The 156-troy-ounce Mojave Nugget was discovered by Ty Paulson in 1977.
>On a smaller scale, recreational prospecting thrives throughout the West—especially in its desert regions. Instead of a scruffy dusty burro packed with dried beans, a slab of salt pork and the necessary tools of the trade, contemporary desert prospectors and their families travel comfortably to their claims in air-conditioned off-road vehicles or plush motorhomes with an ATV in tow and enough Costco provisions to feed an army. Dry washers and state-of-the-art metal detectors—implements that would be the envy of prospectors from days past—aid these contemporary hobbyist miners in their quest to “strike it rich.” But, of course, the most committed participants locate only a few golden perks now and then, so the main draw must be the superb desert scenery.
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) officially recognizes “casual-use mining,” which allows participants to locate and collect valuable metallic minerals on active claims within designated public lands as long as collectors cause only “little or no surface disturbance” to the site. “Reasonable” quantities of valuable minerals, including gold, silver, agates and stones, may be collected using gold pans or dry washers, a small, hand-cranked or motor-driven pieces of machinery that sift heavier materials from lighter matter.[1] Explosives are not allowed for excavation purposes, nor are mechanized and motorized drilling, digging, or earthmoving equipment. In addition, the BLM monitors casual-use mining to make sure these activities do not impact other public recreation and resources, including wildlife.
Casual-use desert mining activities differ from recreational suction dredging, a controversial riparian collection method that became so popular in the 2000s that some rivers, such as the Klamath, had dredgers positioned every thirty feet vacuuming the streambed with their noisy, gas- or-diesel powered portable dredging equipment. Recreational suction dredging can destroy aquatic habitats for salmon and steelhead, red-legged frogs and other species. Additionally, it can mobilize and dislodge elemental mercury and other heavy metals back into the streamflow that were previously deposited in streambed silts from historic mining operations.[2] Consequently, California issued a statewide moratorium outlawing the practice in 2009.
>Desert prospectors instead comb the sands armed with metal detectors and other battery-operated devices to locate the elusive presence of valuable minerals. Once found, the prospector shovels the material by hand and sifts it using a dry washer to reveal treasures within. More often than not, casual use miners scour and work claim sites where previous mining activity has occurred. Keep in mind that the American West has been so thoroughly picked over for gold and other valuable minerals that more successful practitioners stake claims in or near mining districts where gold was found earlier.
Indeed, one of the largest gold nuggets ever found in California is the Mojave Nugget, a 156-troy-ounce specimen discovered using a metal detector in 1977 by Ty Paulson in the Stringer Mining District near Randsburg, California.[3] When interviewed for local television in the early 1980s about his discovery, Paulson remarked that two types of people are drawn to the hobby: “Nature lovers and get-rich-quickers. The nature lovers get a full return, and the get-rich-quickers usually sell their machine for half-price and call people stupid who go prospect.”
Recreational prospecting and casual-use mining went mainstream when popular reality television shows such as Discovery Channel’s Gold Rush began airing in 2010. Most practitioners take part as weekend hobbyists, while others prospect on a more regular basis. Some do so out of economic necessity as subsistence miners. Current gold prices, hovering around $1487 per ounce, don’t seem to hurt either.[4]
Qualified applicants within U.S. public lands may claim a valuable mineral deposit if the site is open to location and mineral entry and hasn’t been previously withdrawn or patented for such purposes. Currently, there are nineteen states available for the location of placer and lode-bearing mining claims in the U.S. The BLM’s California Desert District Office oversees 177,421 mining claims, of which 14,956 are currently active.[5] The majority of active Mojave Desert claims are located and administered by the BLM’s Ridgecrest Field Office.
Placer claims are river sands, gravel or dry wash areas where the mineral being sought originated from a different location. Over time, erosion causes the gold to settle to the lowest point due to its weight. A placer claim may not exceed twenty acres per individual claimant. The maximum size for a group-held placer claim is 160 acres if at least eight separate locators or persons are listed.
Lode claims are veins, ledges or other rock in place measuring 1500 by 600 feet (20.55 acres) with the vein of the mineral positioned near the center of the claim. In addition, five-acre mill sites for processing ore along with tunnel sites providing access to a lode claim may be located nearby on non-mineral-bearing land as separate, non-contiguous claim sites. There is no limit to how many claims and mining sites an individual may hold as long as each claim’s maintenance and assessment requirements are met on an annual basis.
