Wow, that's some pretty interesting, yet twisted, logic.
Alright, I just checked LR2000 (the BLM database for mining claims). There are four claims in Section 12, T19N, R21W. Only four in the section (a square mile), and they are all placer claims (160 acres each), owned by Bayou. No lode claims. Zero.
Somebody is fibbing to you about owning lode claims in that section.
By the way, the maintenance fee went up from $140 to $1,120 for a single claim (160 acres). That means someone is paying over $4K/year for the four claims in the section. I predict most of these claims will be dropped in the next year or two as people wake up to the realization that claiming worthless desert is just not in their best financial interest.
OODH better make hay while the sun shines, because Hoof surely cannot afford to pay the maintenance fees himself. He will have to find some other con game to run.