LIVING THE DREAM FOR A DOLLAR AN ACRE

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In the course of the approval process, you must post a bond for the land reclamation process after the mining is completed for the season, and you will be responsible for doing the reclamation. While mining, you must file certain documents with the county and BLM on or before certain specified dates. You must document a certain amount of work every year to keep your claim open and you must show that you can transport your minerals to market.

You may be allowed to camp on the land with approval. Remember, BLM has a multiple-use concept for any parcel of land, and several activities may take place simultaneously on that land. For example: mining, grazing, plant and animal management, and various recreational activities like hunting and fishing may all be allowed at the same time. It is the responsibility of the miner to keep his area reasonably hazard-free for the other users.

A miner has the right only to the minerals; he may not live on the land without permission. If a cabin is located on a new claim, it belongs to the BLM and may not be used by the miner.

A mining claim may also be staked on certain Forest Service (USFS) land, with much of the same requirements. Other agencies may be involved in the permitting and mining process, such as Department of Ecology, Fish, and Wildlife, etc. Certain rugged individuals still do full or part time mining as a way of life, with greater and lesser degrees of success.

Q. I just bought forty-one aces of tree growth land in northern Maine. The land owner let me finance the property with small payments over twenty years. It is written in the contract that the principal is pre-payable at any time without penalty, but when I mentioned to the sellers that I planned on paying extra now and then on just the principal they suggested I save it all up and pay off the land in one lump sum. They said: "Just think of all the interest you will earn saving the money in the bank" I suspect they fear they will not make as much interest if I chip away at the principal every few months. At thirty-five years old I am still not too good at saving money in the bank. I would much rather pay on the principal a little at a time. I can only afford to pay these small payments now, which is why I agreed to small payments over a long period. But in the future, I will be able to pay more. I sure don't feel too happy about the thought of paying ten thousand dollars in interest over a twenty year period on a sixty-five hundred dollar piece of raw land that I should be able to pay off in a couple of years at the most.

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