Mining in the Royal Gorge Field Office Area

Anyone intending to develop mineral resources on the public lands must prevent unnecessary or undue degradation of the land and reclaim disturbed areas.

Surface Management of public lands for operations authorized by the mining laws are regulated under 43 CFR 3809.

Casual Use Activities

Casual Use means activities ordinarily resulting in no or negligible disturbance of the public lands or resources. Casual use generally includes the collection of geochemical, rock, soil or mineral specimens using hand tools; hand panning; or non-motorized sluicing. It may also include use of battery-operated devices for sensing the presence of minerals. Casual use does not include use of mechanized earth-moving equipment.

Notification to the BLM is not required for casual use activities on public lands.

  

Notice Level Operations

Notice level operations typically include exploration activities. Exploration means creating surface disturbance greater than casual use and involves efforts to determine the extent quantity or quality of mineral values present. Exploration does not include activities where material is extracted for commercial use or sale.

These operations cannot cause greater than 5-acres of surface disturbance of public lands or involve bulk sampling in which 1,000 tons or more of presume ore is removed for testing.

A complete notice of your operations must be submitted to Royal Gorge Field Office 15 calendar days before you commence exploration. BLM does not require that the notice be on a particular form.

Plan Level Operations

You must submit a plan of operations and obtain BLM’s approval before beginning operations greater than casual use, where activities exceed notice level or notice level does not apply. Any mining development proposal that is determined to fall under the definition of mining or submitted within an Area of Critical Environmental Concern will automatically be defined as a plan of operations under the regulations and subject to those parts of the regulations pertaining to a Plan of Operations, as opposed to a notice. 

A Plan of Operations must be submitted to the Royal Gorge Field Office, who will then review the Plan of Operations within 30 calendar days of receipt. BLM does not require that the plan be on a particular form.

* * * NOTE – If your proposed operations involve the use of a suction dredge, prior coordination with the Royal Gorge Field Office is needed before beginning such use to determine whether you need to submit a notice or a plan to BLM, or whether your activities constitute casual use. * * *

Placer mining along the Arkansas River Corridor

Additional information concerning Notice Level activities along the Arkansas River Corridor is provided below.

Over the Counter Authorization: For notice level operations at the Point Bar Placer Area, the following thresholds apply: 

• In stream (suction dredging) equipment is limited to 4-inch intake nozzle and 8 hp motors.
• On shore (high banking) equipment is limited to a 3-inch intake hose or nozzle and 8-hp in total motor size.
• Operations are permitted between April 1 and September 30.

Activities Requiring Agency Review: Proposed exploration for all other locations along the Arkansas River will require a 15-day review period that begins when a complete notice has been submitted. Bonding for review level notices will be determined on a case by case basis. If this applies to your notice level activity, you will need to submit, at a minimum, the following information for all sites where you are proposing to conduct operations:

• Topographic map with proposed work location marked
• Legal land description using township, range and section (s)
• Claim name and CMC number (if applicable)
• Proposed work plan that details equipment size, times of operation, etc.
• Proposed access routes
• Reclamation cost estimate

* * * NOTE – Proposed operations involving the use of a suction dredge along the Arkansas River are typically classified as greater then casual use. You will need to submit a notice to the Royal Gorge Field Office prior to initiating this activity. * * *

Standard Guidance for Placer Operations   - this is a shortened version to quickly explain the types of stipulations that apply to casual use and notice level work.  The application forms have more complete guidance.