Mineral Titles News, Notices and Announcements - Archive
Last updated on April 10, 2025Archived news and announcements from the Mineral Titles office.
2024 News Notices and Announcements
September 19, 2024 - Information Update No. 8
We have received several questions and concerns over changes to Information Update No. 8 that were posted in a notice dated May 2024. Specifically, in the information update, we clarified that a person conducting work on a claim for work registration requires a free miner certificate. As a result of the feedback, Mineral Titles Branch will review and pause the implementation of the following change to Information Update No. 8:
- Page 3: Work performed on a mineral title by someone with a suspended FMC, no FMC, or an expired FMC will not be eligible for work credits.
More information with implementation timelines will be shared in early 2025. Any questions or comments concerning this update may be directed to Andrew.Upper@gov.bc.ca.
Sep 11, 2024 – Mineral Titles Branch Office Relocation and Closure Update
Please disregard the message posted on September 5, 2024 regarding the relocation of the Mineral Titles Branch’s Vancouver location. The move has been postponed due to delays in finalizing the construction of the new location. The Mineral Titles branch will continue to be located at Suite 300, 865 Hornby St, Vancouver, BC until otherwise notified.
As stated within the previous messages the Mineral Titles Branch Vancouver Office will remain open to the public by appointment only starting September 16th, 2024. The reason for this closure is due to staffing availability. Appointments can be made by contacting the Mineral Titles Branch at Mineral.Titles@gov.bc.ca.
Sep 5, 2024 - Mineral Titles Branch Vancouver Office Closure
The Mineral Titles Branch’s Vancouver location will be relocating during the week of Sept 16th, 2024. During this time the Branch will only be accepting clients in person by appointment until otherwise stated. Appointments can be made by contacting the Mineral Titles Branch at Mineral.Titles@gov.bc.ca.
The Branches new location will be located at:
Aug 14, 2024 - Changes in MTO 4.1.0
On June 5th, 2024, MTO 4.1.0 was released. This release included several changes to MTO operations which are summarized below.
- Cell Management:
- A new cell status has been created called ‘Next Cell Release’. The cell status will be displayed for any cell that is to become available at a future date. This new status is displayed when using the identify tool on the MTO Grid layer in the map viewers.
- Map processes have been revised to improve performance of the system by reducing the number of cells stuck in a pending state.
- Claim Abandonment and Reduction events have been updated and are now available for recorded holders and agents to register the events themselves in MTO.
- Statement of Work events:
- The new Good to Date (GTD) field is no longer automatically filled by the system. Free miners must now enter the new GTD for each title.
- The Debited PAC Amount and Credited PAC Amount fields have been removed. Values in these fields were not linked to the actual PAC accounts and were therefore misleading. PAC accounts will be credited/debited based on approved report values. If you need to know your PAC account balance please email mineral.titles@gov.bc.ca.
- Miscellaneous text and formatting corrections throughout Mineral Titles Online.
Aug 14, 2024 - ELUA / ELUC / Deferral Areas and related shapes now appearing in MTO Map Viewers
Mining related orders under the Environment and Land Use Act (ELUA) have been established in the Province. Each order has unique requirements that are in effect in a specified area during a defined time period.
Mining related ELUA orders may prevent the acquisition of new titles and/or may restrict existing title holders from engaging in mining activities, with exceptions allowed for reclamation, monitoring, protection, control, or treatment efforts. A list of the mining related ELUA orders can be found under ‘Other acts, regulations and orders related to mining activities/Environment and Land Use Act’ on Mining legislation page:
https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/industry/mineral-exploration-mining/mining-legislation
In MTO, two new map layers are now being displayed in the CWM map viewers only. These new map layers contain shapes related to ELUA orders (mining related and others).
The new map layers are found under the “Administrative Boundaries” folder. The layers are called:
- FADM – Special Protection Area (turned on by default)
- This dataset contains information on areas of the Province with special protections/requirements defined by legislation. This dataset contains mining related ELUA orders and other shapes (eg. Great Bear Rainforest)
- FADM – Designated Areas.
