Washington State Miner

Tom

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is introducing changes to the way the public can access mining claim records. The LR2000 system is being replaced by the Mineral & Land Records System (MLRS).

According to the BLM website (https://www.blm.gov/services/land-records/mlrs):

MLRS is being implemented in phases. When we first launch, you can use MLRS for mining claim related filings and information. This includes filing new mining claims, managing existing mining claims, paying annual maintenance fees, transfers, amendments, and affidavit of assessment work – all online! In the coming months, MLRS will be expanded to include other case types, including oil and gas (2021).

Since the MLRS is a work in progress, more features are planned over the next couple of years. For example, Master Title Plats will be integrated into the system by 2022.

One matter that will probably be of interest to many prospectors is answered by the following FAQ:

How will I access mining claims reports?

A new subpage to reports.blm.gov containing MLRS data will be made available at the same time MLRS launches.

For more complete information on the MLRS system, please visit the website linked above. There, you will find a list of FAQs as well as explanatory videos.

One final note. The MLRS system is scheduled to launch tomorrow, January 25, 2021.

------------------------------------------------------------------

UPDATE as of January 28, 2021

As promised, MLRS is now live. I had no difficulty setting up an account. Just follow the instructions at https://mlrs.blm.gov/s/creating-a-new-account.

The LR2000 system no longer contains mining claim reports. These are now located on the Mineral & Land System Reports page at https://reports.blm.gov/reports/MLRS.

The only other thing I have to mention is that, at this time, the Real-time Map application is failing to load. Hopefully, BLM will have this matter sorted out shortly.