lode claim. A mining claim (on public land) to a well-defined vein embedded in rock; a mining claim to a mineral lode. [Cases: Mines and Minerals 16, 28. C.J.S. Mines and Minerals §§ 13, 38–40, 65.]
placer claim. A mining claim that is not a lode claim; a claim where the minerals are not located in veins or lodes within rock, but are usu. in softer ground near the earth’s surface. [Cases: Mines and Minerals 16, 28. C.J.S. Mines and Minerals §§ 13, 38–40, 65.]
“It has long been recognized that the distinction between lode and placer claims must be tempered by scientific findings as to the nature of the mineral deposits under consideration, and the practicalities of modern mining methods, which may permit the use of surface mining methods to remove certain lodes or veins of minerals previously only reached by underground methods.” 53A Am. Jur. 2d Mines and Minerals § 21, at 273 (1996).
