyway, and I doubt anyone actually enforces the clause of having to actually work on it. I'm not 100% sure of this though.



This is my impression of how it would work. Except, I think that the burden of proof would be on BLM or whoever oversees shit to say that you are NOT mining it rather than for you to prove that you are mining the claim (and of course we'd be mining it no matter how slowly).


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## LawrenceofSuburbia

makes sense that'd work that way to me, but a lot of things do and then turn out not to work that way at all.

I'll look into it, I'm intrigued now.


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## Sip

Are you looking to start something Mmmmmmichael, or are you just putting the info out there?


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## Kim Chee

Sip said:


> Are you looking to start something Mmmmmmichael, or are you just putting the info out there?



If it looked viable and there were interested people, I'd be more than happy to work at a McD's for 1/2 years to put in on a vehicle/supplies/claim and work that shit. I'm all for working for something to get an even better place whether it be another claim or a legit retreat. 

I don't mind the thought of sifting through some dirt for precious metals.


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## LawrenceofSuburbia

so here's the gist of it:

http://ask.metafilter.com/185415/What-can-I-build-on-a-mining-claim

short answer you need assloads of permits to do anything legally as well as reasonable justification that anything you build is related in some way to mining (signs, fences, anything)

however I think these are skirtable issues, these claims are often remote, owned by hobbyists, or just too plain boring (from what I've seen) for the BLM to really care. so its a valid possibility for some form of communal living but is not without risk.


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## Kim Chee

LawrenceofSuburbia said:


> so here's the gist of it:
> 
> http://ask.metafilter.com/185415/What-can-I-build-on-a-mining-claim
> 
> short answer you need assloads of permits to do anything legally as well as reasonable justification that anything you build is related in some way to mining (signs, fences, anything)
> 
> however I think these are skirtable issues, these claims are often remote, owned by hobbyists, or just too plain boring (from what I've seen) for the BLM to really care. so its a valid possibility for some form of communal living but is not without risk.



I'm particularly interested because of the actual cost of obtaining a claim. As for building on it...I think it could be expensive if you intended on complying with regulations. I'm thinking that the property will probably be subjected to annual inspection (the interval if any is probably posted somewhere) to make sure you're following the rules. So what if there are 20 people on the property and only 5 are digging/sifting. As long as you are essentially "in compliance" I don't think you'd be harassed much, maybe just subjected to more frequent visits from people who you'll get to know. Eventually they will figure out they have better things to do unless you aren't complying with the agreement.

I didn't think there were miles of red tape involved, a few dollahs, some rules and get busy. I think the hard part could be selecting an appropriate claim to purchase and finding a few individuals who are willing to do what they can and work together.


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## sketchytravis

Pretty sure they have old semi productive claims on ebay for pretty cheap.... Sometimes theres already old shacks and such on em too


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## Kim Chee

sketchytravis said:


> Pretty sure they have old semi productive claims on ebay for pretty cheap.... Sometimes theres already old shacks and such on em too



I'm not sure if eBay is the best source for claims, but there are plenty there to choose from at what seem to be low prices. A shack would be a bonus.


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## Tude

oooohhhh sounds fun and dirty and fun and dirty ... Always wanted to do something like this - and to camp as well would be lovely.


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## janktoaster

I mean if you're lucky, you'll get a claim with some used equipment on it. I've seen the mining shows on tv, and staged/scripted or not, I'm not down to destroy some beautiful, remote patch of land to barely break even


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## Kim Chee

janktoaster said:


> ...I'm not down to destroy some beautiful, remote patch of land to barely break even



So...at a certain dollar amount you're willing to destroy nature?

I was thinking of minimally invasive, blah blah, ecologically minded, blah blah...unless we start finding huge ass nuggets, then we can get a bulldozer in there, do some hydraulic mining and whatever

I'm not sure how much work some used equipment would need. Any equipment on the property is probably scrap unless you pay for it.

I think lucky would be meeting costs, getting by and saving a little. That labor intensive kind of work will give you the time to figure out something else to do when it is time to move on.


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## janktoaster

No, no dollar amount would give me the will to destroy nature!! 

Although, I do know how to use an excavator. An ex girlfriend of mine's dad owned a construction company, she taught me.. hahah


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## Thorne

Damn good thread. I'm going to look into it a bit more. 


