Forms: Mineral & Placer Titles

Refer to the specific instructions in the text that accompanies each form.

All cheques and money orders for recording fees are made payable to the "Minister of Finance".

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Complaints

There are two primary complaint processes Mineral Titles Branch handles, pursuant to the Mineral Tenure Act:

  1. Right of Entry on Private Land - Section 19 of the Mineral Tenure Act
  2. Complaints as to valid title - Section 40 of the Mineral Tenure Act

1.  Right of Entry on Private Land - Landowner Notification and Complaint Process

Prior to beginning a mining activity a person must give notice to the owners of the surface area where a mining activity will take place. The notice must state when the activity will occur and include the names and addresses of the free miner or recorded holder and of the on-site person responsible for the operations.  The notice must also describe the activity that will be conducted, state approximately how many people will be on site and include a map or written description of where the activity will take place.  Notices may be mailed, e-mailed, sent by facsimile transmission or hand delivered to the owner. Details for notice requirements are provided in Section 2.1 of the Mineral Tenure Act Regulation.

Should a situation arise whereby the landowner and the proponent are unable to reach an agreement, landowners may contact the Mineral Titles Branch.

The Chief Gold Commissioner, or delegated person, will work with the parties to come to a reasonable resolution. If a settlement cannot be achieved, one of the parties may apply to the Surface Rights Board for resolution.  The board may mediate and may impose a binding agreement.

2.  Complaints as to valid title  

Complaint Process

Under section 40 of the Mineral Tenure Act an interested person or an employee of the ministry may register a complaint to the Chief Gold Commissioner.

Complaints may be lodged for false work submissions, or if a tenure is being used for purposes other than a mining activity.

Section 40(1)(b) provides for complaints referring to a submission and registration of a false statement or report.  This complaint must be received by mineral titles branch within one year of the statement registration date in Mineral Titles Online.

Section 40(1)(c) provides for complaints of claims being acquired or held for non-mining purposes.  A mining activity, as defined by the Mineral Tenure Act definitions, means any activity related to the search for a mineral or placer mineral, the exploration and development of a mineral or placer mineral or the production of a mineral or placer mineral, including reclamation of a previously mined area.

Complaint Requirements

  1. Completed Complaint Form (PDF)
  2. Full and specific details of the nature of the complaint
  3. Submission of non-refundable complaint fees:
    • $200.00 per claim
    • $200.00 per statement (event number)

Complaint Submission

You can submit your complaint form and cheque, cash or money order for the complaint fee(s) in person or by mail to the Vancouver Mineral Titles office.

Cheques can be made payable to the Minister of Finance.

Free Miner Certificate (FMC)

Please be aware that as a result of conditions surrounding COVID-19, applying for and receiving a work permit under the Mines Act to conduct exploration and development in the province may take longer.  Additionally, some regions in the province have expressed concerns about individuals travelling or working in their region with the potential for further transmission of the virus into their regions.

The expectation is for all citizens to do their part in limiting the spread of the virus and to stay up to date on COVID-19 news and updates:

BC Centre for Disease Control: http://www.bccdc.ca/health-info/diseases-conditions/covid-19

Latest orders and directives from the provincial health officer: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/health/about-bc-s-health-care-system/office-of-the-provincial-health-officer/current-health-topics/covid-19-novel-coronavirus

Government of Canada: https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/diseases/coronavirus-disease-covid-19.html


A completed application form will be required if you have never had a FMC in the past or are not currently listed in the Mineral Titles Online (MTO) registry as having or having had a FMC in the past.  If you are not sure, please contact Mineral Titles to determine if you need to complete an application form.An FMC is issued for a 12-month term that begins with the day of issuance and ends on the day immediately preceding this issuance date next year. All clients must fully complete the appropriate application form in order to be issued their first FMC.

Please note:

  • FrontCounter BC (FCBC) – Some offices are available by appointment only while others are open with limited hours between 10:00am and 3:00pm. Please contact your local office regarding availability and services prior to visiting.
  • Service BC (SBC) offices are providing core services only and are not currently accepting or processing FMC applications.
  • Community access terminals are not currently available in either FrontCounter BC or Service BC offices at this time.

MTO requires a business BCeID account.  Whether you are an individual, company, or partnership, a business type account is required.  Please read our business BCeID requirements.  It is strongly suggested that you complete the business BCeID enrollment and verification process prior to applying for a FMC.

