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Arizona Lode Mine Gold Mining Claim Wickenburg AZ Silver Hidden Shaft Au Ag Adit
$ 3630
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ALHAMBRA MINE
20.66 Acre Unpatented Lode Mining Claim on Federal Land in the Historic Wickenburg Arizona Mining District / Maricopa County Arizona
This is one of those rare hidden gems that we seem to only stumble across once or twice a year. Unless you walk right up to this mine, it is almost impossible to see it. Our team literally stumbled across it while looking for a place out of the wind to build a small cooking fire.
What a find it turned out to be!!
Judging from the state of the timbering, this hasn’t been worked in decades - maybe even a century. We would hazard that this was a small one-man operation, and it looks like this mine branches off to the north via a tunnel at the bottom of the mine. It appears that no one has been up here for a long time! No telling what kinds of treasures may be waiting for the first person to enter this mine in decades!
In the early and even the mid-1900’s, miners were famous for “high-grading” – only working the richest looking ores, as the methods of extracting precious metals back them were primitive and transportation costs (and time) made it hard to turn a profit on anything but high grade ores. However, today a one-man operation and a pick-up truck or a trailer can pull a 1,500+ lb. load and transport it the same day for a half ounce to an ounce of gold – a good profit for a day’s work by anyone’s standards!
The Wickenburg area and much of the West became part of the United States following the Mexican-American War in 1848. The first extensive survey of the area was conducted by Gila Rangers who were pursuing Indians who had been raiding the Butterfield Overland Mail route and miners at Gila City.
A 1862 gold strike on the Colorado River near present-day Yuma inspired hardy American prospectors and miners, to search for minerals throughout central Arizona. The names of these settlers now label many of the surrounding geographic landmarks, including the Weaver Mountains named after mountain man Pauline Weaver, and Peeples Valley named after a noteworthy settler. Among the gold searchers was an Austrian named Henry Wickenburg. His quest for gold was rewarded by the discovery of the Vulture Mine, where over million in gold has been dug from the ground. Throughout the foothills surrounding Wickenburg are relics of other mines that stand as a tribute to the pioneer miner and prospector.
This would make a perfect one-man operation. First, we would suggest you run a gold detector over the tailings – a lot of it looks to be really rich ore that most likely was just waiting to be processed. Then I would spend a little time shoring up the mine and hand digging/clearing away the bottom. Run the material you pull out AND see if there is an adit branching off to the north like it appears. If so, it would be relatively easy to reopen and explore. Who knows what you would find…
But I can tell you that you would be in a pristine area while looking – and the views here are amazing. It would make a great spot to camp and work. With the right high clearance 2-wheel drive, you can get to it. But it is off the beaten path, so it might not be a bad idea to come with a 4x4 – especially if you plan to pull some rock out for processing offsite.
Buyer will receive the following with their completed transaction:
Quitclaim deed showing full ownership of the claim. This will be stamped, recorded and verified with the County and the BLM offices.
Welcome packet with all of the rules and regulations as they relate to the State and BLM where the claim is located.
Educational documents to annually renew your mining claim with the BLM.
A CD of all of the documented images of the claim including maps of the site.
Map of claim marked and GPS coordinates.
Multiple maps showing claim location and surrounding areas for access.
Come to Hike, Camp, Ride and Shoot - or come to pull some shiny rock$ out of the ground;-)
ABOUT THE MINING DISTRICT
Like so many Arizona towns like it, the rich mining history of Wickenburg, Arizona is a testament to the hardy resolve of the gold rush dreamers who flocked to the area in the 1800s, searching for their share of the greatest riches ever known.
What set Wickenburg apart however from other early Arizona mining camps is its location near the lush and fertile Hassayampa River, giving the region a storied reputation both as a gold mine mecca and agricultural promise land. Today this small but mighty community in the foothills north of Phoenix is a quaint reminder of the desert's rich past, charming visitors with western flair and a taste of days gone by.
Wickenburg is located just 54 miles northwest of downtown Phoenix, along US Highway 60, making a perfect day trip from the Greater Phoenix and Scottsdale area. Many of the sights are preservations of the town's prosperous mining days while others are modern destinations that offer something for every member of the family.
