AML Frequently Asked Questions

The hazards in question should be secured as soon as possible and documentation sent to the Division once securing work is completed.

If you need additional information please contact Sean Derby for sites in Carson City, Churchill, Douglas, Elko, Eureka, Humboldt, Lander, Lyon, Mineral, Northern Nye, Pershing, Storey, and Washoe Counties and Garrett Wake for sites in Clark, Esmeralda, Lincoln, Southern Nye, and White Pine Counties. Please reference the site number(s) when inquiring about the notification letter.

Please contact the Division and let us know that the sites in question are not on your claims/property and we will update our records.

If you have claim maps or property boundaries you are willing to send, these will help us to determine the correct owner so that you are not inadvertantly notified in the future.

The Nevada Division of Minerals is legislatively mandated to conduct the State’s AML inventory regardless of the land status. With that said, NDOM respects all marked boundaries and if our field crews come across a locked gate, “Private Property”, or “No Trespassing” signs they will turn around and move on. If we logged a site on your private land it was due to the fact that there were no posted signs or property boundaries visible.

Since Nevada is over 85% public lands it is very difficult to distinguish public and private boundaries in the field unless they are posted.

NAC 513.380 Period after notification to secure dangerous condition. (NRS 513.094)  Upon notification of the existence of a dangerous condition, the responsible person shall   

1. Secure within 180 days a dangerous condition rated as a minimal or low hazard;
2. Secure within 120 days a dangerous condition rated as a moderate hazard; and
3. Secure within 60 days a dangerous condition rated as a high hazard

The biggest reason this happens is because of weather and snow. Please inform the Division of your intentions. We will record this in our records. Once the site is secured, please send photos documenting the work completed.

If it is a matter of traveling to the site, we recommend using the "AML Contractors' List" located on the Hazard Information page to find someone who can secure it for you.

Please refer to these graphics showing Nevada Division of Minerals minimum securing requirements: 

• AML Minimum Securing Standards for Adits and Shafts

If you require additional information, please contact the Division and we will be happy to assist you. 

If you have unsecured hazards on your claims or private property, the site should to be secured even if you did not receive a notification letter from the Division as the site still poses a risk to human and animal life. The Division has only a fraction of abandoned mine features inventoried in the state and may not have inventoried the one in question.

Please secure the site and send photos documenting the securing work completed along with the Secured Hazard Information Form (SHIF) and any additional information that will help Division staff recognize the hazard.

The short answer is maybe. In Nevada, any claimant or land owner wishing to secure any abandoned mine feature by backfilling must contact the proper authorities. If the hazard is located on public land (USFS, BLM) the claimant must contact the federal land holder and the Nevada Department of Wildlife to ensure no culturally significant artifacts will be compromised by backfilling the site, and no wildlife will be harmed or killed in the process. 

If the site is on private land the property owner must contact the Nevada Department of Wildlife so they may conduct a survey to be sure no wildlife will be harmed during the backfilling process. 

If backfilling the site will negatively impact cultural artifacts or wildlife, other securing methods must be used. The easiest way to secure a hazard is with t-post and barbed wire fencing.