- This layer defines areas protected from harvesting activities by Order-in-Council as per part 13 of the Forest Act.
The “FADM – Special Protection Area” shapes show up in gold/orange. When you identify information from this layer, the name of the area is displayed.
The “FADM – Designated Areas” shapes show up in a pink colour. When you identify information from this layer, you get the BC Regulation number of the Order that created the area.
For detailed instructions on viewing the mining related ELUA orders in MTO and BC Laws, please see (Viewing Environment and Land Use Orders in Mineral Titles Online)
Note: For large areas, you may have to zoom in to a larger scale in order to receive search results.
Aug 12, 2024 - Mineral Titles Online planned outage on Aug 13, 2024
Mineral Titles Online will be unavailable on Aug 13th, 2024, from 11:30 am to 1:00 pm for maintenance. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.
July 11, 2024 – Notice to Tenure Holders: Mineral Deferral Area (North Coast) Order
Effective July 6th, 2024, the Mineral Deferral Area (North Coast) Order under the Environment and Land Use Act has established a three-year pause on the registration of new mineral and placer claims in the North Coast Mineral Deferral Area.
July 11, 2024 – Amendment to Hay-na Mining Deferral Area and the Lax K’naga Sts’ool Mining Deferral Area.
On July 6, 2024 the mining deferral area orders under the Environment and Land Use Act for Ehattesaht Nation and Gitxaala Nation territories (Deferral Area) were replaced with new orders (Mining Deferral Area (Gitxaala Hay-na) Order and Mining Deferral Area (Ehattesaht Hay-na) Order).
The July orders continue all the limitations on mining activities that were contained in the March mining deferral area orders until February 21, 2029 (the Deferral Period). All mineral tenures that are entirely or partially within the Deferral Area in the July order are subject to the limitations on mining activities.
The July order continues the ability of claim holders, by means of notice to the chief gold commissioner at least 7 days and no more than 30 days before the expiry date of a claim, to be granted a one-year extension to the expiry date of the claim.
In addition, the July order contains the following new provisions that deal with concerns raised by claim holders that the March mining deferral area order negatively affected the condition of their claims at the end of the Deferral Period. These new provisions ensure that
- The anniversary year of a claim at the end of the deferral will be the same as it was entering into the Deferral Period, and
- The period of time before a claim expires at the end of the deferral will be the same as it was entering into the Deferral Period plus 6 months.
For more information and links to the previous orders, please see the March 8, 2024 notice.
July 3, 2024 - Abandonment and Reduction Events Are Now Available in MTO
Please note that these events are now available for users in MTO. You may now abandon or reduce your claims without assistance from the Mineral Titles Branch. If assistance is required please send a request to mineral.titles@gov.bc.ca for further help.
July 3, 2024 - Mineral Titles Online planned outage on July 5, 2024
Mineral Titles Online will be unavailable on July 5th, 2024, from 8:00 am to 10:00 am for maintenance. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.
June 26, 2024 - Mineral Titles Online planned outage on July 2, 2024
Mineral Titles Online will be unavailable on July 2nd, 2024, from 11:30 am to 1:00 pm for planned maintenance. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.
June 26, 2024 – MTO Main Web Page
A government server that hosts the main Mineral Titles Online (MTO) web page is having technical issues. IT staff are working to resolve the issue. No ETA on a fix at this time.
The MTO main page is loading but very slowly and does not displaying correctly once loaded. Please be patient. Once the logon button appears, you will be able to logon as MTO is running.
Alternatively, please use the following link which will take you directly to the logon page:
June 25, 2024 - Mineral Titles Online
MTO will be unavailable from 3 pm to approximately 5:30 pm on June 25th for the release of MTO 4.1.1 which will include the following changes:
- Adding the a layer that will show ELUA orders to the CWM maps in MTO(Special Protection Areas under the administrative boundaries group)
- Correcting some broken links to missing datasets within the CWM maps
- Making the Coal Lease Surrender event available for IDIR users
- Correcting the bug not allowing for work reports to be downloaded.
