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Mining In The United States

The United States has 3,921,409 records of mining claims on public land managed by the Bureau of Land Management and 134,153 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
  • 134,153 USGS records of mines in The United States.
  • Gold , Silver , Copper , Lead , and Zinc mines located in The United States. See All

Top States

by Active mining claims

  1. Nevada (231,922 Active Claims)
  2. Arizona (51,591 Active Claims)
  3. Wyoming (35,171 Active Claims)
  4. Idaho (30,034 Active Claims)
  5. California (29,498 Active Claims)
  6. Utah (27,093 Active Claims)
  7. Montana (19,381 Active Claims)
  8. Colorado (14,282 Active Claims)
  9. New Mexico (10,412 Active Claims)
  10. Oregon (8,930 Active Claims)
Browse All States

Top States

by Total Mines

  1. California (25,673 Total Mines)
  2. Nevada (11,885 Total Mines)
  3. Colorado (11,555 Total Mines)
  4. Arizona (7,761 Total Mines)
  5. Montana (7,750 Total Mines)
  6. Utah (6,623 Total Mines)
  7. Idaho (6,345 Total Mines)
  8. Oregon (4,462 Total Mines)
  9. New Mexico (3,320 Total Mines)
  10. Wyoming (3,187 Total Mines)
Browse All States
United States Mine Locations

United States Mine Locations

Click to open an interactive map.

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Recently Updated Mining Claims

Most recently updated claims in The United States.

  1. ALDER AURIC

    • $165 fee 20 acres Active disposition
    • Boise, Idaho
    • Shannon Edwards
    • Placer Claim
    Read More

  2. TGM #1

    • $165 fee 20 acres Active disposition
    • Larimer, Colorado
    • Sarah Nicole Wood et al.
    • Placer Claim
    Read More

  3. RYE 21A

    • $165 fee 20.66 acres Active disposition
    • Pershing, Nevada
    • Kinross Goldbanks Mining Co. et al.
    • Lode Claim
    Read More

  4. RYE 7A

    • $165 fee 20.66 acres Active disposition
    • Pershing, Nevada
    • Kinross Goldbanks Mining Co. et al.
    • Lode Claim
    Read More

  5. GOLD VIEW

    • $165 fee 20.66 acres Active disposition
    • Chaffee, Colorado
    • Rocky Mountain Prospectors LLC et al.
    • Lode Claim
    Read More
View All

Mining Claims (BLM)

The United States 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. Nevada, Arizona, and Wyoming are the most active states in The United States.

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
Browse All States

Active Mines By State

In The United States

Active Authorized Statess
Nevada 231922
Arizona 51591
Wyoming 35171
Idaho 30034
California 29498
Utah 27093
Other 17191

The United States Mining Image Gallery

  1. Gold saving table on the California Gold Company's dredge near Oroville
    California Gold Company, 1901 Courtesy of California Geological Survey
  2. Biggs No. 2 Dredge (Bucyrus Dredge), Oroville District.
    Biggs No. 2 Dredge, 1906 Courtesy of California Geological Survey
  3. Bucket line of Biggs No. 2 Dredge, Oroville District.
    Biggs No. 2 Dredge, 1906 Courtesy of California Geological Survey
  4. Interior of Biggs No. 2 Dredge, Oroville District.
    Biggs No. 2 Dredge, 1906 Courtesy of California Geological Survey
  5. Quarry near Sites, where building stone for such San Francisco structures as the Ferry Building, St. Francis Hotel, and Flood Building was taken. Sandstone beds of Upper Cretaceous age range from 18 in. to 35 ft. in thickness.
    Colusa Sandstone Quarry, 1900 Courtesy of California Geological Survey
  6. Miners in an open stope.
    Golden Cross Mine, 1900 Courtesy of California Geological Survey
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The United States Trends Overview

