Oregon has 125,322 records of mining claims on public land managed by the Bureau of Land Management and 4,462 records of mines listed by the United States Geological Survey (USGS).
Quick Facts
- 125,322 records of mining claims on public land managed by the Bureau of Land Management.
- 8,930 active mining claims
- 116,392 closed mining claims
- 4,462 USGS records of mines in Oregon.
- Gold , Silver , Copper , Chromium , and Mercury mines located in Oregon. See All
Top Counties
by Active mining claims
- Malheur (2,567 Active Claims)
- Baker (1,693 Active Claims)
- Josephine (976 Active Claims)
- Lake (867 Active Claims)
- Grant (443 Active Claims)
- Douglas (351 Active Claims)
- Jackson (324 Active Claims)
- Curry (297 Active Claims)
- Lane (233 Active Claims)
- Harney (174 Active Claims)
Oregon Mine Locations
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© The Diggings™
Recently Updated Mining Claims
Most recently updated claims in Oregon.
Mining Claims (BLM)
Oregon has 125,322 mining claims on public land listed in The Diggings™. Of these claims, 7.13% are active while 92.87% are now closed. Malheur, Baker, and Josephine are the most active counties in Oregon.
Quick BLM Facts
- 125,322 records of mining claims on public land managed by the Bureau of Land Management.
- 8,930 records of active mining claims
- 116,392 records of closed mining claims
Active Mines By County
In Oregon
| Active | Authorized Countiess |
|---|---|
| Malheur | 2567 |
| Baker | 1693 |
| Josephine | 976 |
| Lake | 867 |
| Other | 2827 |
Oregon Mining Image Gallery
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Banner Group, 1905 Courtesy of Bureau of Land Management Oregon -
Salem Placer, 1924 Courtesy of Bureau of Land Management Oregon -
Clakamas, Rainbow, Duane, Elk Horn Lodes, 1953 Courtesy of Bureau of Land Management Oregon -
Knight Quartz Mine, 1887 Courtesy of Bureau of Land Management Oregon -
Royal, Bull Moose Extension, Bull Moose Lodes, 1949 Courtesy of Bureau of Land Management Oregon -
Ajax No. 1, Ajax No. 2, Snowbird, Vigilant Lodes, 1920 Courtesy of Bureau of Land Management Oregon
Oregon Trends Overview
January 2021 vs. January 2020
January 2021
January 2020
Net
Change
Opened Claims
0
28
28
100%
Opened Acres
0
765
765.42
100%
Transfered Claims
0
6
6
100%
Transfered Acres
0
128
128.78
100%
Closed Claims
1
9
8
88.88%
Closed Acres
20
174
154.31
88.52%
Located Claims
0
27
27
100%
Located Acres
0
745
745.42
100%
Rejected Claims
1
9
8
88.88%
Rejected Acres
20
174
154.31
88.52%
Mining Trends
Historic Mining Records (USGS)
Oregon has 4,462 identified mines listed in The Diggings™. The most commonly listed primary commodities in Oregon mines are Gold , Silver , and Copper . At the time these mines were surveyed, 817 mines in Oregon were observed to have ore mineralization in an outcrop, shallow pit, or isolated drill hole—known as an occurance mine.1 Oregon has 1,623 prospect mines.2 2,006 mines were in production at the time the data was entered into USGS records. Josephine, Baker, and Jackson are the counties with the most mines.
Quick USGS Facts
- 4,462 records of mines in Oregon.
- 1,623 records of prospects
- 817 records of mineral occurrences of observable ore mineralization.
