Regional mines public engagement portal
Last updated on April 29, 2024The ministry is taking steps towards improving timing and transparency of permitting processes. The public engagement portal aligns with:
- Sustainable economic development
- High levels of environmental protection
- Consultation with Indigenous organizations
- Cross-government work on permitting
This portal allows the public to:
-
View Notice of Work (NoW) mine permit applications currently open for public comment
-
Email comments to regional offices
- Exploration - mineral, coal, rock quarry, industrial mineral or dimension stone
- Sand and gravel - aggregate, rock or natural substances used for construction purposes
- Placer
Major mine information
For this type of information visit BC Mine Information.
On this page:
- About the regional mines public engagement portal
- View regional permit applications
- Comment on regional permit applications
- Understanding mines permit application information
- Other public engagement sites
To launch the mines public engagement portal click on the map image below.
About the regional mines public engagement portal
View regional mine applications and discover which are open for public comment. Comments are welcome from anyone in B.C. who is affected by, or interested in, the mines permit application.
B.C. government warranty disclaimer and limitation of liabilities
The B.C. government will not be held responsible for the content of any external sites, including any errors, omissions or broken links.
The portal displays Notice of Work mine permit application information submitted by the applicant.
View regional permit applications
View Notice of Work applications that are currently open for public comment.
The portal has three main windows:
- List card — overview of the mine permit application, buttons to 'See details' and 'Submit comment'
- Detail card — shows NoW application information for the specific mine permit application
- Map card — shows the site location of mine permit applications in B.C.
On the top banner see the tool tips (i) for information on how to navigate through the portal. Click the left or right arrows for information on how the portal works and what tools and widgets are available.
Find a regional mine by:
- URL
- Embedded code
- QR code
- Facebook/Meta
- Twitter/X
Locate the share button on the top right-hand corner of the title banner underneath the tool tip button.
* links will expire when the application is no longer open for public comment
View the map of B.C. on the right-hand side of the screen using the map card. You will see Notice of Work mine applications currently open for public comment as a yellow dot and proposed mine name.
Use the navigation tools in the map to zoom in or out.
Submission of comments are welcome from anyone in B.C. who is affected by, or interested in, the mines permit application.
Click the blue 'Submit comment' button on the list card to submit your comments directly to the ministry. Your comment may be shared with the proponent.
By using the mines public engagement portal you agree to the following terms and conditions:
- Be clear and concise
- Use respectful language
- Must contain information directly relating to the application open for comment
If the comment does not comply with these requirements it may not be considered during the permit decision process.
For email submissions, in addition to the above:
- Ensure the mine name is in the subject line
- Provide:
- Your first and last name and contact information (optional)
- The city, town or municipality you reside in (optional)
- Information about how this application affects or interests you (required)
- Attachments must be no larger than 10 MB
- Accepted files: .png, .pdf, .gif, .jpg, .jpeg, .doc, .docx, .xls, .xlst, .ppt, .rtf, .pptx, .txt or .bmp
- ​Zip files are not accepted
Submit your comments
Comments are submitted by email to a mining regional office. The application mine name and mining region is listed at the top of the window. This is the office processing the application and comments.
Collection Notice
Your personal information is collected by the Ministry of Energy, Mines and Low Carbon Innovation for the purpose of commenting on a mine application open for public comment under the authority of s.26(c) of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.
In submitting your comment, you consent to your comment being shared with the mine applicant. This consent is valid from this date forward and may be revoked by contacting the ministry representative below. For questions about this collection, please contact the chief permitting officer.
Questions about this collection? Please request records from government.
Understanding mines permit application information
The Notice of Work application contains terms and information specific to mining. The information and tables below help with general understanding of the information and descriptions of the application information shown in the details card.
Regional mines public engagement portal
This portal allows for one point of access for the public and interested parties to learn about regional mine permit applications that are open for public comment. This portal displays application information.
