1. Home
  2. Mines
  3. North America
  4. The United States
  5. California
  6. Placer

Mining In Placer County, California

Placer County, California has 3,848 records of mining claims on public land managed by the Bureau of Land Management and 504 records of mines listed by the United States Geological Survey (USGS).

Quick Facts

  • 3,848 records of mining claims on public land managed by the Bureau of Land Management.
  • 475 active mining claims
  • 3,373 closed mining claims
  • 504 USGS records of mines in Placer County, California.
  • Gold , Chromium , Silver , Lead , and Copper mines located in Placer County, California. See All

Claims Summary

in Placer County, California

  • 3,848 Total
  • 475 Active
  • 3,373 Closed
Browse All Claims

Mines Summary

in Placer County, California

  • 504 Total
  • 82 Occurrences
  • 10 Prospects
  • 1 Plants
  • 411 Producers
Browse All Mines
Placer County Mine Locations

Placer County Mine Locations

Click to open an interactive map.

© The Diggings™

Recently Updated Mining Claims

Most recently updated claims in Placer.

  1. OREDIGGER 2

    • $330 fee 40 acres Active disposition
    • Placer, California
    • Sandra L. Curry et al.
    • Placer Claim
    Read More

  2. ECHZ 1

    • $165 fee 20 acres Active disposition
    • Placer, California
    • Todd Leslie
    • Placer Claim
    Read More

  3. 5 STAR MINE

    • $165 fee 20 acres Active disposition
    • Placer, California
    • Naillon Trust
    • Placer Claim
    Read More

  4. THE WALL

    • $165 fee 20 acres Active disposition
    • Placer, California
    • Gary Watts et al.
    • Placer Claim
    Read More

  5. LAST CHANCE BSB

    • $330 fee 40 acres Active disposition
    • Placer, California
    • Kris Boger et al.
    • Placer Claim
    Read More
View All

Mining Claims (BLM)

Placer County, California has 3,848 mining claims on public land listed in The Diggings™. Of these claims, 12.34% are active while 87.66% are now closed.

Quick BLM Facts

  • 3,848 records of mining claims on public land managed by the Bureau of Land Management.
  • 475 records of active mining claims
  • 3,373 records of closed mining claims
Browse All Claims

Mine By Disposition

In Placer

COUNTY Authorized mines
closed 3373
active 475

Placer County, California Mining Image Gallery

  1. Interior view of the Mayflower Mill, Forest Hill Divide.
    Mayflower Mill, 1896 Courtesy of California Geological Survey
  2. Wheel at mouth of tunnel, 2.5 miles northeast of Michigan Bluff
    Michigan Bluff, 1896 Courtesy of California Geological Survey
  3. Monitor used in hydraulic mining at the diggings. Daguerreotype from the collection of Anston S. Blake. Made for Charles T. Blake, first Wells Fargo agent at Michigan Bluff.
    Michigan Bluff, 1854 courtesy of Wells Fargo Bank Union Trust Co. © courtesy of Wells Fargo Bank Union Trust Co. Courtesy of California Geological Survey
  4. Gold Blossom Mill, Ophir Mining District
    Gold Blossom Mill, 1895 Courtesy of California Geological Survey
  5. Gold Blossom Mill, Ophir Mining District
    Gold Blossom Mill, 1895 Courtesy of California Geological Survey
  6. Diver standing next to a woman and recovering gold from the deep pools in the bed of the North Fork of the American River east of Colfax. This is an example of placer mining.
    Rocky Bar or Estey Mine, 1915 Courtesy of California Geological Survey
View All

