New North Bradshaw FootPrint!

[clay]

MinerDiggins is proud to announce the release of our latest Arizona FootPrint map the East Bradshaw.

The East Bradshaw FootPrint covers over 200 square miles of historically productive gold bearing ground in central Arizona. Covering the eastern flank of the Bradshaw Mountains between Phoenix and Prescott this FootPrint has good road access into the heart of the gold country.

Of the 225 Placer mining claims mapped on this FootPrint, 80 of them are Club Claims that can be accessed by having a membership in local prospecting clubs. And FootPrints will show you thousands of acres of unclaimed ground that can be accessed by any prospector headed to the hills.

With elevations that vary from 2100 ft to 7200 ft the East Bradshaw FootPrint presents prime locations for all season Arizona prospecting. Head up the Senator highway to Turkey Creek and the cool Bradshaw Mountains or when the water runs, drop a dredge into the waters of Black Canyon. Good prospecting opportunities abound in the East Bradshaws.

The new East Bradshaw FootPrint has all of the great features of our other Arizona FootPrints.

• Land Ownership
• Land Patents and Mineral Surveys
• Placer & Lode Claims
• Historic Mines - Now with links to historic mine details from the Arizona Department of Mines
• Detailed Geology
• Gold Atlas of the Western States
• More than 50 mapping layers to mix and match
• Create and print your own custom gold prospecting maps

Click below to get all of the details about the new FootPrint.
East Bradshaw FootPrint details

The extent of the East Bradshaw FootPrint includes the historic towns of Bumblebee, Cleator, Cordes, Mayer, Pine Flat, Goodwin and more. It covers portions of Turkey Creek, Wolf Creek, Bumblebee Creek, Mineral Creek, Poland Creek and many more great prospecting areas.

See the full extent on an interactive map which shows you the specific area covered by the East Bradshaw FootPrint.

Multiple FootPrints will soon display on one map.
The East Bradshaw FootPrint adjoins the North Bradshaw FootPrint in the North and the Black Canyon City FootPrint on its southern border. Look for the release of a Free FootPrints update that will allow you to view all three FootPrints on the same map. We expect to release this feature in the next month and will send an update notice to all registered FootPrints users.

Get your FootPrint and get some Gold!

Rob has the East Bradshaw and all the other FootPrints DVDs in stock and ready for delivery. Place your order today!

$79.95 with FREE Shipping and 10% Discount during the Summer Months!

[nuggethunting]

Hello All,

That is correct. I have the new East Bradshaw Footprint DVD's in stock and ready for shipping. Call us at 623.362.1459 to place the order over the phone. I will have them up on the online store tonight or tomorrow. We have all the Footprints in stock.

$79.95 with FREE Shipping and 10% Discount during the Summer Months!

[Chrisman91]

Sure wish they would make one of these for the Mojave Desert region here in California. Or even just places like the Rand District or the El Paso Mtn. range. Anything to give us SoCal hunters a little guidance.

[azblackbird]

Sure wish they would make one of these for the Mojave Desert region here in California. Or even just places like the Rand District or the El Paso Mtn. range. Anything to give us SoCal hunters a little guidance.

All information (and then some) used in the "footprints" DVDs is freely available for pretty much any gold bearing area that you care to prospect. All Clay does is put it all in one neat little package which he justifiably charges a small price for. You can do all the research on your own, or ask Clay to do all the research and build a custom package tailored specifically for you. Lots of choices…

[El Dorado]

Clay,

Any progress on the Middle Fork of The American River yet?

[Chrisman91]

All information (and then some) used in the "footprints" DVDs is freely available for pretty much any gold bearing area that you care to prospect. All Clay does is put it all in one neat little package which he justifiably charges a small price for. You can do all the research on your own, or ask Clay to do all the research and build a custom package tailored specifically for you. Lots of choices

Az...I was not aware that I could request a specific area be done. I will certainly be looking into having that done. I will be the first to admit that I am clueless when it comes to the research aspect of prospecting. I truly wish I knew more about how to do it than I do. Maybe then I would be a lot more successful on my detecting expeditions.

