clay Posted August 21, 2011 Report Share Posted August 21, 2011 Well it's that time of year again.If you haven't filed your claims maintenance fee yet this year you are running out of time. Don't be late or your claims will be deemed "abandoned" by the BLM! Technically the assessment year runs from noon on September 1st of each year to noon on September 1st the following year. Just to be safe it would be wise to make sure you are paid up by August 31st.I get a lot of questions about filing requirements this time of year. Rather than trying to answer every one personally I will try to answer all your questions in this one post. If I miss anything or something is unclear please don't hesitate to put in your 2 cents.-------------------------------ANNUAL CLAIM MAINTENANCE FEE PAYMENTThe assessment fee (claim maintenance payment fee in BLM speak) for this year (2011) is now $140.00 per claim. You may put all your claims on one maintenance payment declaration and you may pay all the fees due in one check, money order, cash or Visa/Mastercard. Make your check payable to DOI - Bureau of Land ManagementAlways include your MC registration number (AMC###### in Arizona) and the claim name and location on your declaration. Don't forget to sign the check and the declaration! If your payment is less than required the payment you have sent will be applied to the lowest MC numbers first, once the money runs out your remaining claims will be declared abandoned.You may mail your payment and declaration to the BLM. As long as it is postmarked before September 1st and received in their office before September 15th you are good to go.If you are paying an Annual Maintenance Fee you are required by law to file an INTENTION TO HOLD at the County Recorders Office on your existing claims each year. The BLM can not declare your claims as "abandoned" for failure to make this public filing but it is a good idea to do so. -------------------------------SMALL MINERS WAIVERMany of you are confused by the Small Miners Waiver. This waiver is available to those of you who have 10 or fewer mining claims Nationally. In addition ALL the other locators listed on your claims must have 10 or fewer claims Nationally.You must have done your assessment work on EACH claim or group of claims. The Small Miners Waiver relieves you of the maintenance payment for the year in which it is filed. There is no fee to file a Small Miners Waiver.If you are eligible under the above rule you must file your Small Miners Waiver ANNUALLY before September 1st of each year.The first years assessment is always paid in full at the time of filing your claim with the BLM. There is NO Small Miners Waiver available in the first year.If you have not declared your Small Miners Waiver in the previous year you must explain why no assessment work was done in that year. For those of you who are making your first Waiver on a new claim the reason is simply "My claim was located in that assessment year". If you have been paying your yearly maintenance fee and are for the first time taking advantage of the Small Miners Waiver the reason would be "I paid a maintenance fee to maintain my claim(s) during that assessment year".The legal year for assessment WORK ASSESSMENT is different than the MAINTENANCE FEE year. This has led to a lot of confusion. If you are filing a Small Miners Waiver the WORK ASSESSMENT year runs from December 30 (NOT December 31st!). You should file your Small Miners Waiver before September 1st of 2011 and then file your Affidavit of Work before December 30th 2011 (If you can you should file before September 1st so as not to confuse your BLM "officials").If you are paying the ANNUAL MAINTENANCE FEE the year runs from September 1st.The Small Miners Waiver OR the Annual Maintenance Fee must be filed by September 1st.IF you are filing a Small Miners Waiver your Annual Affidavit of Assessment Work must be filed with the BLM by December 30th (Each claim is a $10 filing fee). That Affidavit of work done MUST be notarized and filed with the County Recorder (in the County the claim is located in) BEFORE you file a copy with the BLM.------------------------------------To recap:-------------------Claims Maintenance Fees are $140 PER CLAIM and are due by September 1st.-------------------The Small Miners Waiver must be filed by September 1st.The copy of your County Recorders filing of your Affidavit of Assessment Work must be filed with the BLM by December 30th.Both of these filings are required to make your Small Miners Waiver valid.--------------------Here are more specifics on the Small Miners Waiver from the BLM:You must submit BLM's waiver certification form on or before September 1 of each assessment year for which you are seeking a waiver. You must submit your waiver on or before September 1 for BLM to exempt your claims or sites from the annual maintenance fee requirement that is due on the same date. You may have an agent submit a waiver form on your behalf if you file or have filed with BLM a power of attorney or other legal documentation which shows that the agent is acting on your behalf.All waiver requests must include: (1) The names and addresses of all claimants who maintain an interest in the mining claims or sites listed on the waiver document; (2) The original signatures of the claimants of the mining claims or sites who are requesting the waiver, or the original signature of the authorized agent of the owner or owners of those mining claims or sites; (3) The names of the mining claims or sites for which you request a waiver; (4) The serial numbers, if available, that BLM assigned to the mining claims or sites; and (5) The date the maintenance fee was due from which you are seeking a waiver.Small miner waiver requests must include a declaration that: (1) You and all related parties hold no more than a total of 10 mining claims and sites nationwide; (2) You have completed or will complete all assessment work required by the General Mining Law to maintain your claims by the end of the applicable assessment year. (3) If you were not required to perform assessment work in the previous assessment year, you must include the reason why assessment work was not required in your certification.I've included links to some forms that may be used to make your filings. You may make your filings in your own words as long as the required elements are included in your declarations.The mailing address for Arizona BLM is:Bureau of Land ManagementArizona State OfficeOne North Central AvenueSuite 800Phoenix, AZ 85004-4427In other States you must send your BLM filings to the State Office.You can find your County Recorder HERE.All the filing forms except the Small Miners Waiver are HERE.The Small Miners Waiver can be found HERE.ClayMinerDigginsSubscribe to the NewDiggins Newsletter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pkirkll Posted August 21, 2011 Report Share Posted August 21, 2011 hello clay,I found out an interesting thing about NV county recorders offices. They are always closed on August 31st...(NV day)...so don't wait until what you may think is the last day there or you may miss the boat. correct me if I'm wrong, but I just heard this last week...Prickly p Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clay Posted August 21, 2011 Author Report Share Posted August 21, 2011 hello clay,I found out an interesting thing about NV county recorders offices. They are always closed on August 31st...(NV day)...so don't wait until what you may think is the last day there or you may miss the boat. correct me if I'm wrong, but I just heard this last week...Prickly pHi Prickly You make a very good point Paul. All these deadlines don't apply if they fall on a holiday or a weekend. You've got to file early because there are no do overs in the claim game. If the paperwork is not in their office with dates before September 1st your claims are gone. ClayMinerDigginsSubscribe to the NewDiggins Newsletter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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