All new FMC applications and applicable fees must be mailed to the Vancouver Mineral Titles Branch office at: 300-865 Hornby St, Vancouver, BC, V6Z 2G3.  Payment of the applicable fee must be in the form of a cheque and be made payable to the “Minister of Finance”.  Once your FMC has been issued, we will contact you by phone or email to request your business BCeID user ID in order to grant you access to the MTO registry.

All FMC renewals must be completed online using Mineral Titles Online (MTO).  Payment of the required fee, where applicable, must be completed online as well.

Once a free miner turns 65 years of age the renewal of their FMC is free, however, the status of the free miner is required to be updated in the Mineral Titles Online (MTO) registry.  If you have turned 65 years of age since your last FMC renewal, you must complete a new FMC application form and either mail the completed application form to the Vancouver Mineral Titles Branch office at the above noted address or email the completed application form to Mineral.Titles@gov.bc.ca.

Please note: For individuals, you will need to visit a point of service office (Service BC offices only) that will be listed at the end of the BCeID enrollment.  You will need to be identity-proofed over the counter. Ensure you bring the correct identification in its acceptable form that you used during the online enrollment process.

FMC Application - Individual

Section 8(2) of the MTA stipulates that an individual applicant must either be a resident of Canada for a period not less than 183 days in each calendar year or be authorized to work in Canada.  A Canadian citizen, regardless of where he or she resides, is automatically authorized to work in Canada.  Due to the annual residency requirement, an FMC will not be issued for more than one 12-month period.

The annual fee for an individual is $25 (free if the applicant is aged 65 or over at the time of application) and covers the period from the commencement date to the expiry date of the FMC. 

Fees:

Individual

$ 25.00

Fees:

Individual - senior over 65

$  0.00


FMC Application - Corporate

Section 8(1) of the MTA stipulates that a corporation must be registered under the British Columbia Business Corporations Act, the Financial Institutions Act, be an insurer licensed under the Insurance Act, or be a chartered bank, in order to be issued a FMC.  This applies to both first-time applicants and all renewals.  When making application for a new or renewal FMC, corporations must apply in the name as registered in BC at the time of application.

Fees:

Corporate

$ 500.00


FMC Application - Partnership

Partnership FMCs may be issued to partners who are registered under the Partnership Act.  The partnership may be between individuals, corporations, or a combination.  The partnership must be registered.

Individual and corporate requirements for an FMC apply respectively to each individual or corporation in a partnership.

Fees:

Individual partnership

$ 25.00

 

Corporate partnership

$ 500.00

 

 

Mediation and Arbitration Application

Mineral Tenure Act, section 19

The Board assists in resolving disputes between landowners and companies that require access to private land to explore for, develop, or produce Crown-owned subsurface resources such as oil, gas, coal, minerals and geothermal.

Section 19 of the Mineral Tenure Act provides the means to settle a dispute between the recorded holder of a mineral or placer title and the owner or other person having a material interest in the surface of the land on which the mineral or placer title is located.

If the two parties are unable to resolve the dispute on their own, application may be made by either to the Chief Gold Commissioner.  If the Chief Gold Commissioner is unsuccessful in assisting the parties to reach agreement, application may then be made to the Surface Rights Board, enclosing a copy of the report of the Chief Gold Commissioner.

The Surface Rights Board has the authority under Section 19 (4) of the Act to settle disputes arising from the right of entry, use or occupation, security, rent and compensation with respect to free miners or recorded holders entering and disturbing private land.  Priority may be given to the right first acquired.  The Board's Order is legally binding on all parties.  The Order may be appealed in the Supreme Court.

 

 

Physical Work Report Form

Instructions

This form may be used as your physical work report, or as a template for your report.  The Physical Work Report must be submitted within 30 days of the date the exploration and development work was registered in Mineral Titles Online.  This report may be submitted by either:

This form can be used as the physical work report required in Section 15 of the Mineral Tenure Act Regulation:

The Regulation defines "physical exploration and development" as:

(a) if the work is related to a mineral claim, any of the following:

(i) trenching, open cuts, adits, pits, shafts and other underground activity for the purposes of collecting samples or other geological or technical information;

(ii) reclamation related to exploration and development activities;

(iii) ground control surveys, line cutting and grids that support an activity described in paragraphs (b) to (h) of the definition of technical exploration and development;

(iv) precision survey techniques such as global positioning or surveys conducted by a practising land surveyor;

(v) global positioning surveys in accordance with section 20;

(b) if the work is related to a placer claim, any of the following:

(i) activities referred to in paragraph (a);

(ii) panning, digging or washing of gravels to test for the presence of economically significant minerals