[azblackbird]

Az...I was not aware that I could request a specific area be done. I will certainly be looking into having that done. I will be the first to admit that I am clueless when it comes to the research aspect of prospecting. I truly wish I knew more about how to do it than I do. Maybe then I would be a lot more successful on my detecting expeditions.

Chris… I would strongly suggest you learn to do your own research if you plan on making gold or meteorite prospecting a full time hobby. Speaking for myself… doing massive amounts of research is half the fun of prospecting. You'll learn way more by doing it yourself, than by buying some pre-packaged program. All the information you'll ever need and more is out there, and is free for the taking if you have an internet connection.

[Chrisman91]

Az...trust me, my friend, I would prefer to do it on my own, but I honestly don't know where to even begin. I can find basic info on the net, but when it comes to the detailed research like BLM records, geological documentation, etc. I know nothing. I will keep trying to learn as much as I can though. :-)

[azblackbird]

Az...trust me, my friend, I would prefer to do it on my own, but I honestly don't know where to even begin.

How about we start with mindat.org. This will give you an idea of the general locality of few of the placers and lode mines in your area of interest. Pay particular attention to any references to any bulletins and geology reports, and then make note of them as these are what you want to search for either in google, or possibly any archival sources such as the universities.

Once we have culled some of the info from mindat, then we can head on over to the Sacramento State University Library and poke our nose into the geology department and see what we can find there. You'll want to poke around the mineral resources departments and the geological survey departments and see what bulletins and maps are available for the areas your interested in. They're there... ya just gotta do a little diggin. This should get you started.

[AZNuggetBob]

Or you could buy the dvd and save your self countless hours of eye blinding internet searches wading though internet sites that are always trying to charge you anyway they can and know your getting information that has been researched and verified. AzNuggetBob

[Chrisman91]

Thanks for the tips. I will definitely be doing the research now. It is much appreciated azblackbird.

[azblackbird]

Or you could buy the dvd and save your self countless hours of eye blinding internet searches wading though internet sites that are always trying to charge you anyway they can and know your getting information that has been researched and verified. AzNuggetBob

Uhhhh maybe you didn't notice Bob, but Clay has no DVD available for the areas that Chris wants to prospect, thus the reason for him learning how to research those areas on his own.

Thanks for the tips. I will definitely be doing the research now. It is much appreciated azblackbird.

Happy hunting…

[clay]

Sure wish they would make one of these for the Mojave Desert region here in California. Or even just places like the Rand District or the El Paso Mtn. range. Anything to give us SoCal hunters a little guidance.

We have a lot more maps planned Chris including Rand and the El Pasos. The big limiting factor on new FootPrints is time. It takes about 5 months to make a single FootPrint with both of us working about 7 hours a day 6 days a week.

We make new FootPrints on the basis of which are the most requested areas. The Rand district is at about 6 on the request list right now. If you do the math that puts it about three years away if we were to work full time on FootPrints. If more people request Rand or the El Pasos that's where our mapping efforts will go.

The fact is we don't make our living from making FootPrints. We do "mine the miners" but it's not our FootPrints users who are footing those bills, it's big mining companies. Our research and mapping skills are in demand in the world of large scale mining and the money is good. Ruby was a CPA in her past life and is pretty clear that we will be lucky if our FootPrints adventure breaks even by 2018. FootPrints truly is a labor of love.

[clay]

Clay,

Any progress on the Middle Fork of The American River yet?

Gosh Steve we released the Middle Fork of the American River FootPrint at the end of November last year.

I just checked and it seems Rob has all the FootPrints listed on his site but the Middle Fork.

I know he has some in stock so why not give him a call (623-362-1459). With Rob's great service I'm sure you will be mapping with it soon!

When you do get the Middle Fork FootPrint installed there is a free upgrade you might be interested in. It's a small installer file that allows you to use both the North Fork and the Middle Fork maps together. It essentially makes one big map that's more than 500 square miles with all the features of both FootPrints.

You can get that free upgrade HERE.

[IronMike]

Clay,

Any progress on the Middle Fork of The American River yet?

Deleted by poster. Clay and I responded at same time......