Locating a claim for casual-use mining is the same procedure as commercial mining. It involves physically staking the discovery point of the mineral deposit with a conspicuous central monument such as a wood post or a stone cairn at least four inches in diameter and eighteen inches high, plus four additional wood or stone corners or boundary markers. Each corner post indicates the N.E., N.W., S.E., and S.W. position of the claim, with the long axis normally running north to south.
Hollow PVC (polyvinyl chloride) pipe tubing used for claim markers was banned during the 1990s because it presents a wildlife hazard for nesting songbirds, reptiles, insects and other small wildlife. Birds and animals may become trapped in the uncapped tubing upon entry. During the 1970-1990 speculative boom in amateur prospecting, PVC tubing was used extensively for claim markers. Alarmingly, field monitors in Nevada found some PVC claim markers trapping up to 100 deceased birds in a single tube. On average, five dead birds were found per pipe, primarily Ash-throated Flycatchers (Myiarchus cinerascens) and Mountain Bluebirds (Sialia currucoides). The BLM required claim holders to remove and replace the tubes with solid markers, with twenty years to comply. Around 2010, volunteers were allowed to knock down and remove any remaining PVC pipe claim markers with the assumption that claims had been abandoned.[6]
Prospectors must document a discovery with pertinent claim information, including the locator’s name, the name of the claim, location date, claim type, size and a legal description of the location along with a detailed map. Claimants must then record the claim with the governing agency of the county where it was located within thirty to ninety days, depending on the state’s regulations. Location and processing fees vary depending on the county and state. In most cases, a copy of the recorded discovery paperwork is placed in a weatherproof tube attached to the claim marker that rangers and others may access.
Once recorded and maintained, the legal interest of a claim may be transferred to another party, in entirety or part. However, claimants are only authorized “possessory mineral interest,” which is not the same as land ownership—one would need to apply for a land patent, which is no longer available for mining claims as of October 1st, 1994. Nor may claimants spend more than fourteen days camping at any mineral claim on public lands within a ninety-day period.
Gold panning along a streambed or other minimally invasive casual use mining activities, including limited, non-commercial rock and mineral collection on public lands (where legally allowed), does not require a permit or authorization from the BLM or Forest Service as long as collecting is primarily conducted on the surface.[7] Any surface disturbance from casual use prospecting and mining activities such as hand digging must be backfilled after exploration and mining activities have ceased. The site must be clean and free of trash or debris that may attract ravens and other animals. Vehicular access is restricted to designated routes only. Like any outdoor recreational activity, participants may not disturb perennial vegetation, harm desert tortoises or their burrows, or any other animal. All pits and trenches must have ramps to allow animals to escape unharmed. Any extractive mineral activity causing significant surface disturbance of the land other than casual use requires a plan of operation and reclamation bond determined by the location and activity level of the operation.[8]
The annual maintenance fee for lode and placer claims is currently $155, but as of September 1, 2019, it has been raised to $165. Groups of miners, organized as non-profit mining and prospecting clubs holding ten claims or less, may apply for a Small Miner Waiver for $15 per claim if they show that they have completed $100 worth of required assessment work in labor or improvements for each claim held by September 1 of each year.
Popular California Mojave Desert destinations for casual-use prospecting and mining include BLM-maintained public lands in and around Randsburg and the El Paso Range, the Coolgardie and Ord Mountain areas near Barstow, the Virginia Dale Mining District east of Twentynine Palms and Eagle Mountain Mining District east of Joshua Tree National Park. In addition, several casual use non-profit mining clubs operate within the Mojave Desert, including the Hesperia-based Au Mojave Prospectors and Valley Prospectors in San Bernardino, California, which holds claims in the Randsburg, Coolgardie, Cajon Pass and Big Bear (Holcomb Valley) areas. Founded in 1976, Valley Prospectors is the oldest regional club with around 400 members. Au Mojave Prospectors’ claims are located in Coolgardie plus one in Hesperia, California.
The non-profit Yucca Valley-based First Class Miners, Inc. (FCM) maintains several placer claims for such purposes, including its Grizzly 4 claims in the Ord Mountains Mining District, the Lucky Nugget and 1st Class claims in the Virginia Dale Mining District, and Middle Camp and the Middle Camp West claims in the Eagle Mountain Mining District. In addition, in the mountains east of Big Bear, FCM maintains the Rattlesnake Placers and Red Cabin claims in Rattlesnake Canyon.
