North America has 3,921,409 records of mining claims on public land managed by the Bureau of Land Management and 139,591 records of mines listed by the United States Geological Survey (USGS).
Quick Facts
- 3,921,409 records of mining claims on public land managed by the Bureau of Land Management.
- 422,500 active mining claims
- 3,446 pending mining claims
- 3,495,463 closed mining claims
- 139,591 USGS records of mines in North America.
- Gold , Silver , Copper , Lead , and Zinc mines located in North America. See All
Top Countries
by Active mining claims
- The United States (422,500 Active Claims)
Top Countries
by Total Mines
- The United States (134,153 Total Mines)
- Mexico (2,012 Total Mines)
- Canada (1,414 Total Mines)
- Cuba (443 Total Mines)
- Costa Rica (314 Total Mines)
- Honduras (230 Total Mines)
- Jamaica (214 Total Mines)
- Panama (204 Total Mines)
- Puerto Rico (180 Total Mines)
- Guatemala (101 Total Mines)
Mining Claims (BLM)
North America has 3,921,409 mining claims on public land listed in The Diggings™. Of these claims, 10.77% are active while 89.14% are now closed. The United States are the most active countries in North America.
Quick BLM Facts
- 3,921,409 records of mining claims on public land managed by the Bureau of Land Management.
- 422,500 records of active mining claims
- 3,446 records of pending mining claims
- 3,495,463 records of closed mining claims
Active Mines By Country
In North America
| Active | Authorized Countriess |
|---|---|
| The United States | 422500 |
North America Mining Image Gallery
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Rector coal bank, 1906 Gale, H.S. Courtesy of United States Geological Survey -
Rector coal bank, 1906 Gale, H.S. Courtesy of United States Geological Survey -
Rector coal bank, 1906 Gale, H.S. Courtesy of United States Geological Survey -
Pacific No. 1 Dredge, 1906 Courtesy of California Geological Survey -
Gold Bank Courtesy of California Geological Survey -
Gold Bank, 1895 Courtesy of California Geological Survey
Historic Mining Records (USGS)
North America has 139,591 identified mines listed in The Diggings™. The most commonly listed primary commodities in North America mines are Gold , Silver , and Copper . At the time these mines were surveyed, 36,111 mines in North America were observed to have ore mineralization in an outcrop, shallow pit, or isolated drill hole—known as an occurance mine.1 North America has 26,087 prospect mines.2 75,687 mines were in production at the time the data was entered into USGS records. The United States, Mexico, and Canada are the countries with the most mines.
Quick USGS Facts
- 139,591 records of mines in North America.
- 26,087 records of prospects
- 36,111 records of mineral occurrences of observable ore mineralization.
- 1,706 records of mining plants
- 75,687 records of mineral producers
Mines By Country
In North America
| Total | Authorized Countriess |
|---|---|
| The United States | 134153 |
| Other | 5438 |
1 Grade, tonnage, and extent of mineralization for such mines are unspecified.
2 Such mines have some degree of development such as surface trenching, adits, shafts, drill holes, geophysics, geochemistry, or geological mapping to estimate grade and tonnage.
Mining Claim News From The Diggings™
Learn more about the Bureau of Land Management, Public Land Survey System, and mining claims.
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Understanding Claim Ownership
We receive lots of emails from people who find their name or a relative’s name on our site and want to know if this means they have some right to the land listed under that name.
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Understanding BLM Administrative Areas
Whether it is filing a mine or researching one, the administering BLM office is going to be the definitive source.
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Understanding Location Data
Mine handled by the Bureau of Land Management are not mapped by latitude and longitude, instead, these mines harken back to the Public Land Survey System.
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Understanding Townships
A “township” can refer to two different things. Both are part of the PLSS measurement system but have different uses.