[clay]

All information (and then some) used in the "footprints" DVDs is freely available for pretty much any gold bearing area that you care to prospect. All Clay does is put it all in one neat little package which he justifiably charges a small price for. You can do all the research on your own, or ask Clay to do all the research and build a custom package tailored specifically for you. Lots of choices…

In principle what you point out is true azblackbird. Our source information for our maps are "public" information in theory. Where most new researchers run into problems is in the details.

"Public" is relative. I can assure you the County Recorder's records are indeed available to the public but it's going to cost that member of the public for every page they make a copy of. In some Counties those fees can be considerable.

If you have dealt with the County Recorder's in some of the smaller counties you know they are overwhelmed with work and can be very slow to respond. Four months to get all the records necessary to map the approx 840 claims on the Quartzsite FootPrint may seem like a short time to the LaPaz County Recorder but to our FootPrint users, or the person just looking for the claims status in their area of interest, it can seem like a very long time.

We are very proactive in dealing with the County Recorders offices. We were instrumental in getting LaPaz County to set up user accounts and payment systems for records from their small office. That's generally not something a single individual is going to have the time to initiate and set up.

The end result is two mapped claims layers, with source documents included, that are found nowhere but FootPrints.

There is a lot more to mapping an area than claims though. Take our North Fork of the American River FootPrint. We have 8 interactive map layers for Geology alone. We custom make the mines layer with weeks of research and present all our source data, as we do with every mapping layer. You could assemble all the details yourself from dozens of public sources, as we did, but our mines layer has never existed before we compiled and vetted all that information into one cohesive presentation. You won't find that information anywhere but on our FootPrint map.

You could find the excellent 1961 Tertiary gravels report by Chandra. You could find the USGS geology report. The 1900 USGS Geology map could be tracked down. You could search the County archives for the Livingston high resolution geology study. You could locate Harwood/Federspiel study from 1979. Then you could extrapolate a unique faults layer from that information. You could create your own unique and interactive shapefiles with individual databases from those. That would allow you to blend, display, query, search and print all those maps along with any of the other 60+ layers on your map.

I'll just about bet you though that you wouldn't spend two years to track down one of the two existing 1932 hand colored large Tertiary gravel maps by Olaf Jenkins that are not held in museum collections. And I'll pretty much guarantee you that you wouldn't be able to get possession of that rarest of geology maps for the three months that we had it while creating an interactive shapefile for display on our California maps. We don't just research we RESEARCH!

Making your own interactive display, query and search of the 72 mapping layers we have on the North Fork of the American FootPrint probably involves quite a bit more free time than most prospectors have.

We do include all of our source data with each map we make but there is a big difference between reading Waldemar Lindgren's 1911 study "Tertiary Gravels of the Sierra Nevada of California" (included) and being able to see the actual mapping of the information in that respected study in combination with the visual cues we expect from a detailed map.

Comparing and contrasting the various geological studies and maps in a freely interactive way is much more instructive than trying to find the same spot on two different geology maps. Add in the ability to see those geology maps in relation to the roads, trees, rocks, land ownership, claims and contours on the same map at the same time in combinations you control and you will find whole new perspectives on the information that is publicly available.

We did not do the geology studies ourselves, we didn't locate the claims we map, we didn't fly the planes for the aerial photography, we didn't create the digital elevation models we use to generate shaded elevation displays and contours. In that sense the information we use to create our unique maps is public information. The information we display is far from being a simple display of that public information. We offer several unique map layers that can be found nowhere else, public or otherwise.

Anybody with the time, knowledge, equipment and passion can do what we do. The maps we present are not complete or timely in all respects. They are a compilation, interpretation and presentation of months of research. Anyone can do that research themselves.

If prospectors want to know our methods or sources we share them freely. If you want to know what tools we use or where to get good source information we will instruct each individual as we have time. We offer several sources and documents as well as tutorials on our Ripple site for free. We will be bringing many more free sources for prospectors and all outdoors activities in the near future.

You are right azblackbird, each successful prospector will need to learn the skills and sources of useable research. FootPrints provide a big part of that research in the areas we have mapped.

[azblackbird]

You are right azblackbird, each successful prospector will need to learn the skills and sources of useable research. FootPrints provide a big part of that research in the areas we have mapped.

Clay… you don't have to convince me of all the hard work and research that goes into bringing a product like yours to the masses. I'm kind of in the same business as you, only in a different genre.

