Jim_Alaska

Desert is not the only place for them. This pic was taken in 2005 during a spring flood on the Klamath River. The water had flushed him out of the rip-rap rocks on the bank.

Condor, it might sell better if you posted a picture and especially a price. People like to see what they are buying and they certainly want to know how much they will be paying for it.

This would be wonderful for situations where you want or need to "rake down" tailing piles or flat ground for more depth. Of course the "down side" is another heavy thing to have to pack around. Good information though, thanks for posting it and especially the pictures.

Hmmmmm.....could be someone elses house...👿

Looks like Alaskan mosquito horns to me.

Don't forget you can also make vinegar out of the apples. And please.....don't forget apple pies. You can also slice them, lay them out in the sun to dry for use later. Makes a great healthy munchie.

Is the host rock Basalt? Nice find.

Beautiful specimen Chris, thanks for posting it.

Thank you Clay, I was not aware of a Federal NOI to "hold". Your post makes it clear that the Federal NOI to hold is a part of what I always considered the annual assessment process which requires either work or payments in lieu of annual work accomplished. I humbly stand corrected, but still stand by a NOI for small scale miners not being needed for working their claims.

Yes Harry, I had thought that the designation might just be an error in terminology. That is why I tried to make the distinction between Federal and State. For all I know Nevada may use the wording the OP wrote about and the state of Nevada may require what they call an NOI for the state's part in the claim recording process after the initial claim is filed with the county recorder. As far as an NOI for Federal purposes goes, I consider it a dangerous practice for a small scale miner to file one. In my political mining endeavors I have always tried to discourage the erroneous idea that small scale miners have to file and NOI. In writing this I went to the state of Nevada website here and found this as a brief requirement to file an NOI for both State as well as Federal BLM purposes: "When Required................. The surface management regulations (43 CFR 3809) incorporate three levels of operation: • 1) Casual use by operator who does negligible disturbance. No notice or plan required. Need not contact BLM. Does not include use of mechanized earthmoving equipment or explosives • 2) Notice - includes exploration activities that propose disturbance of 5 acres or less. A written notice, including a reclamation cost estimate, must be submitted to the appropriate BLM Field Office 15 days prior to starting operations. A sufficient financial guarantee amount must be approved by and submitted to the BLM prior to the commencement of operations. Effective for 2 years. May be extended for additional 2 years with the submittal of a revised/updated reclamation cost estimate. • 3) Plan of Operations - includes all mining and processing activities and exploration exceeding 5 acres of disturbance. BLM approves plan." So, it is easy to see that for most, if not all, small scale miners an NOI is not required. It is also important to understand that any requirement for an NOI is not for the purpose of "holding" a claim as the OP asked about, it is for actually working a claim and then only for larger operations than small scale miners employ. Disclaimer------ I am not an attorney and this is not legal advice. It is solely mining requirements as I understand them.

I am not familiar with an NOI to "hold" a claim, so if Nevada requires one just to hold the claim I cannot advise. Much depends on the land classification; is it Federal or State land? If it is State land I cannot advise you in regard to Nevada since my experience is with California State land. But if it is Federal Domain, Federal regulations prevail. Federal regulations speak to the issue of assessment work that is performed annually, or money paid in lieu of the actual work. There is no Federal NOI required to "hold" a claim on Federal Domain, and as Chris rightly pointed out, there is no Federal form for this purpose, this should speak volumes. Having been down this road in regard to Federal Land I would adamantly advice you to not file a NOI (Notice Of Intent). Any Notice Of Intent is designed for large operations, such as mining companies that employ heavy equipment and will disturb a lot of surface area; It is not meant as a requirement to just hold a claim, that is what your yearly assessment work does, it assures that you will hold the claim. If you are a small scale miner a Notice Of Intent is not required and will only result in the NOI being the trigger that will require a Plan Of Operations, and then the real regulations will kick in in the form of an Environmental Impact Studies, reclamation permits, as well as other land and water agency requirements. So, long story short is, if you are a small scale miner on Federal Domain and will move less than the agency required amount of material, you do not need an NOI. To try to file one will open a can of worms that is better left closed.

I think the moths might object. 😀

I think he meant to pick them up once you have marked the spot and detected it, not leave them there. This war on anything plastic is getting old.

It has been my experience you mostly come home smiling. 😀

Now that would cause me to dig everything, no matter what it sounded like.