Mining Claims for Sale » difference between place and lode http://www.miningclaimsforsale.com Lode and Placer Gold Mining Claims for Sale Online Wed, 13 May 2009 07:56:58 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3 Differences Between Lode and Placer Mining Claims http://www.miningclaimsforsale.com/mining-claim-articles-and-information/200811/differences-between-lode-and-placer-mining-claims/ http://www.miningclaimsforsale.com/mining-claim-articles-and-information/200811/differences-between-lode-and-placer-mining-claims/#comments Mon, 10 Nov 2008 04:54:52 +0000 Mining Claims for Sale http://www.miningclaimsforsale.com/?p=37 When choosing a mining claim that's right for you, it is important to note the difference between a “Lode” mining claim and a “Placer” mining claim. This goes for gold, silver, platinum, and any other precious (or semi-precious) metals you can think of.
Lode and Placer claims are different, and many states acknowledge this by separating the mineral rights for the two. So if you aren't careful, you could end up owning a placer claim where only lode gold is found or a lode claim where there is only placer gold. This opens up the possibility that someone could file for the opposing mineral rights and effectively lock you out of your own gold claim. So let's take a minute to define each type of claim so you can be sure your mining claim has the correct mineral rights for the precious metals you want to find.

A Lode mining claim is when the gold (or other precious metal) is still in the rocks and original minerals where it was formed. This is usually a gold bearing vein, or gold ore – where the gold may or may not be visible and is mixed in with other rocks and minerals. Sometimes gold can be chipped out of a gold vein but the most common form of recovery is to crush the metal ore and use an extraction technique to separate the precious metals. If you think you've found a lode claim, the first step is to take the ore samples to an assayer to test how much gold or other precious metals are in the rocks.

A Placer mining claim is the most common type of claim, and what most people think of when they think of a gold claim. This is where the gold has broken free of rock and minerals and can be found as flakes and nuggets. Placer gold starts out from a lode claim, where the gold is locked into the ground. Over time, erosion and the elements free the gold from other material and works its way down into the placer deposit as nuggets and flakes.

So now you know. In a lode claim, the precious metals are still stuck in the rock and may or may not be visible. And in a placer claim, the precious metals have been freed from their original state (due to the elements and erosion) and are much easier to recover.

Happy Prospecting!

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