That picture needs a little explaining. It's not actually a door but rather a wood air control wall. These are put in place (and often moved) when a mine is operating to control airflow and keep fresh air moving in active parts of the mine. Since part of our work involves detailed mapping, we have to gain access to any closed off sections in order to be accurate and properly document the true structure of the mine. Our goal is the documentation and preservation of abandoned mines so we only open walls or sealed areas when absolutely necessary.
The issue with the BLM (and other agencies) was their monitoring of our web site and Facebook page in order to identify mines for reclamation (which almost always means permanent closure). With regard to mining claims, only patented claims are real property. Placer and lode claims must be renewed every year (and are also supposed to have ongoing mining or site improvement activities). They are not real property and only give claim holders certain rights.
Thanks for the reply.
Status of a claim can be checked via LR2000 or Geo Communicator and other sources to determine if the mine owner had forfeited the claim. If the annual fee is paid up, the mine is not abandoned, it is inactive.
Did the owner of the claim request the mapping and/or give permission to enter the mine? If not then breaking thru the air control structure was destruction of private property, regardless of the reason.
A patented claim includes ownership of both the land and mineral resources. An unpatented claim includes only the resources. An unpatented claim is still real property (in the legal sense) because it represents ownership of the resources on and under that land.
If the claim is inactive, you can buy it for I believe $190 then $140 per year plus $100 per year in improvements.
http://www.blm.gov/az/st/en/prog/mining/requirements.html
For someone with technical climbing skills old mines would be a interesting to explore. My concern is that the claims truly are abandoned.
<>Apologies to the original poster for the hijack<>
Jim