Mining and mineral exploration are a high-risk, high-reward process, requiring a high level of expertise, research, and—sometimes—a little luck. While many mineral exploration efforts never result in actual mining production operations, those that do can be highly profitable.
Many current mining and exploration laws and restrictions derive from gold-rush era colloquial “laws,” which can often lead to a discrepancy in terms and understanding by those who may be new to the industry. In this article, we discuss the difference between mineral exploration and mining.
WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MINERAL EXPLORATION & MINING?
Mineral exploration refers to the process of exploring an area of land to determine whether there are minerals that are economically of interest. It is the precursor to mining, in which operations physically extract mineral deposits for economic benefit.
In mineral exploration, the goal is to find minerals that are locatable, in high enough quantities to be commercially viable, and that may be reasonably extracted. It requires an expert degree of exploration, geophysical studies, and investment to complete the steps of mineral exploration. If the mineral exploration process is successful, a production decision about whether or not to mine the area will be made, during which the operation will extract minerals from the site for commercial use.
COMMON MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT MINERAL EXPLORATION & MINING
- Finding a mineral deposit doesn’t immediately merit initiating a mining project. Less than 1% of mineral exploration projects result in actual mining production. This is because there are many more steps in mineral exploration than just locating a deposit. Read more on our article, “8 Steps of Mineral Exploration.”
- Staking a mining claim doesn’t mean you can actually start mining. While a mining claim provides you with possessory rights to the land, it doesn’t mean you can begin mining on day one. Claim staking and permitting are early steps in the mineral exploration process, followed by multiple geophysical tests, resource modeling, and more. Conducting any exploration or operations that disturb the surface of the area requires submitting and receiving approval of a notice or plan of operations.
- You can camp indefinitely on your mining claim. Since most mining claims are on public lands, the same camping rules apply to your mining claim as on other public lands, which means you can camp for 14 days within a 90-day period. It is also open to public land camping by others (you don’t hold exclusive camping rights). However, if you are the claimant on the land, you may camp for an extended period of time as long as you meet all of the following 5 requirements.
- Must be carrying out approved activities;
- work on these activities regularly;
- conduct activities related to mineral extraction;
- perform verifiable on-the-ground activities;
- and use appropriate and operable equipment that is subject to reasonable assembly, maintenance, repair, or construction of replacement parts.
- Once I have a mining claim, I can restrict who enters my claim area. This is not correct, even if you are actively mining the area. A mining claim does not give you the right to restrict land users from using the land. Land users may use the land recreationally as well as cross through the claim to reach federal lands beyond claim boundaries. The public may not interfere with mining or exploration activities; however, unless fencing or exclusion is required for legitimate safety concerns (and approved by the BLM, Forest Service, Mine Safety & Health Administration, or state mine safety agencies), fences or other methods of exclusion are not allowed.
LEARN MORE
To learn more about the mineral exploration process, read our blog “8 Steps of Mineral Exploration.”