I just have a couple questions regarding your products…

1. How often do you update the county recorded claim status for each individual "footprint" territory you sell, or do you have an imbedded realtime connection to each county recorder server that downloads the current claim status reports specific to that "footprint" upon opening your program?

2. In addition, are your updates also cross referenced with the current BLM claim records specific to each "footprint", or do you direct link them to the LR2000 and pull the info in realtime?

Just wondering…

[AZNuggetBob]

Uhhhh maybe you didn't notice Bob, but Clay has no DVD available for the areas that Chris wants to prospect, thus the reason for him learning how to research those areas on his own.

Happy hunting…

Uhhhh maybe you didn't notice azblackbird. my comment was not directed at anyone in particular. just a general statement about Clay's FootPrints DVD's verses learning/time spent to research yourself. AzNuggetBob

[azblackbird]

Uhhhh maybe you didn't notice azblackbird. my comment was not directed at anyone in particular. just a general statement about Clay's FootPrints DVD's verses learning/time spent to research yourself. AzNuggetBob

Ahhhhhh... I see, just a general statement... no biggie.

So can I ask you a question... What if Clay doesn't offer a "footprint" for an area that a guy is really interested in prospecting? Should he just wait for Clay to make a DVD, or should he try to learn how to do all the research on his own? What do you think?

[AZNuggetBob]

azblackbird I think clay already gave you the answer to your question and I agree with him. AzNuggetBob

In principle what you point out is true azblackbird. Our source information for our maps are "public" information in theory. Where most new researchers run into problems is in the details.

"Public" is relative. I can assure you the County Recorder's records are indeed available to the public but it's going to cost that member of the public for every page they make a copy of. In some Counties those fees can be considerable.

If you have dealt with the County Recorder's in some of the smaller counties you know they are overwhelmed with work and can be very slow to respond. Four months to get all the records necessary to map the approx 840 claims on the Quartzsite FootPrint may seem like a short time to the LaPaz County Recorder but to our FootPrint users, or the person just looking for the claims status in their area of interest, it can seem like a very long time.

We are very proactive in dealing with the County Recorders offices. We were instrumental in getting LaPaz County to set up user accounts and payment systems for records from their small office. That's generally not something a single individual is going to have the time to initiate and set up.

The end result is two mapped claims layers, with source documents included, that are found nowhere but FootPrints.

There is a lot more to mapping an area than claims though. Take our North Fork of the American River FootPrint. We have 8 interactive map layers for Geology alone. We custom make the mines layer with weeks of research and present all our source data, as we do with every mapping layer. You could assemble all the details yourself from dozens of public sources, as we did, but our mines layer has never existed before we compiled and vetted all that information into one cohesive presentation. You won't find that information anywhere but on our FootPrint map.

You could find the excellent 1961 Tertiary gravels report by Chandra. You could find the USGS geology report. The 1900 USGS Geology map could be tracked down. You could search the County archives for the Livingston high resolution geology study. You could locate Harwood/Federspiel study from 1979. Then you could extrapolate a unique faults layer from that information. You could create your own unique and interactive shapefiles with individual databases from those. That would allow you to blend, display, query, search and print all those maps along with any of the other 60+ layers on your map.

I'll just about bet you though that you wouldn't spend two years to track down one of the two existing 1932 hand colored large scale Tertiary gravel maps by Olaf Jenkins that are not held in museum collections. And I'll pretty much guarantee you that you wouldn't be able to get possession of that rarest of maps for the three months that we had it while creating an interactive shapefile for display on our California maps.

The interactive display, query and search of the 72 mapping layers we have on the North Fork of the American FootPrint is probably beyond the skill set of most prospectors. We do include all of our source data with each map we make but there is a big difference between reading Waldemar Lindgren's 1911 study "Tertiary Gravels of the Sierra Nevada of California" (included) and being able to see the actual mapping of the information in that respected study in combination with the visual cues we expect from a detailed map.

Comparing and contrasting the various geological studies and maps in a freely interactive way is much more instructive than trying to find the same spot on two different geology maps. Add in the ability to see those geology maps in relation to the roads, trees, rocks, land ownership, claims and contours on the same map at the same time in combinations you control and you will find whole new perspectives on the information that is publicly available.

