Hi!
Here is some additional information that we hope will help. This is for an unpatented mining claim, not a deeded property. You would own the mineral rights, but not the actual property, per se.
There are no initial filing fee expenses at the moment. The filing fees have already been paid by us. The fees for transfering ownership with the BLM and the county recorders office will also be paid by us. We would take care of the proper paperwork for you. We would fill them out, have them notarized, and take them to the county recorders office. After recordation, they would be sent to you. You can take care of the yearly paperwork without being here.
There is a requirement of $100 per year assessment work to be done on the claim, but if you can't get here to do the assessment work, you can pay a fee of $125 to BLM instead.
Upon purchase of this claim, we will help you file the required paperwork on the claim for the first year of your ownership and give you instructions on yearly paperwork filing. We will also send you extra papers for you to have on hand to fill out when the time comes.
The claim has already been staked by us (a legal requirement to filing the claim in the first place), so you don't have to worry about that part of it.
As far as the patenting goes, we are not sure when or if you will be able to patent it. There is a current moratorium on patenting right now, but some people in the know have told us that things are looking favorably towards that being lifted sometime in the near future with some changes to the process. Their opinion was that it has to be lifted sometime, and if we (or whomever owns the claim) hold on to the claim, then we would have a chance in the future to own the land outright. I don't know a whole lot about the patenting process, but have found some links to some good information on the subject. The authors of the articles seem to think that the moratorium will be lifted soon, also. The moratorium goes up for reveiw every year. Here are the links to the patenting information.

The prospector

Mining Investment

I also put together some general information on mining claims that I will include below. If you have any more questions at all, please feel free to ask. We will do our best to answer them. Thanks very much for your interest!!
Here is the mining claim info:

MINING CLAIMS AND SITES

Anyone who is a citizen of the United States or has declared an intention to become a citizen may locate a mining claim. There is no limit on the number of claims and sites that may be held by a claimant.

A mining claim is a particular parcel of Federal land, valuable for a specific mineral deposit or deposits. It is a parcel for which an individual has asserted a right of possession. The right is restricted to the extraction and development of a mineral deposit. The rights granted by a mining claim are valid against a challenge by the United States and other claimants only after the discovery of a valuable mineral deposit. There are two types of mining claims, lode and placer.

ANNUAL MINING CLAIM FILING REQUIREMENTS
The current assessment year begins on 12 noon September 1, through 12 noon September 1, of the following year.

Every assessment year you must file either a Claim Maintnance Fee (payment) or a Maintenance Fee Waiver Certificate (Waiver in leu of payment of maitenance fee stating that you did at least $100 worth of assessment work on your claim that year). Whichever form you decide to use is due by September 1st of the current assessment year. Additionally, if you file a Waiver you must also file an Affidavit of Performance of Annual Labor. The Affidavit of Performance of Annual Labor is due by December 30.

Claim Mainentance Fee payments must be made on or before September 1, for the next assessment year. These payments are made in advance of the current assessment year. The fee is $125 per claim. (You don't have to pay this fee if you do the required $100 worth of assessment work; read on for more info.)

Waivers must be filed on or before September 1, for the current assessment year. Waivers are also filed in advance of the current assessment year. Waivers are not automatically granted. Service fees are not required when filing a Waiver.
To qualify for a Waiver you shall meet the following conditions:

1. Hold or control no more than 10 mining claims, mill sites, or tunnel sites NATIONWIDE.

2. File Form 3830-2, "Maintenance Fee Waiver Certification with BLM that includes name, address, and ORIGINAL signatures of all owners. Also list claim names and serial numbers.

3. Complete the assessment work for the current assessment year prior to September 1. A Waiver requested by September 1, for the next assessment year, necessitates filing an Affidavit of Assessment Work by December 30. The fee is $10 per claim. (The assessment work consists of $100 worth of work done on the claim. The current rate of "pay" for the BLM is $20 per hour. Therefore you would simply have to work for 5 hours on your claim each year to qualify for the assessment work waiver. This could be road work, mining, or pretty much any improvement on the claim.)

Additionally, file a Proof of Labor with the County Recorder's Office where your claims are located. (The County Recorder's office charges for recordation so you will need to check with them. I believe the current fee is between $15 and $19, depending on the county).

As an owner you are responsible for filing paperwork on time. BLM WILL NOT send you any reminders. You may wish to send your documents by certified mail or express mail to ensure delivery. They process a large volume of mail and may not be able to provide immediate information on the status of documents you have submitted. Ordinarily, you will receive a receipt within 7 to 14 days. If you have not received your receipt within that period of time, you may want to check with the bank to see if your check has cleared.
Filings postmarked after September 1, will not be accepted, unless September 1 falls on a weekend or holiday. The current address is:

Bureau of Land Management
Arizona State Office
One North Central Avenue
Suite 800
PHX AZ 85004-4427
The Information Access Center phone number is 602-417-9200 between the hours of 9am and 4:30 pm, Arizona time.
***All of the initial filling work and fees have already been done by us. As stated in the auction, we will take care of the transfer of ownership papers. We will deliver them to the BLM and county recorders office ourselves. We will also teach you how to take care of the yearly paperwork required by BLM. This will be included in the ownership packet that you will receive once we receive the original quit claim back from the County Recorders office, approximately 6 to 8 weeks after the transfer.
***DISCLAIMER***This is not intended to be legal advice. Please check with the Arizona BLM for legal publications, advice and verification.
If you have any more questions at all, please feel free to ask. We will do our best to answer them. Thanks again for your interest!
Many Blessings!
Ted and Sheila Bigelow