§611 Common Varieties of Sand, Stone, Gravel, Pumice, Pumicite, or Cinders, and Petrified Wood

Summary

Common deposits of sand, stone, gravel, pumice, pumicite, cinders, and petrified wood are not treated as valuable mineral deposits under U.S. mining laws. That means you cannot make a valid mining claim based only on finding those materials. If some other valuable mineral is found with those deposits, a claim based on that other mineral is still valid. “Common varieties” means ordinary deposits, unless they have a special property that makes them valuable or are “block pumice” sized at two inches or more. “Petrified wood” means wood turned to stone, like agatized, opalized, petrified, or silicified wood, or wood replaced by silica or similar material.