New Mining Claim Patent Issued

[chickenminer]

 

 

In any event, the mission of the BLM is "to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of the public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations." The latter part highlighted because it seems to be forgotten so often... Patenting is clearly a direct hit to future generations since their public resources and land are being allocated before they even have a chance to prospect them themselves (or be born).

 

 

 jasong ...

   Patenting really has nothing to do with your argument here. When I staked my claims and fulfilled all requirements to perfect those claims, I became the exclusive owner

of those mineral rights. No one can prospect on my claim w/o my permission. So that future generation is already out of luck, claims don't need to be patented to have exclusive rights or property rights.

 

 You seem to have an abhorrence for mining claim owners in general and exclusive rights in particular.

 

  It's apparent there are plenty of lawmakers out there that are trying to make your wish come true.  Until that happens the law is the law.

 

 While I certainly do not agree with your position, I enjoy your posts !

[jasong]

Patenting has everything to do with my argument there otherwise I would not have said it. Again, it removes public land and minerals from the public domain. While that land might eventually be traded or given back to the public, those minerals are now forever exempt from location - even if they fall back into the public domain. Those minerals will never again be locatable, only leasable, thus decisions made by prior generations forever affect future generations. 

 

Your claims, if unpatented, may be yours now. But you can still drop them and others may claim them under the General Mining Act and they will continue to stay in the public domain if left unclaimed. See Land Matters latest special report detailing how often this happens, even with claims held over 100 years.. What you won't ever see on that report are patented minerals going back into the public domain because by law they must be withdrawn from location if they do.

 

You are incorrect that I have an abhorrence for mining claim owners. I am a mining claim owner myself, and I am a miner. But I am also a person who sees a problem and I'm not afraid to talk about it even it makes me a pariah. I try to look past my own individual self interests and try to understand the bigger picture. Look, there isn't a person here who wouldn't like some cheap land including myself, but what I'm saying is we need to step back and look at the numbers and ask ourselves if that is sustainable or even ethical to our children, to their grandchildren. We need to stop think about what our country and what the state of mining will be in 25 years, in 50, in 100 years and realize that things can't stay the same forever.

[LipCa]

 "Cheap land"?

[chickenminer]

 

 

 We need to stop think about what our country and what the state of mining will be in 25 years, in 50, in 100 years and realize that things can't stay the same forever.

 

 jasong,

   Indeed, stop and think. When I look back and remember what got us to be a great Nation, I am much more fearful of what I see coming.

 

 To even insinuate that mining and mining law hasn't changed is ridiculous. Prior to 1980 my case file with BLM consisted of a list of my

federal mining claims, as required by FLPMA, and the land status. I recently had BLM make a copy of my current case file. It is 1200 pages !!

 

Patenting brought a degree of stability to a miner in an enterprise full of unstable elements. It brought a stability in land status, a stability in the  

the regulatory process. For those of us that mining is our livelihood, that have invested hundreds of thousands of dollars, that stability is substantial. 

 

 Yes indeed, stop and think. Be careful what you wish for.