January 2021 vs. January 2020

Mining Trends

2012 49,103 opened claims 15,743 transfered claims 48,616 closed claims2013 28,937 opened claims 19,087 transfered claims 63,278 closed claims2014 22,954 opened claims 15,006 transfered claims 41,630 closed claims2015 24,061 opened claims 18,733 transfered claims 44,119 closed claims2016 42,622 opened claims 29,864 transfered claims 30,726 closed claims2017 52,053 opened claims 21,917 transfered claims 29,998 closed claims2018 46,193 opened claims 18,690 transfered claims 28,677 closed claims2019 32,083 opened claims 43,855 transfered claims 27,561 closed claims2020 37,183 opened claims 13,158 transfered claims 20,491 closed claims2021 93 opened claims 477 transfered claims 14 closed claimsOpened2012 49,103 opened claims 15,743 transfered claims 48,616 closed claims2013 28,937 opened claims 19,087 transfered claims 63,278 closed claims2014 22,954 opened claims 15,006 transfered claims 41,630 closed claims2015 24,061 opened claims 18,733 transfered claims 44,119 closed claims2016 42,622 opened claims 29,864 transfered claims 30,726 closed claims2017 52,053 opened claims 21,917 transfered claims 29,998 closed claims2018 46,193 opened claims 18,690 transfered claims 28,677 closed claims2019 32,083 opened claims 43,855 transfered claims 27,561 closed claims2020 37,183 opened claims 13,158 transfered claims 20,491 closed claims2021 93 opened claims 477 transfered claims 14 closed claimsTransfered2012 49,103 opened claims 15,743 transfered claims 48,616 closed claims2013 28,937 opened claims 19,087 transfered claims 63,278 closed claims2014 22,954 opened claims 15,006 transfered claims 41,630 closed claims2015 24,061 opened claims 18,733 transfered claims 44,119 closed claims2016 42,622 opened claims 29,864 transfered claims 30,726 closed claims2017 52,053 opened claims 21,917 transfered claims 29,998 closed claims2018 46,193 opened claims 18,690 transfered claims 28,677 closed claims2019 32,083 opened claims 43,855 transfered claims 27,561 closed claims2020 37,183 opened claims 13,158 transfered claims 20,491 closed claims2021 93 opened claims 477 transfered claims 14 closed claimsClosed20122013201420152016201720182019202020210k5k10k15k20k25k30k35k40k45k50k55k60kClaimsAnnual Claim Actions In The UnitedStatesJanuary, 2023thediggings.com See full chart
January 2020 4,034 opened claims 401 transfered claims 176 closed claimsFebruary 2020 1,855 opened claims 1,256 transfered claims 206 closed claimsMarch 2020 1,738 opened claims 419 transfered claims 87 closed claimsApril 2020 1,621 opened claims 265 transfered claims 40 closed claimsMay 2020 2,100 opened claims 445 transfered claims 107 closed claimsJune 2020 2,833 opened claims 1,752 transfered claims 152 closed claimsJuly 2020 1,666 opened claims 2,722 transfered claims 409 closed claimsAugust 2020 1,222 opened claims 1,984 transfered claims 664 closed claimsSeptember 2020 11,018 opened claims 844 transfered claims 18,507 closed claimsOctober 2020 6,366 opened claims 1,268 transfered claims 61 closed claimsNovember 2020 2,095 opened claims 925 transfered claims 66 closed claimsDecember 2020 635 opened claims 877 transfered claims 16 closed claimsJanuary 2021 93 opened claims 477 transfered claims 14 closed claimsOpenedJanuary 2020 4,034 opened claims 401 transfered claims 176 closed claimsFebruary 2020 1,855 opened claims 1,256 transfered claims 206 closed claimsMarch 2020 1,738 opened claims 419 transfered claims 87 closed claimsApril 2020 1,621 opened claims 265 transfered claims 40 closed claimsMay 2020 2,100 opened claims 445 transfered claims 107 closed claimsJune 2020 2,833 opened claims 1,752 transfered claims 152 closed claimsJuly 2020 1,666 opened claims 2,722 transfered claims 409 closed claimsAugust 2020 1,222 opened claims 1,984 transfered claims 664 closed claimsSeptember 2020 11,018 opened claims 844 transfered claims 18,507 closed claimsOctober 2020 6,366 opened claims 1,268 transfered claims 61 closed claimsNovember 2020 2,095 opened claims 925 transfered claims 66 closed claimsDecember 2020 635 opened claims 877 transfered claims 16 closed claimsJanuary 2021 93 opened claims 477 transfered claims 14 closed claimsTransferedJanuary 2020 4,034 opened claims 401 transfered claims 176 closed claimsFebruary 2020 1,855 opened claims 1,256 transfered claims 206 closed claimsMarch 2020 1,738 opened claims 419 transfered claims 87 closed claimsApril 2020 1,621 opened claims 265 transfered claims 40 closed claimsMay 2020 2,100 opened claims 445 transfered claims 107 closed claimsJune 2020 2,833 opened claims 1,752 transfered claims 152 closed claimsJuly 2020 1,666 opened claims 2,722 transfered claims 409 closed claimsAugust 2020 1,222 opened claims 1,984 transfered claims 664 closed claimsSeptember 2020 11,018 opened claims 844 transfered claims 18,507 closed claimsOctober 2020 6,366 opened claims 1,268 transfered claims 61 closed claimsNovember 2020 2,095 opened claims 925 transfered claims 66 closed claimsDecember 2020 635 opened claims 877 transfered claims 16 closed claimsJanuary 2021 93 opened claims 477 transfered claims 14 closed claimsClosedJan '20Feb '20Mar '20Apr '20May '20Jun '20Jul '20Aug '20Sep '20Oct '20Nov '20Dec '20Jan '210k2k4k6k8k10k12k14k16k18kClaimsMonthly Claim Actions In The UnitedStatesJanuary, 2023thediggings.com See full chart

