Dropped BLM mining claims
Dropped mining claims in California, scored daily.
When a claimant in California misses BLM's annual maintenance-fee deadline — the biggest wave falls around September 1 — their claim is forfeited and the ground reopens to location. LodeFinder re-pulls BLM's national closed-claims records every day, isolates the newly-dropped claims in California, scores each 0–100, and can email you the morning ground drops inside an area you're watching.
0 scored dropped claims in California right now
California pairs a long gold-mining legacy with heavy federal-land withdrawals, so the stakeability verdict matters here more than most.
What you can do here with LodeFinder
- Browse the scored drop feed filtered to California, newest and highest-scoring first.
- Check any point with the free BLM inspector: surface agency, in-force mineral withdrawals, wilderness/monument overlays, the PLSS legal description, and whether an active claim already covers it.
- Set a watchlist for the whole state or a specific map area, and get a daily email when new claims drop inside it.
- Jump to the source — every claim links out to its official BLM MLRS record.
LodeFinder surfaces and scores public BLM records; it is not legal, investment, or professional advice. BLM is the authoritative source — a claim shown as dropped or open must be verified with BLM, and the proper location and recording steps followed, before you act or spend money. A mining claim conveys mineral rights only.
Frequently asked questions
How many dropped mining claims are there in California?
LodeFinder's historical archive holds 312,816 closed BLM mining claims on file for California — claims that have lapsed and rolled off BLM's live one-year layer, kept searchable here for free. The count of freshly-dropped claims scored right now is shown at the top of this page and updates every morning as BLM's national records refresh. BLM is the authoritative source; verify any claim before you act.
Where do I record a mining claim in California?
You record a new mining claim in two places: with the local county recorder (in Alaska, the state recording district) for the area where the claim sits, and with the BLM state office that administers federal minerals in California. The county charges its own recording fee, and BLM charges federal filing and maintenance fees — about $274 at last check. Fee amounts and filing requirements change, so verify the current details with BLM and the county recorder before you file.
When do most mining claims drop in California?
The biggest wave each year clusters around September 1, BLM's annual maintenance-fee deadline: claimants who don't pay the fee or file a qualifying small-miner waiver by then forfeit their claims, and the ground reopens to location. Claims lapse year-round too, but the September 1 window is the largest. LodeFinder re-checks BLM's records every morning and scores each new California drop 0–100. Verify any claim with BLM before you act.