ACCESS
This entire area is relatively easily accessible by dirt roads which are well marked and well maintained. A 2-wheel drive car can get to this claim off of route Route 60 and the Vulture Mine Road, but I would recommend a good 4-wheel drive or even quads to be able to access the entire claim that is not on the road - especially if you plan to work it frequently.
The area is full of dirt roads, so a good map and a good GPS unit is a must, but we'll show you exactly where it is on the map as well as provide you with the precise latitude and longitude of each corner marker, so finding it will not be a problem for you.
I advise caution whenever driving or hiking on this claim – the entire valley is dotted with abandoned mines – some of them are easy to see from a distance, and some of them are impossible to see until you are right on top of them. I would estimate that only 20% of them are roped or fenced off – the rest are wide open and you should be extremely careful if entering them.
A couple of spare tires or an air compressor and patch kit or at least a couple of cans of tire sealant is strongly recommended for obvious reasons! Also, be sure to bring in whatever water you may need, as there are almost no water sources in the area 10 months out of the year.
Note that all of the pictures of this claim were taken by my team and/or myself on a recent visit to this property.
All Pictures are of the actual property – no stock photographs were used
Mining claims are a tangible asset just like any other Real property (real estate) and show a lifetime proof of all interests in minerals in the area specified by the above claim. Once you own this claim and the associated mineral rights, you will own them for life as long as you keep up with the annual fees. This claim can be bought, sold, leased or used as collateral, just like any other piece of real estate.
A mining claim can be willed or passed down to future generations as part of a trust or your estate, or you can trade it, lease it out for a period or time (or indefinitely), gift it to a family member or friend and you can also transfer or sell just an interest in it in part or in its entirety just like any other real property using a quitclaim deed which is a recordable conveyance. In other words, you could sell a 25% or a 50% share in it if you wanted in order to bring on a partner in the future - or you could sell the entire claim in whole.
This Buy It Now is for full/all interest in this 20.66 acre lode mining claim (unless the acreage indicated in the above mine description is different). This claim covers the entire site, (unless the claim description above describes different measurements), and includes full rights to all minerals, gems and just about whatever else you may find of value on the property (except oil and gas, which are handled separately). The buyer of this mine will receive a notarized quitclaim deed to the full claim and all associated documentation showing full ownership of the claim. We pay ALL fees associated with transferring this claim into your name - legal fees, title transfer fees, document fees, notary costs, recording fees and even shipping fees, so all you will pay is the final price of the auction, not a penny more.
In order to hold on to your claim for life, you will need to pay an annual maintenance fee to the Government (BLM, not us) every year. Currently the maintenance fee is 5 per year per claim that you own, and it is due on September 1st of every year.
NOTE that if you own fewer than 10 claims nationwide, we can assist you in filing the paperwork to waive the maintenance fee every year. That means you will only pay per year for your maintenance fee instead of 5. We guarantee that all past fees have been paid in full and there are no outstanding debts or amounts owed on the claim prior to the transfer of ownership into your name.
The federal government retains ownership of the land - so this means that you will not have any annual real estate taxes due on your mining claim, and you will not have to maintain liability insurance in case someone gets injured on your claim due to no fault of your own.
How do Transfers of Ownership in Mining Claims work if I decide to sell my claim in the future?
First, we handle all the paperwork and costs associated with transferring this claim into your name should you win this auction. But if you decide to sell this claim at some point in the future, interest in a properly recorded mining claim or site may be transferred (i.e sold) in part or its entirety. A quitclaim deed or recordable conveyance document is required and if you do sell your claim someday and the transfer documents should be filed within 60 days after the transfer.
We can and will help you with the paperwork for no cost should you need a hand selling your claim in the future if you pay all of the County, State and Federal fees (usually less than to ).
But again - with regard to transferring this claim initially into your name, we take care of all the paperwork at our expense. You do not have to worry about anything. we handle the BLM transfer documentation and the county recording.
Can you build / camp on your claim?