We did not do the geology studies ourselves, we didn't locate the claims we map, we didn't fly the planes for the aerial photography, we didn't create the digital elevation models we use to generate shaded elevation displays and contours. In that sense the information we use to create our unique maps is public information. The information we display is far from being a simple display of that public information. We offer several unique map layers that can be found nowhere else, public or otherwise.

Anybody with the time, knowledge, equipment and passion can do what we do. The maps we present are not complete or timely in all respects. They are a compilation, interpretation and presentation of months of research. Anyone can do that research themselves.

If prospectors want to know our methods or sources we share them freely. If you want to know what tools we use or where to get good source information we will instruct each individual as we have time. We offer several sources and documents as well as tutorials on our Ripple site for free. We will be bringing many more free sources for prospectors and all outdoors activities in the near future.

You are right azblackbird, each successful prospector will need to learn the skills and sources of useable research. FootPrints provide a big part of that research in the areas we have mapped.

[Chrisman91]

Sorry guys, I didn't mean to start a problem here. I kind of had an idea that my area of interest was going to be either not done at all...or it was going to be one of those deals where it was not even on the back burner, but sitting on a completely different stove altogether.

I understand that the Rand and El Paso's are nowhere near as big of gold producing areas as places like the Bradshaws, Rich Hill, Northern California, etc., but since it is all we have here in Southern California without having to drive 6-10 hours one way, I was hoping it would be sooner. Sadly, if it takes the 3 years to produce the FootPrints DVD for these two areas, I will have already learned how to do the research and wont have a need for the product at that point.

Thanks for all the hard work, Clay. I hear nothing but good things about your product.

[pkirkll]

Chris, trust me...if it is available in three years you will want to add it to your arsenal....they only cost about 1/4 of what a coil does...

... I need to get deeper into research myself and have been concentrating on NorCal and NV.

I have some gem books i got off amazon and a new one coming that is titled the Roadside Geology of Northern and Central California --i think it will be interesting................and i think i have most all of the Footprints DVDs

My buddy Merton is totally chagrined over my lack of research when we talk....so i am trying to put in some effort! lolol

good hunting---for gold, and those hidden nuggets in research.

Paul

[clay]

Sorry guys, I didn't mean to start a problem here. I kind of had an idea that my area of interest was going to be either not done at all...or it was going to be one of those deals where it was not even on the back burner, but sitting on a completely different stove altogether.

I understand that the Rand and El Paso's are nowhere near as big of gold producing areas as places like the Bradshaws, Rich Hill, Northern California, etc., but since it is all we have here in Southern California without having to drive 6-10 hours one way, I was hoping it would be sooner. Sadly, if it takes the 3 years to produce the FootPrints DVD for these two areas, I will have already learned how to do the research and wont have a need for the product at that point.

Thanks for all the hard work, Clay. I hear nothing but good things about your product.

No problem Chris.

I wish I had an easy solution for you. The fact is that no matter how hard we work or how much research we do we will never be able to map every known gold region. In the long run every successful prospector needs to learn the basics of researching new areas. It's not the wild west with abundant open ground to explore anymore.

It is still out there as Rob keeps proving (Thanks Rob!). The modern world of the prospector has the challenge of finding ground open to prospect and claim but they also have the advantage of easier access to information than can lead to valuable discoveries.

We are a far cry from the difficulties of the 1970's when I had to sit for days in the County Recorder's office pouring through piles of microfiche or old paper locations. History and geology are often just a click away today rather than week long trips to poorly maintained and classified library stacks.

Prospectors for at least the last 140 years have had to learn the skills of research as well as efficient ways discover, extract and process the valuable minerals we seek. We no longer have to make our own equipment or rely on one source for our mineral or geology education. Nonetheless the skill set of prospectors is still one of the broadest educations demanded by any profession.

We do have a plan for helping prospectors out with learning how to do the research and giving them the tools and resources to find what they need. We will be introducing those free resources soon. We will be helping you along as much as we can but as azblackbird has pointed out there is no way to avoid the necessity of research. It's a skill that will put even the casual prospector well ahead of those who don't do the research.