Historic Mining Records (USGS)

The United States has 134,153 identified mines listed in The Diggings™. The most commonly listed primary commodities in The United States mines are Gold , Silver , and Copper . At the time these mines were surveyed, 33,619 mines in The United States were observed to have ore mineralization in an outcrop, shallow pit, or isolated drill hole—known as an occurance mine.1 The United States has 25,521 prospect mines.2 73,499 mines were in production at the time the data was entered into USGS records. California, Nevada, and Colorado are the states with the most mines.

Quick USGS Facts

  • 134,153 records of mines in The United States.
  • 25,521 records of prospects
  • 33,619 records of mineral occurrences of observable ore mineralization.
  • 1,514 records of mining plants
  • 73,499 records of mineral producers
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Mines By State

In The United States

Total Authorized Statess
California 25673
Nevada 11885
Colorado 11555
Arizona 7761
Montana 7750
Other 69529

Top Commodities

in The United States

  1. Gold (76,208)
  2. Silver (45,207)
  3. Copper (36,619)
  4. Lead (33,433)
  5. Zinc (23,924)
  6. Iron (19,896)
  7. Uranium (14,728)
  8. Manganese (8,599)
  9. Tungsten (7,251)
  10. Vanadium (4,836)
More Commodities

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.

Popular Public Lands & Regions

in The United States

Land TypeTotal ClaimsActive ClaimsClosed ClaimsActive AcresTotal MinesProspectsOccurrencesPlantsProducers
Toiyabe National Forest National Forests 77,242 9,750 67,492 202,855.31 1,437 304 453 31 649 Humboldt National Forest National Forests 46,845 8,424 38,421 173,823.47 843 111 265 16 451 Tonto National Forest National Forests 47,347 7,912 39,435 151,580.12 568 204 71 7 286 Salmon National Forest National Forests 37,517 7,062 30,455 144,655.81 601 102 254 0 245 Black Hills National Forest National Forests 44,867 4,896 39,971 103,887.61 878 113 133 1 631 Coronado National Forest National Forests 28,869 5,643 23,226 103,610.28 772 146 104 3 519 Tahoe National Forest National Forests 19,701 2,195 17,506 79,105.46 1,511 80 230 7 1,194 Boise National Forest National Forests 25,671 3,540 22,131 77,971.82 568 168 128 2 270 Plumas National Forest National Forests 17,479 1,830 15,649 61,488.77 1,017 85 318 3 611 Coeur D Alene National Forest National Forests 19,147 2,593 16,554 53,341.26 215 68 52 0 95