Without an approved plan of operations, you have the same rights and restrictions as the public. If the area is open to camping to the public, then it is permissible. However, you need to check with the BLM Field Office or the local District Ranger for areas open to camping. Under Federal law in order to occupy the public lands under the mining laws for more than 14 calendar days in any 90 day period, a claimant must be involved in certain activities that (a) are reasonably incident; (b) constitute substantially regular work; (c) are reasonably calculated to lead to the extraction and beneficiation of minerals; (d) involve observable on-the-ground activity that can be verified; and (e) use appropriate equipment that is presently operable, subject to the need for reasonable assembly, maintenance, repair or fabrication of replacement parts. All five of these requirements must be met for occupancy to be permissible.
Although it is possible to build a permanent structure on a mining claim, it is extremely expensive and you will have to jump through way too many hoops to consider it easy to do. It would have to be in support of a commercial, year-round mining operation for starters, and you would need to post a large reclamation bond to insure that if you ever abandoned your claim, the bond would pay for the removal of the structure and the reclamation or the area. So in short, it is technically possible to build on your mining claim, but just be aware that it is very difficult and expensive to do - however, camping is almost always involved unless your claim is in a wilderness area, which is not very common at all.
Proud Member of:
In addition to handling all of the paperwork to transfer this claim into your name, as well as paying all of the fees so you do not have any costs other than the final price of the claim, we also pay all of the costs associated with mailing the paperwork to you as well as to the County and Federal Government for recording and sending you back certified copies.
We will ship you a folder with all paperwork, claim coordinates, maps and information on your claim, including a CD-Rom with all of the pictures of your claim upon your payment in full clearing. We ship everything to you the same business day (if payment is received by 1:00 PM Pacific Standard Time) - and we will always provide you with the tracking information so you are always informed.
You initial claim packet that we mail has an unrecorded deed so that you can show ownership immediately after payment and be able to visit your claim. A second original deed goes to the County for recording the same day, and a third original deed goes to the BLM for certification as well. Both of those originals will be returned to you so you will wind up with several original deeds - but the County and BLM deeds can take 3 to 6 weeks to be returned to you, which is why we send you the initial original on day one.
Your payment of this eBay item gives you 100% ownership of this entire claim, with no other fees and/or other costs for the transfer of ownership required. This is NOT for the down payment, this is NOT a partnership arrangement where someone else will own part of the claim with you, and there are NO other fees or costs for the transfer of this claim in your name.
eBay does not allow checkout on the eBay website for any Real Estate transactions - simply because it is not like selling a widget - the transfer of real estate is complicated and requires notary work, licensed professionals and recording. Note that this is eBay’s rules and not ours and it is the same for any mining claim seller on eBay
We also are not able to accept PayPal payments for mining claims, as claims are real estate and PayPal does not allow payments to be made on any real estate items, including single family homes, condos, mining claim or land purchases. We DO accept just about every other kind of payment method you can think of: Personal Checks, Business Checks, Cashier's Checks, Money Orders, Bank Wires, ACH payments, Direct Bank Deposit at any Bank of America Branch, Gold or Silver Bullion (at the day’s SPOT prices), etc. After the auction close, we will send you a secure link to handle the payment safely online if you prefer, and we can also take care of payment by mail or telephone, as we are a traditional Brick and Mortar business - so whichever method you prefer is perfectly fine with us.
We provide financing plans with no interest or fees. Financing terms are minimum of 0 down with the balance will due within 90-days via three equal monthly payments of the remaining balance after the down payment has been paid.
With all financing plans, we do not transfer the final deed into your name until the claim has been paid in full. In the event of a default on a payment plan, we do not refund your down payment - however, we do allow you to put that down payment towards any other purchase as a store credit in full. If you are financing a climate and there is less than 90 days until September 1st (i.e. from June 1st through September 1st), when the annual fee for mining claims is due to the Federal Government, we will add the 5 maintenance fee to your down payment and pay it to the BLM on your behalf thereby increasing your down payment to 5 instead of 0 - however, the 5 portion of the down payment does not go towards your principle balance since it is used to pay the annual fees to the government, therefore the actual down payment credit will still be 0.
Approval for financing is automatic as long as you have a valid eBay account in good standing