>>2722653Yes but also no. The process to lay a claim isn't difficult but does require some work. First, there can't be an existing claim. If there is, you'll have to purchase it or you can't extract minerals. If it has lapsed then you can pay the fees to reinstate it in your name. If there is no claim then you have to prove that there is extractable minerals of economic importance. You aren't going to get a mineral claim for a gravel pit or a big hole in the ground so there has to be provable minerals there. You may have to do an environmental impact analysis depending on the size of the claim and your proposed extraction method.
Proving there is minerals there isn't hard. There's a process lined out on the same website you'd initiate a mineral claim on. Be prepared to take a government employee to your site to confirm the presence of minerals.
Now where you can have a mineral claim is where stuff gets restrictive. It's basically just federal land and depending on the state, some, and only some, state owned lands. I've never heard of a city allowing mineral extraction of any kind. They typically hold land for future development or trade with other governmental agencies or private parties depending on their land use needs. If you have a mineral claim they have to keep that intact, even if the property trades hands, so they typically wouldn't enter that agreement with you.
The easiest ways to start a mine is to own the property or purchase mineral rights to one. Mineral rights are surprisingly cheap and can be bought/sold privately and are logged publicly. In my area five acres gold claims for for 5k and up depending on how productive they are and renewing your claim every year is only about 100$.
If you own the property you may still have to get a permit if you dig big enough of a hole someone notices. Just don't tell anyone about it though and you'll probably be fine.