Top Mining Districts

in The United States

StateTotal ClaimsActive ClaimsClosed ClaimsActive AcresTotal MinesProspectsOccurrencesPlantsProducers
Bald Mountain Mining District Nevada 8,854 7,219 1,635 143,109.92 33 4 2 2 25 Pumpkin Buttes Mining District Wyoming 4,667 4,532 135 93,629.8 523 36 355 0 132 Great Divide Basin Area Wyoming 4,714 4,587 127 87,373.48 67 11 42 0 14 Antelope Mining District Nevada 5,520 3,965 1,555 80,999.99 36 3 24 0 9 Independence Mountain Mining District Nevada 3,992 3,914 78 80,840.94 93 22 44 3 24 Cortez Mining District Nevada 3,934 3,723 211 76,168.41 40 0 2 1 37 Bare Mountain-Fluorine Mining District Nevada 3,460 3,346 114 67,979.13 48 15 8 1 24 Pequop Mining District Nevada 3,286 3,182 104 65,691.45 3 0 3 0 0 Crooks Gap-Green Mountain Uranium Mining District Wyoming 3,172 3,092 80 62,878.25 127 22 51 3 51 Battle Mountain Mining District Nevada 3,056 3,011 45 61,544.50 325 19 47 4 255

Top Owners

in The United States

CityStateCategoryInterest RelationshipTotal ClaimsActive ClaimsClosed ClaimsActive Acres
Nevada Gold Mines LLC Elko Nevada Corporation Claimant 28,254 25,428 2,826 512,721.53 KG Mining Inc. (Bald Mountain) Denver Colorado Corporation Claimant 7,223 7,215 8 143,122.35 Newmont USA Ltd. Elko Nevada Corporation Claimant 17,053 6,741 9,628 141,594.89 Big Casino Co. Dover Delaware Corporation Claimant 5,949 5,948 1 122,871.9 Barrick Cortez LLC Elko Nevada Corporation Claimant 5,588 5,438 13 106,580.02

Popular Towns, Cities, Etc.

in The United States

CountyStateTotal ClaimsActive ClaimsClosed ClaimsActive AcresTotal MinesProspectsOccurrencesPlantsProducers
Gold Acres Lander Nevada 69,188 20,200 48,988 405,344.99 262 15 42 10 195 Crescent Valley Eureka Nevada 57,110 15,637 41,473 311,693.40 272 18 51 9 194 Battle Mountain Lander Nevada 47,706 13,432 34,274 278,094.03 488 34 97 10 347 Valmy Humboldt Nevada 44,892 10,521 34,371 216,910.95 493 47 124 8 314 Top-of-the-World Pinal Arizona 34,863 10,128 24,735 192,205.44 481 112 43 15 311 Ray Pinal Arizona 37,253 10,003 27,250 190,735.53 511 120 57 20 314 Sonora Pinal Arizona 37,031 9,886 27,145 188,504.72 483 119 58 20 286 Miami Gila Arizona 29,720 9,860 19,860 186,137.96 453 106 42 15 290 Kelvin Pinal Arizona 36,322 9,473 26,849 182,223.99 446 115 58 20 253 Claypool Gila Arizona 27,779 9,332 18,447 175,365.35 437 102 38 15 282

Mining Claim News From The Diggings™

Learn more about the Bureau of Land Management, Public Land Survey System, and mining claims.

  1. Understanding Mine Ownership

    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.

  2. open range landscape

    Understanding BLM Administrative Areas

    Whether it is filing a mine or researching one, the administering BLM office is going to be the definitive source.

  3. Public Land Survey System map of the United States of America

    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.

  4. Historic map of the Ohio Western Reserve

    Understanding Townships

    A “township” can refer to two different things. Both are part of the PLSS measurement system but have different uses.

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