- 16 records of mining plants
- 2,006 records of mineral producers
Mines By County
In Oregon
| Total | Authorized Countiess |
|---|---|
| Josephine | 1013 |
| Baker | 861 |
| Jackson | 542 |
| Grant | 508 |
| Other | 1538 |
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 Oregon
Land TypeTotal ClaimsActive ClaimsClosed ClaimsActive AcresTotal MinesProspectsOccurrencesPlantsProducers
Whitman National Forest
National Forests
12,680
1,419
11,261
35,497.54
486
210
45
0
231
Siskiyou National Forest
National Forests
15,176
776
14,400
24,636.09
650
212
166
1
271
Rogue River National Forest
National Forests
3,549
315
3,234
7,799.35
110
32
22
0
56
Fremont National Forest
National Forests
4,267
271
3,996
5,581.31
44
16
16
1
11
Umpqua National Forest
National Forests
2,566
190
2,376
5,535.05
173
92
24
0
57
Malheur National Forest
National Forests
4,546
174
4,372
4,140.29
170
70
25
0
75
Willamette National Forest
National Forests
2,270
100
2,170
3,282.88
108
57
12
0
39
Ochoco National Forest
National Forests
1,061
51
1,010
2,187.64
51
16
6
0
29
Umatilla National Forest
National Forests
2,018
67
1,951
1,446.82
136
55
32
1
48
Siuslaw National Forest
National Forests
271
57
214
1,352.94
1
0
0
0
1
Top Mining Districts
in Oregon
StateTotal ClaimsActive ClaimsClosed ClaimsActive AcresTotal MinesProspectsOccurrencesPlantsProducers
Sheaville-Owyhee Lake Area
Oregon
16,819
1,271
15,548
31,623.48
131
24
29
1
77
Opalite-Brietz Mining District
Oregon
5,450
585
4,865
11,812.85
25
4
1
0
20
Mormon Basin Mining District
Oregon
991
233
758
8,499.25
110
32
14
0
64
Unity Mining District
Oregon
394
374
20
7,756.19
17
6
1
0
10
Takilma Mining District
Oregon
248
201
47
6,390.43
112
37
12
0
63
Greenhorn Mining District
Oregon
276
244
32
6,144.69
107
28
17
0
62
Upper Burnt River Mining District
Oregon
165
128
37
5,857.60
50
19
7
0
24
Star Mountain-Stockade Mountain Area
Oregon
721
261
460
5,392.26
6
0
1
0
5
Central Illinois River Area
Oregon
162
114
48
5,087.25
120
35
16
0
69
Bohemia Mining District
Oregon
1,409
184
1,225
5,084.00
138
71
17
0
50
Top Owners
in Oregon
CityStateCategoryInterest RelationshipTotal ClaimsActive ClaimsClosed ClaimsActive Acres
Cascadia Mineral Claims Inc.
Salt Lake City
Utah
Corporation
Claimant
488
458
30
9,462.28
Calico Resources USA Co.
Winnemucca
Nevada
Corporation
Claimant
442
436
6
8,866.82
Hitech Minerals Inc.
Reno
Nevada
Corporation
Claimant
419
414
5
8,280
CP Holdings Co.
Reno
Nevada
Corporation
Claimant
266
266
0
5,495.56
Bull Mountain Resources LLC
Kingman
Arizona
Corporation
Claimant
262
261
1
5,392.26
Popular Towns, Cities, Etc.
in Oregon
CountyStateTotal ClaimsActive ClaimsClosed ClaimsActive AcresTotal MinesProspectsOccurrencesPlantsProducers
Jordan Valley
Malheur
Oregon
9,641
1,520
8,121
32,319.91
158
19
8
0
131
Wilderville
Josephine
Oregon
10,803
843
9,960
29,052.11
786
266
100
3
417
Cave Junction
Josephine
Oregon
10,470
785
9,685
27,308.49
787
225
182
2
378
Kerby
Josephine
Oregon
11,332
792
10,540
27,292.95
779
234
170
2
373
Selma
Josephine
Oregon
11,773
725
11,048
26,810.18
770
259
143
2
366
Holland
Josephine
Oregon
10,415
683
9,732
26,061.30
761
227
155
2
377
New Hope
Josephine
Oregon
8,975
785
8,190
25,600.51
719
237
92
3
387
Takilma
Josephine
Oregon
10,684
711
9,973
25,276.47
758
196
177
2
383
O'Brien
Josephine
Oregon
10,972
690
10,282
23,773.19
784
190
202
2
390
Sumpter
Baker
Oregon
11,962
795
11,167
23,681.26
501
221
34
1
245
Mining Claim News From The Diggings™
Learn more about the Bureau of Land Management, Public Land Survey System, and mining claims.
-
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.
-
Understanding BLM Administrative Areas
Whether it is filing a mine or researching one, the administering BLM office is going to be the definitive source.
-
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.
-
Understanding Townships
A “township” can refer to two different things. Both are part of the PLSS measurement system but have different uses.
