Mining Claim Fees Going Up Again Options

[Clay Diggins]

The BLM just raised mining claim location fees to $40.
They also raised the annual maintenance fees to $165. That $165 applies to every 20 acres on a placer claim.

These new fees take effect on September 1, 2019 at 12:01 a.m. If you have already paid your maintenance fees for the upcoming mining year you will still need to pony up the extra $10 per claim/20 acres.

The BLM is saying they will send you a notice if you owe more than you have already paid. If they don't you still need to pay so I wouldn't be waiting around for that letter in the mail, just be prepared to pay up before September 1.

This will give you an idea of how much the annual base maintenance fees per claim/size will be now.

0-20 acre placer millsite, tunnel site or lode claim = $165
20-40 acre placer claim = $330
40-60 acre placer claim = $495
60-80 acre placer claim = $660
80-100 acre placer claim = $825
100-120 acre placer claim = $990
120-140 acre placer claim = $1155
140-160 acre placer claim = $1320

If you have 10 or fewer claims you may be eligible for the small miner's waiver. The fees are the same for the annual small miner filing $15 per claim no matter what size it is as long as you complete $100 worth of work on each claim.

You can read the notice announcing these new fees in today's Federal Register.