What activities do I have to be engaged in to allow me to occupy the public lands?

In order to occupy the public lands under the mining laws for more than 14 calendar days in any 90-day period within a 25-mile radius of the initially occupied site, you must be engaged in certain activities. Those activities that are the reason for your occupancy must: (a) Be reasonably incident; (b) Constitute substantially regular work; (c) Be reasonably calculated to lead to the extraction and beneficiation of minerals; (d) Involve observable on-the-ground activity that BLM may verify under § 3715.7; and (e) Use appropriate equipment that is presently operable, subject to the need for reasonable assembly, maintenance, repair or fabrication of replacement parts.