Placer County, California Trends Overview

January 2021 vs. January 2020

Mining Trends

2012 46 opened claims 44 transfered claims 58 closed claims2013 58 opened claims 18 transfered claims 39 closed claims2014 56 opened claims 79 transfered claims 36 closed claims2015 51 opened claims 34 transfered claims 90 closed claims2016 31 opened claims 18 transfered claims 42 closed claims2017 31 opened claims 9 transfered claims 32 closed claims2018 24 opened claims 39 transfered claims 33 closed claims2019 39 opened claims 19 transfered claims 15 closed claims2020 37 opened claims 9 transfered claims2021Opened2012 46 opened claims 44 transfered claims 58 closed claims2013 58 opened claims 18 transfered claims 39 closed claims2014 56 opened claims 79 transfered claims 36 closed claims2015 51 opened claims 34 transfered claims 90 closed claims2016 31 opened claims 18 transfered claims 42 closed claims2017 31 opened claims 9 transfered claims 32 closed claims2018 24 opened claims 39 transfered claims 33 closed claims2019 39 opened claims 19 transfered claims 15 closed claims2020 37 opened claims 9 transfered claims2021Transfered2012 46 opened claims 44 transfered claims 58 closed claims2013 58 opened claims 18 transfered claims 39 closed claims2014 56 opened claims 79 transfered claims 36 closed claims2015 51 opened claims 34 transfered claims 90 closed claims2016 31 opened claims 18 transfered claims 42 closed claims2017 31 opened claims 9 transfered claims 32 closed claims2018 24 opened claims 39 transfered claims 33 closed claims2019 39 opened claims 19 transfered claims 15 closed claims2020 37 opened claims 9 transfered claims2021Closed20122013201420152016201720182019202020210102030405060708090ClaimsAnnual Claim Actions In Placer County,CaliforniaFebruary, 2023thediggings.com See full chart
January 2020 1 transfered claimFebruary 2020 1 opened claim 1 transfered claimMarch 2020 1 opened claim 2 transfered claimsApril 2020 4 opened claimsMay 2020June 2020 2 opened claims 1 transfered claimJuly 2020 2 transfered claimsAugust 2020 17 opened claims 2 transfered claimsSeptember 2020 9 opened claimsOctober 2020 1 opened claimNovember 2020 1 opened claimDecember 2020 1 opened claimJanuary 2021OpenedJanuary 2020 1 transfered claimFebruary 2020 1 opened claim 1 transfered claimMarch 2020 1 opened claim 2 transfered claimsApril 2020 4 opened claimsMay 2020June 2020 2 opened claims 1 transfered claimJuly 2020 2 transfered claimsAugust 2020 17 opened claims 2 transfered claimsSeptember 2020 9 opened claimsOctober 2020 1 opened claimNovember 2020 1 opened claimDecember 2020 1 opened claimJanuary 2021TransferedJanuary 2020 1 transfered claimFebruary 2020 1 opened claim 1 transfered claimMarch 2020 1 opened claim 2 transfered claimsApril 2020 4 opened claimsMay 2020June 2020 2 opened claims 1 transfered claimJuly 2020 2 transfered claimsAugust 2020 17 opened claims 2 transfered claimsSeptember 2020 9 opened claimsOctober 2020 1 opened claimNovember 2020 1 opened claimDecember 2020 1 opened claimJanuary 2021ClosedJan '20Feb '20Mar '20Apr '20May '20Jun '20Jul '20Aug '20Sep '20Oct '20Nov '20Dec '20Jan '210246810121416ClaimsMonthly Claim Actions In PlacerCounty, CaliforniaFebruary, 2023thediggings.com See full chart

Historic Mining Records (USGS)

Placer has 504 identified mines listed in The Diggings™. The most commonly listed primary commodities in Placer mines are Gold , Chromium , and Silver . At the time these mines were surveyed, 82 mines in Placer were observed to have ore mineralization in an outcrop, shallow pit, or isolated drill hole—known as an occurance mine.1 Placer has 10 prospect mines.2 411 mines were in production at the time the data was entered into USGS records.

