In this article we look at some of the Idaho, Nevada and Wyoming mining claim requirements.
Introduction
As mentioned in other posts, the federal government set out basic rules governing staking mining claims. However, the states establish their own staking requirements like the size, quantity and material of boundary monuments and where to post the Location Monument for each claim. As a result, there are state by state differences when doing the fieldwork of locating mining claims.
ID, NV and WY mining claim requirements
Below are diagrams for Idaho, Nevada and Wyoming. The diagrams show the number of claim posts, their size and their materials:
(Links to each state’s regs are available below)
Comparing ID, NV and WY Requirements
- Idaho requires the least number of posts, only four, but they require 4″ (nominal) diameter posts. If trees are not available, like in many places in southern Idaho, 4x4s are necessary. Packing 4x4s on packboards obviously adds significant time and cost to a claim staking project.
- All other factors being equal, a Wyoming claim staking project will be more expensive than the exact same Nevada project because of the added requirement of the two sideline boundary posts. A Nevada claim block of 100 claims might have 300ish corners and LMs to locate, but the same claim block in Wyoming would have another 100-150 sideline posts.
Links to State Statutes and Handbooks
This article is a basic look at some of the mining claim location requirements in Idaho, Nevada and Wyoming. To read the individual state statutes and handbooks where we got this information, use the links below:
For Idaho statutes, click here and for a nice handbook, click here
For Nevada’s rules, click here. (I’d say that Nevada’s handbook is must reading for anybody interested in staking mining claims anywhere).
For Wyoming’s statutes, click here. You have to navigate a bit once you’re there. If the navigation is a pain, click here for an easier link to the same stuff
Conclusion
Panke Claim Staking Services does more than 50% of our claim staking in Idaho, so we did a deeper dive into staking Idaho claims in another article here. However, we’ve staked claims in most of the western U.S. and are ready to take on your projects wherever they are, so hit that Contact button below to get a hold of us.
