The Nickel Report

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has issued a final rule to make adjustments to its location and maintenance fees for unpatented mining claims, mill sites, and tunnel sites. The rule became effective on July 1, 2024. 

The Mining Law of 1872 allows individuals and corporations to stake (or “locate”) mining claims and sites on certain public lands. Claimants who locate new claims or sites must pay a one-time location fee and an initial maintenance fee for the assessment year in which the claim or site is located.

The new location fee for claims or sites located on or after September 1, 2024, is $49. The new maintenance fee is $200 per lode claim, mill site, or tunnel site. The new maintenance fee for placer claims is $200 for each 20 acres of the claim or portion thereof. The new fees are in effect for the 2025 assessment year, which starts September 1, 2024.

For claims and sites located before September 1, 2024, the previous location and maintenance fees still apply ($40 location fee and $165 maintenance fee for assessment year 2024).

Claimants who have already paid their maintenance fees for the 2025 assessment year at the old rate ($165), prior to the effective date of the new rule, will receive written notice from BLM instructing them to pay the additional amount within 30 days. Importantly, failure to timely pay annual maintenance fees will subject claims or sites to forfeiture by operation of law.

A copy of the Federal Register announcement is available here.  Contact Martin Stratte at mstratte@huntonak.com with questions about the new rule or mining claim maintenance.