FootPrints is only the beginning for those prospectors exploring the areas we map. They set a new baseline of knowledge for those areas. The successful prospector will always be the one who goes that extra distance in exploring, testing and understanding the information available in any given gold bearing area.

Keep an eye here on Rob's forum and we will announce when these new information sources, tutorials and tools are available. In the meantime why not get a head start on researching your area of interest? The early bird gets the worm in prospecting too.

[clay]

Clay you don't have to convince me of all the hard work and research that goes into bringing a product like yours to the masses. I'm kind of in the same business as you, only in a different genre.

That's interesting azblackbird. What business would that be?

I just have a couple questions regarding your products

1. How often do you update the county recorded claim status for each individual "footprint" territory you sell, or do you have an imbedded realtime connection to each county recorder server that downloads the current claim status reports specific to that "footprint" upon opening your program?

2. In addition, are your updates also cross referenced with the current BLM claim records specific to each "footprint", or do you direct link them to the LR2000 and pull the info in realtime?

Just wondering

I think you have overestimated the current abilities of today's County Recorders and the BLM. It's not a very internet enabled world in their realm. Although both Maricopa and Yavapai Counties, in Arizona, have some limited public internet access to their records they are the only two counties in the west that we have encountered. That's just a part of the issue I was referring to when I wrote about our progress with the LaPaz County Recorder access.

Let me see if I can clarify your misunderstanding.

Neither the County Recorder nor the BLM have "real time" databases much less direct internet access to the recordings and filings at their respective offices.

Most County Recorders update their records within about two weeks of receiving a location notice or other recording, add the 90 days a locator has to make that record and you have records that are fairly reliably within about 3 1/2 months of the actual location on the ground.

The BLM is a different story entirely. Their database updates are usually within about 90 days of being notified of a location. That puts us at the 1/2 year mark for their potential location currency. Abandonment of claims cases are more like 9 months to a year these days. Updates on annual work assessments are about the same and annual maintenance waiver payments updates are on the order 90 days. There are some extreme exceptions to those averages (on the order of years).

These averages for the BLM are a huge improvement over last years figures. Last year the California BLM didn't even begin processing annual work assessments for 2012 until August 1st of 2013. Updating their case files on the LR2000 for those work assessments is only now reaching completion - nearly two years after receiving those notices.

We follow the current requirement for establishment of what constitutes a claim. We don't check the stakes on the ground (it's not always legally required that there be stakes) but we do not map a claim until there is a County Record of the location and an informational filing in the database with the State BLM office.

As you can see even if it were possible (it isn't) to automatically update those claims from the County Recorder(s) and the State BLM office(s) they would in no way be "current".

Nonetheless we do plot and update claims status free for our registered FootPrints users. The frequency varies depending on:

The map location. Some mapped areas rarely have new or closed claims.

The current state of claims cases at the BLM. Last year the BLM updated very few records and often changed case status back and forth several times

The ability of County Recorder's to provide us with complete timely information. we have to maintain long term relationships with each County Recorder and when a Recorder with a two person office says they are down to one person and are overwhelmed we don't push them for records at that time.

As a result some FootPrints claims layers are updated two or three times a year and some may be a few years between updates.

All that may seem as if there is no possible way for an individual prospector to know current claims status without checking the recordings and checking for stakes on the ground. That is indeed the case, as it always has been. Ultimately it is the responsibility of the prospector to do their own due diligence on land status before prospecting. That has been the law for more than 140 years.

So what good are the claims maps on our FootPrints? Well first of all the vast majority of claims in any placer gold area change very little over time. That leaves the prospector with most of the work already done for him.

We are the only ones mapping claims to their actual location notices, every other claims map only shows them to the BLM standard of within a quarter section (1/2 mile). There is a lot of ground not covered within that 160 acre quarter section by real claims on a map as opposed to the standard of "somewhere in here".

We provide a copy of each claim location notice at the click of a mouse when viewing claims. These are copies stored within the program, right on you computer, no internet connection required. No other claims map offers that surety.