Quick USGS Facts

  • 504 records of mines in Placer County, California.
  • 10 records of prospects
  • 82 records of mineral occurrences of observable ore mineralization.
  • 1 record of mining plants
  • 411 records of mineral producers
Browse All Mines

Mine By Disposition

In Placer

COUNTY Authorized mines
Producers 411
Occurrences 82
Other 11

Top Commodities

in Placer County, California

  1. Gold (524)
  2. Chromium (127)
  3. Silver (72)
  4. Lead (40)
  5. Copper (28)
  6. Iron (16)
  7. Zinc (12)
  8. Arsenic (11)
  9. Manganese (10)
  10. Antimony (5)
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 Placer County, California

Land TypeTotal ClaimsActive ClaimsClosed ClaimsActive AcresTotal MinesProspectsOccurrencesPlantsProducers
Tahoe National Forest National Forests 2,941 367 2,574 19,867.87 425 9 74 1 341 Eldorado National Forest National Forests 99 19 80 1,236.32 23 1 7 0 15 Granite Chief Wilderness Wilderness Areas 7 0 7 0 3 1 2 0 0 Sequoia National Forest National Forests 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0

Top Mining Districts

in Placer County, California

StateTotal ClaimsActive ClaimsClosed ClaimsActive AcresTotal MinesProspectsOccurrencesPlantsProducers
Duncan Peak Mining District California 172 66 106 5,311.9 43 1 7 0 35 Canada Hill Mining District California 87 35 52 3,781.83 25 0 1 0 24 Last Chance Mining District California 111 52 59 3,046.34 47 2 3 0 42 Michigan Bluff Mining District California 142 77 65 2,635.93 89 0 16 0 73 Iowa Hill Mining District California 71 34 37 1,824.35 96 1 13 0 82 Foresthill Mining District California 75 50 25 1,819.4 80 2 18 0 60 Damascus Mining District California 45 19 26 1,094.40 50 0 4 0 46 Blue Canyon-Emigrant Gap Mining District California 53 25 28 925.79 20 0 3 0 17 Westville Mining District California 37 14 23 819.13 19 1 3 1 14 Foresthill Divide Mining District California 81 18 63 620 107 1 36 0 70

Top Owners

in Placer County, California

CityStateCategoryInterest RelationshipTotal ClaimsActive ClaimsClosed ClaimsActive Acres
Swiftshore Consolidated Mining Co. North Highlands California Corporation Claimant 8 8 0 654 Gray Wolf Management Inc. Wasilla Alaska Corporation Claimant 14 4 10 360.66 Gold Express Mines Inc. Post Falls Idaho Corporation Claimant 16 16 0 330.56 GB Enterprises Inc. San Anselmo California Corporation Claimant 22 10 12 300 Eagles Nest Mining LLC Edison New Jersey Corporation Claimant 10 10 0 206.6

Popular Towns, Cities, Etc.

in Placer County, California

CountyStateTotal ClaimsActive ClaimsClosed ClaimsActive AcresTotal MinesProspectsOccurrencesPlantsProducers
Emigrant Gap Placer California 18,059 2,031 16,028 71,505.48 2,093 64 332 8 1,689 Blue Canyon Placer California 17,734 1,957 15,777 68,512.68 2,503 62 419 8 2,014 Dutch Flat Placer California 17,576 1,865 15,711 66,560.94 3,024 75 574 9 2,366 Alta Placer California 17,392 1,842 15,550 66,054.45 3,012 74 572 8 2,358 Foresthill Placer California 10,318 1,026 9,292 40,181.35 3,278 68 803 7 2,400 Colfax Placer California 11,123 1,118 10,005 38,369.27 3,043 84 660 9 2,290 Weimar Placer California 8,462 847 7,615 29,896.33 3,062 81 701 10 2,270 Applegate Placer California 7,233 673 6,560 23,031.47 3,062 81 718 8 2,255 Meadow Vista Placer California 6,861 643 6,218 22,028.85 2,949 82 689 8 2,170 Auburn Placer California 3,612 297 3,315 9,617.35 2,568 72 689 8 1,799

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.

Browse All Mines
Browse Mines by BLM Administrative Area
Browse By Commodity
Browse Mines by State

Search for owners by first name, last name, company, location, etc.

Browse All Owners
Browse All Help