Maintaining a Mining Claim/Site

Filings and payments must be postmarked on or before the due date or delivered by close of business on the due date.

When the due date falls on a day when the office is closed (such as a holiday or weekend) the filing or payment is considered timely if it is received or postmarked the next day the office is open.

Each assessment year after the assessment year in which a claim/site is located requires payment of a $125 per claim/site maintenance fee in lieu of annual assessment work or the filing of a Maintenance Fee Waiver and Affidavit of Annual Assessment Work. The fee must be paid or the waiver filed prior to the start of the assessment year to which the fee or waiver is to be applied. The assessment year begins at noon on September 1 and ends on noon the following September 1.

Maintenance Fee

Annual maintenance fee payments must be filed with the BLM State Office on or before September 1 and include the BLM serial numbers, names of the claim/sites, and the $125 fee for each listed claim/site.

Maintenance Fee Waiver/Annual Assessment Work

A maintenance fee waiver may be granted to claimants who control 10 or fewer claims/sites. It requires the filing of a Maintenance Fee Waiver Form 3830-2 with the BLM State Office on or before September 1. There is no fee for filing this form.

Annual assessment work must be performed on claims under waiver and an Affidavit of Annual Assessment Work/Notice of Intent to Hold ("Proof of Labor") filed with the BLM State Office on or before December 30 following the end of the assessment year in which the work is done, with a processing fee of $10 per claim/site.

Transfer of Ownership

Mining claims are commonly transferred from one party to another with a Quitclaim Deed. The quitclaim deed must be filed with the BLM State Office and include the grantor and grantee names and addresses; the claim/site name(s); and the BLM serial number(s). There is a $10 per claim/site processing fee due from each grantee. The deed must also be recorded with the county in which the Location Notice was recorded.

Annual Filings Required by State Law

Oregon State Statutes require an annual filing, by December 30, with the County Clerk of a Notice of Intent to Hold or an Affidavit of Annual Assessment Work. For mining claims for which the annual $125 maintenance fee was paid in lieu of annual assessment work, you may file an Affidavit of Notice of Intent to Hold for Which Annual Maintenance Fee has Been Paid with the county.

For claims under waiver, file a copy of the Affidavit of Annual Assessment Work/Notice of Intent to Hold that is also to be filed with the BLM.