Founded in March 1993, FCM includes men and women from various professions and backgrounds, eighteen years and older. The club prefers “small scale” miners rather than “casual use” to describe its pursuit. FCM membership hovers just under 300 members, including spouses and children of enrolled members, whose average age is forty to fifty years old. Many of these members are retired. Only 10 percent of the membership actually mines at the organization’s seven claims. Membership drops about 10 to 15 percent every year—often because start-up costs associated with the activity prove to be too expensive or because new, inexperienced members find mining more physically strenuous than they imagined.
Jim Wharff, the club’s current president, mentions that a few drop out because they expect him or other senior members to show them exactly where to find gold. FCM does provide instructional seminars for new members in the hope they’ll get lucky. Some have.
Wharff knows two miners that have found “pounds of gold” in the Virginia Dale Mining District, where several FCM claims are located. “I know because I have seen it,” Wharff states. “Myself, from my claim, I am collecting an ounce and a half per year. I cannot say about others.” The largest nugget that one of FCM’s members has found was eight ounces. Other members have located several four-ounce specimens.
FCM organizes multi-day group campouts throughout the year at its various claim sites. Besides participating in prospecting and mining activities, FCM removes trash and debris from claim sites—often left by careless off-roaders and campers recreating on or near the claims. Most members agree that socializing, camaraderie and time together within remote and scenic wilderness areas outweigh finding gold. There seems to be a role-play aspect among some members—not surprising, as several volunteer as Western reenactors in Pioneertown, California, a historic mid-century Western movie set/town located just north of Yucca Valley. Wharff, a retired Marine, looks the part and often chooses to camp in a reproduction of a late nineteenth-century canvas tent at FCM claim sites when it is not convenient for him to travel with his toy hauler.
The organization is politically active and regularly attends state and regional public land use meetings, creating a strong presence with bright red t-shirts emblazoned FIRST CLASS MINERS. I was in attendance at one of these rallies in 2015 at Whitewater Preserve, hosted by Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.). Feinstein supported the then-proposed Mojave Trails, Sand to Snow, and Castle Mountains national monuments. FCM stood in opposition against the monument designations (President Obama eventually approved all three). Although Jim and I were politically opposed on this particular issue, we greeted each other warmly at the event.
Looking at these issues from FCM’s perspective, I acknowledge their frustrations. When a new national monument is established, however small in scale, mineral exploration and development are withdrawn from its protected lands. FCM has a legitimate gripe in that casual-use mining activities are not distinguished from large-scale industrial mining operations. Plus, casual-use miners are not protected under the 1872 mining law.
Wharff’s participation in these ongoing public-land debates is essential. He considers himself a small-scale professional miner but doesn’t earn a living from the private claims he and his partner work on public land north of the Virginia Dale Mining District. Wharff said that he and other FCM members feel vulnerable when sweeping public land use regulation occurs. He has been shut out of some of his favorite prospecting destinations, including ones within the Mojave Trails National Monument, designated in 2016. So it is not surprising that he and others like him are angered when bills such as the California Desert Protection and Recreation Act, which passed in early 2019, fail to address their small-scale mining pursuits. Perhaps politicians and land-use managers can work with FCM and other casual-use mining groups to provide accommodations in future public-land planning sessions.
The women-owned Mining Supplies and Rock Shop in Hesperia, California, sells prospecting supplies and provides tips for those interested in taking up casual-use mining. Banner image of First Class Miner Jim Wharff at the FCM’s Middle Camp Claim in the Eagle Mountain Mining District. This article is co-published with KCET Artbound. Visit Artbound’s Mojave Project page here.
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FOOTNOTES (click to open/close)
[1] Battery- or gas-powered dry washers under 10 HP are considered legal for casual-use mining.
[2] Certain bacteria present in the water column can transform elemental mercury into toxic methylmercury, which can then enter the food chain.
[3] The Mojave Nugget is part of the Margie and Robert E. Petersen Collection featuring 132 gold nuggets donated to the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. The Petersens were southern California philanthropists who founded the Petersen Automotive Museum.
[4] As of September 2019.
[5] “California Desert District Office Mining Claims Overview,” The Diggings™, accessed September 15, 2019, https://thediggings.com/usa/blm-admin-areas/ca/cad0.
[6] Jim Boone, “Trapped by hollow-pipe mining claim markers,” Desert Report, March 2019, 16-17.
[7] A Notice of Intent may be required in some casual-use prospecting and mining areas such as the San Bernardino National Forest. For more information, see https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprd3823532.pdf.
[8] The California Mining Consultants web page provides an excellent overview of various permits required from multiple state and federal agencies for commercial mineral extraction activities in California. See http://www.caminingconsultants.com/what-we-do/permitting.html.