There is no limit to the number of claims any individual, association or corporation may locate.
Figure 3 shows three different claim patterns, all of which meet federal requirements. Claim A is the usual rectangle with the full length and width, Claim B shows parallel end lines that are not at right angles to the lode line and side lines. While they are longer than 600 feet, the right angle distance on either side of the lode line is exactly 300 feet.
Claim C shows a break in bearing of the lode line at the center of the claim (it could be anywhere on the lode line). Like Claim B, the right angle width does not exceed 300 feet on either side of the center line for any portion of the claim.
Corners may be placed on patented land and on other claims in order to obtain the described pattern and achieve parallel end lines with extralateral rights. If the fee owner objects to monuments, witness corners may be used.
43 C.F.R. 3841.4–4 and 3841.4–5 give the minimum requirements for defining and monumenting locations including the recording of location notices. The laws of the various states elaborate on these requirements giving minimum size of monuments and acceptable materials, specifying the points on the boundaries that shall be monumented, giving the contents required in the location certificates and setting time limits for completing discovery work and recording. (See Chapter I.)
A wood 4″×4″ post at least four feet in length, well set in the ground, makes a good monument. It should be marked on the side facing the claim with the corner number and initial, if not the full name of the claim. Side centers may be marked S/C and end corners E/C, as required.
Discovery monuments are usually marked D.M. The markings can be painted, or scribed with a timber scriber. In a very active area where a number of claims are being staked, claimants often paint the tops of posts with a distinctive color so that they may be readily identified.
A simple way to lay out and monument a single claim is to begin at the discovery point and run out the desired distance each way along the lode line, then turn an angle of 90° and run each way 300 feet to the corners. (See Figure 4.)
A simple way to lay out a block of claims on a bedded deposit is to run out a common set of end lines and at 300 feet or less turn 90° and at 50 feet or less set a discovery monument. Continue this procedure until the end of the area is reached, then complete the survey by running the boundaries so that each corner is located and monumented. (See Figure 4.)
In staking a block of claims it is advisable to make them short of the 600′×1500′ so that minor errors in the location survey will not result in infractions caused by oversize claims.