Claims are only one part of the picture on land status for prospecting and claim. If the area is not public land, is closed to mineral entry, is Wilderness, National Recreation Area, a National Monument, is semi restricted by a powersite withdrawal or SRH patent or doesn't have good potential for gold our maps will provide you with that critical information. Just knowing where a claim might be is nowhere near the complete answer to "can I prospect or claim this area?" Relying solely on claims to determine where you can prospect can be as wasteful and frustrating as looking for lodes in Kansas.

[AZNuggetBob]

That's interesting azblackbird. What business would that be?

​I was wondering the same thing. AzNuggetBob

I think you have overestimated the current abilities of today's County Recorders and the BLM. It's not a very internet enabled world in their realm. Although both Maricopa and Yavapai Counties, in Arizona, have some limited public internet access to their records they are the only two counties in the west that we have encountered. That's just a part of the issue I was referring to when I wrote about our progress with the LaPaz County Recorder access.

Let me see if I can clarify your misunderstanding.

Neither the County Recorder nor the BLM have "real time" databases much less direct internet access to the recordings and filings at their respective offices.

Most County Recorders update their records within about two weeks of receiving a location notice or other recording, add the 90 days a locator has to make that record and you have records that are fairly reliably within about 3 1/2 months of the actual location on the ground.

The BLM is a different story entirely. Their database updates are usually within about 90 days of being notified of a location. That puts us at the 1/2 year mark for their potential location currency. Abandonment of claims cases are more like 9 months to a year these days. Updates on annual work assessments are about the same and annual maintenance waiver payments updates are on the order 90 days. There are some extreme exceptions to those averages (on the order of years).

These averages for the BLM are a huge improvement over last years figures. Last year the California BLM didn't even begin processing annual work assessments for 2012 until August 1st of 2013. Updating their case files on the LR2000 for those work assessments is only now reaching completion - nearly two years after receiving those notices.

We follow the current requirement for establishment of what constitutes a claim. We don't check the stakes on the ground (it's not always legally required that there be stakes) but we do not map a claim until there is a County Record of the location and an informational filing in the database with the State BLM office.

As you can see even if it were possible (it isn't) to automatically update those claims from the County Recorder(s) and the State BLM office(s) they would in no way be "current".

Nonetheless we do plot and update claims status free for our registered FootPrints users. The frequency varies depending on:

The map location. Some mapped areas rarely have new or closed claims.

The current state of claims cases at the BLM. Last year the BLM updated very few records and often changed case status back and forth several times

The ability of County Recorder's to provide us with complete timely information. we have to maintain long term relationships with each County Recorder and when a Recorder with a two person office says they are down to one person and are overwhelmed we don't push them for records at that time.

As a result some FootPrints claims layers are updated two or three times a year and some may be a few years between updates.

All that may seem as if there is no possible way for an individual prospector to know current claims status without checking the recordings and checking for stakes on the ground. That is indeed the case, as it always has been. Ultimately it is the responsibility of the prospector to do their own due diligence on land status before prospecting. That has been the law for more than 140 years.

So what good are the claims maps on our FootPrints? Well first of all the vast majority of claims in any placer gold area change very little over time. That leaves the prospector with most of the work already done for him.

We are the only ones mapping claims to their actual location notices, every other claims map only shows them to the BLM standard of within a quarter section (1/2 mile). There is a lot of ground not covered within that 160 acre quarter section by real claims on a map as opposed to the standard of "somewhere in here".

We provide a copy of each claim location notice at the click of a mouse when viewing claims. These are copies stored within the program, right on you computer, no internet connection required. No other claims map offers that surety.

Claims are only one part of the picture on land status for prospecting and claim. If the area is not public land, is closed to mineral entry, is Wilderness, National Recreation Area, a National Monument, is semi restricted by a powersite withdrawal or SRH patent or doesn't have good potential for gold our maps will provide you with that critical information. Just knowing where a claim might be is nowhere near the complete answer to "can I prospect or claim this area?" Relying solely on claims to determine where you can prospect can be as wasteful and frustrating as looking for lodes in Kansas.

Clay thanks for sharing a lot of great info on claims and research. I've been doing research on gold areas for over 40 years, and spent countless hours in libraries, universities, museums, county recorders, BLM, State land offices, the net,and old (books)publications, I have no doubts your the man on this topic.

We all have to start somewhere in prospecting. but I can say from past experiences the more you know the more your going to find. AzNuggetBob