Regional mine
Regional mines in B.C. include:
- Exploration — mineral, coal, rock quarry, industrial mineral or dimension stone
- Sand and gravel — aggregate, rock or natural substances used for construction purposes
- Placer
Major mine
Major mines in BC include:
- Surface and underground production metal and coal mines
- Some large aggregate and industrial mineral mines
Major mine applications may also include major expansions or upgrades to existing mines, including, but not limited, to those with environmental assessment certificates.
Notice of Work (NoW)
An application and permit under section 10 of the Mines Act is required for any mechanized disturbance for the purpose of mining.
The application is called a “Notice of Work” (NoW).
For mineral and coal exploration Notice of Work application requirements are laid out in 9.2.1(1) of the Heath, Safety and Reclamation Code for mines in British Columbia (PDF, 2.4MB).
For placer, sand and gravel pits, rock quarries, and industrial mineral quarries Notice of Work application requirements are laid out in 10.1.1 of the Heath, Safety and Reclamation Code for mines in British Columbia (PDF, 2.4MB).
Notice of Work ID
A unique number to describe a specific NoW application.
Example NoW ID: 0800407-2020-01
Mine Number - Year of application - application sequence number
Mining Region
The province is divided into five administrative regions known as mining regions. Each mining region has an office with staff to administer Notice of Work applications and regional mine permits for that region.
| Name (field name in spatial file) | Description |
|---|---|
| Proposed annual max tonnage (PROPOSED_ANNUAL_MAX_TONNAGE) | The proposed maximum annual tonnage in cubic meters as submitted on the notice of work application. |
| Adjusted annual max tonnage (ADJUSTED_ANNUAL_MAX_TONNAGE) | This is to be used if the Proposed Maximum Annual Tonnage Extracted amount changes during Technical Review. |
| Site location (Latitude) (Longitude) | Latitude of mine. e.g., 53.1234567 N, longitude of mine. e.g., 127.1234567 W |
| Application submitted date (NOW_APPLICATION_SUBMITTED_DATE) | Notice of Work application submitted date |
| Term of application (TERM_OF_APPLICATION) |
Term of authorization in application e.g. 5, 10, 25, 30, etc. For production mining this is often longer than 5 years and based on mineable reserves for life of mine in the area being proposed. For exploration, the term is limited to 5 years given the nature of the work and discovery. |
| Mine disturbance type (MINE_DISTURBANCE_DESC) | Concatenation of all mine disturbance descriptions. e.g., Coal Wash; Mill; Surface; Underground |
| Public comment start date (PUBLIC_COMMENT_START_DATE) | Public comment start date. e.g., 2021-01-22 |
| Public comment end date (PUBLIC_COMMENT_END_DATE) | Public comment end date. e.g., 2021-01-22 |
​ Other public engagement sites
When a major project is proposed in British Columbia, it must undergo an environmental assessment. In B.C., environmental assessments are managed by the Environmental Assessment Office (EAO), a neutral regulatory agency within the provincial government.
The EPIC website provides information about projects undergoing an environmental assessment. This may include mining projects considered as major mines.
The Ministry of Energy, Mines, and Low Carbon Innovation (EMLI), Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy (ENV) and Environmental Assessment Office (EAO) have collaborated to make information on the Province’s oversight of major mines in British Columbia more accessible than ever before.
The BC Mines Information website provides information about major mine projects.
The Province is responsible for managing Crown land in British Columbia. In an average year the Province receives and processes between 5,000 and 7,000 applications for the use of Crown land.
The Applications, Comments and Reasons for Decision website provides information about active Crown Land applications in British Columbia. This may include regional mines such as, sand and gravel pits, and quarrying.
Applications of mining leases and placer leases under section 42 and section 45 of the Mineral Tenure Act, respectively, are made to the chief gold commissioner. Leases are often linked to production mining.
​
Contact information
Mine permit applications are managed by regional offices, located in Victoria, Kamloops, Cranbrook, Prince George, and Smithers.
SouthwestMinesDivision@gov.bc.ca​
MMD-Kamloops@gov.bc.ca
MMD-Cranbrook@gov.bc.ca
MMD-PrinceGeorge@gov.bc.ca
MMD-Smithers@gov.bc.ca