Might be a good branch off for HnH, but I'd prefer to have at least one Urban based Project House/Way Station, etc. To be the public conduit for donations, fundraising, etc. That doesn't mean that there' can't be other branches. Or, maybe a network. HnH can network with other groups around the country and we can all help each other. Doesn't have to be an affiliation, just some like minded folks trying to make it in an alternative way .

Thanks for the info and the heads up michael.


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## Kim Chee

Thorne said:


> Damn good thread. I'm going to look into it a bit more.



I'd be more than happy to support such an activity if it gets serious (and I hope it does).


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## sketchytravis

mmmmmmmichael said:


> I'm not sure if eBay is the best source for claims, but there are plenty there to choose from at what seem to be low prices. A shack would be a bonus.



Well obviously there has to be better choices. im just saying when i was lookin for cheap spots to house up i noticed that and looked at it a lil and they were pretty cheap, semi productive and a lot of land. and occasionally had some shitty housing set up... And let's be honest, Damn near everyone on this site could care less what the potential housing would be like lol


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## GoldRush

Mining Claims are actually very easy to aquire, use and stay on if you can validate that you are working the site. There is a simple Notice of Operation required to be submitted to the blm of FS (whoever is steward of the land). On claims with buildings, you can restore the buildings to previous state and utilize them as such. 
There are a lot of claims that still have a lot of valuable minerals that are relatively easy to get out, and more and more places that will do the processing for you. (ie, you break the rock, they refine the metals out). 
The BLM and other agencies like to take advantage of peoples ignorance and push them out of mining, but in reality, its an easy way to make money. Consider that the main reason most of the west exists is because of mining, and if it was some brain surgery to do it, the old miners of the day wouldnt have been able to figure it out. 
That said, watch who you buy from. There are a few out there that will find any hole in the ground and try to sell it. Make sure the claim has a history, access, a USGS record is nice, and that you can see what you will be mining. Otherwise, dont waste your money.
If you guys need more help, feel free to hit us up through our website.

Sincerely,
Corey Shuman
goldrushexpeditions (cannot post link, sorry)
385-218-2138


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## Kim Chee

Here's the link to the above post (http://www.goldrushexpeditions.com/)
Looks like they sell/finance claims. I'm not sure if this is the best source, but I think I saw something on their website offering you the ability to make payments from what you're able to extract.


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## hobotrucker

I'd be interested in learning more of these endeavors should any of you guys pursue them. I was a coal miner for 3 years and have a general knowledge with skill set of what entails the process. I have always been interested in gems and diamonds. Have any of you ever stopped by the Crater Of Diamonds in Arkansas by the way?


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## Rob Nothing

yeah, mining. like panning for gold and digging up silver mining is still a real thing. I talked to this kid that happened to be from where I went to highschool and he was telling me about his mining experiences in oregon and in washington. it's easy attaining a license, apparently, and you really do make money.


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## treatment

mmmmmmmichael said:


> I was thinking of minimally invasive, blah blah, ecologically minded, blah blah...unless we start finding huge ass nuggets, then we can get a bulldozer in there, do some hydraulic mining and whatever



"minimally invasive... huge *ass *nuggets..then..bulldozer..mining..whatever"

Woah there..

Jokes aside, that sounds pretty cool. Especially if the living situation could be finagled correctly, you could make a pretty alright setup out of a claim. Especially somewhere that building materials would be relatively available to be scrapped from the floor of the earth. 
Sort of related, I've been looking into getting a job in the mines in western PA, seems like a decent opportunity to work my dick off for a few years and make out like a king.


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## Raging Bird

I've got an aunt who does this for a living. Pretty sure she gets shale or some other rock, nothing fancy like gold or silver. If I recall, there was also an old head on the board who owned something out west. Shoestring, HogheadBob, someone like that. Maybe a search for "mineral rights" would turn it up.


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## Durp

Be careful with water. I was looking into this, and a lot of the claims I looked at seemed good until the soil core samples came back from my buddy and his Universities soil lab. A lot of those places are loaded with nasty nasty stuff like mercury, lithium, arsenic, lead ect. make sure you have a soil test done before buying anything. I would hate to see someone accidentally poison themselves, or even worse, children.


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