June 18, 2024 - Mineral Titles Online Maintenance
Mineral Titles Online will be unavailable on June 25th, 2024, from 11:30 am to 1:00 pm for maintenance. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.
June 13, 2024 - Next Cell Release Scheduled for July 4, 2024 at 1:00 PM PDT
Below are links to the mineral and placer lists of cells key ID’s that will be released. The cells contained on these lists may be from titles where:
- A title forfeited due to the expiry of a time extension before the title was brought into good standing;
- A title forfeited because an exploration and development work event was reduced or cancelled (section 33 orders) and the resulting amount of maintenance was insufficient to keep the title in good standing; or
- A cell being made available due to a previous incorrect status.
Please note that these lists of cell key ID’s are subject to change.
June 10, 2024 – Yale Panning Reserve Reopened
The Yale Panning Reserve was closed in September 2023 due to a reported sighting of a silvery metallic liquid at the site suspected to be mercury. Since then, Fraser Health Authority has worked with BC Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC) and the Mineral Titles Branch to collect soil and sediment samples on the site to inform a human health risk assessment. No visible mercury was identified during the sampling visits. Analysis of the soil and sediment samples found levels of mercury contamination to be low and within Canadian guideline limits. The assessment suggests that the risk of potential adverse health effects for individuals visiting the site for recreation is low. As a result of the assessment, the Yale Panning Reserve is now open for the public to use for recreational hand panning. The reserve is one of fourteen sites designated for the public to use for recreational hand panning. For more information about panning reserves and recreational panning, please visit:
Elemental or metallic mercury is a shiny, silver-white metal that is liquid at room temperature. It may be present in the environment. Although levels of heavy metals in the environment are generally low in British Columbia, even exposures to low levels can result in negative health effects. For more information about the hazards of mercury exposure please see the BCCDC site:
http://www.bccdc.ca/health-info/prevention-public-health/lead-mercury
If you observe any substance that you suspect could be mercury, do not touch it. Please immediately report it to the Mineral Titles Branch, Mineral.titles@gov.bc.ca or if outside a panning reserve, to Fraser Health Authority.
June 11, 2024 – Mineral Titles Branch (Vancouver) Office Closure
The Vancouver office of the Mineral Titles Branch will be closed from June 17, 2024 until June 21, 2024.
There will be no staff on site to provide support in-person or via phone call and email during this time.
The office will reopen on June 24, 2024, at 8:30am.
We apologize for any inconvenience.
June 3, 2024 - Mineral Titles Online Maintenance
Mineral Titles Online will be unavailable on June 5th, 2024, from 11:30 am to 2:30 pm for maintenance. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.
May 13, 2024 - Transitioning Period Set for Jade Mining in Northwestern B.C.
On May 10, 2024, the Province established an Environment and Land Use Act order, prohibiting jade mining activities on new tenures in Northwest B.C.
Current tenure holders listed in the Order will be able to continue jade mining for five years with enhanced reclamation requirements. The Order is limited to jade mining activities in Northwest B.C. and does not impact other mining operations in the region, nor does it affect existing or new jade tenures in other areas of B.C.
The cumulative impact of jade mining in Northwest B.C. is causing harmful effects to sensitive alpine environments and creating significant regulatory challenges for permitting, compliance and enforcement. The Order is needed to protect the area from further harm and disturbance.
For further information regarding the Order, please see the May 10, 2024 Information Bulletin.
The Order can be found on the BC Laws website.
May 5, 2024 - Updates to Information Update No. 8
Mineral Titles has developed and revised changes to Information Update No. 8.
Highlights include:
- The necessity for all quads usage to be placed in the travel transportation section of the travel and transportation section, therefore subject to the 20% cap.
- The necessity for a free miner to have a current and valid FMC, this includes an agent of a free miner (as per S. 11(1) of the Mineral Tenure Act ). A person must be at least 18 years of age or over and ordinarily a resident of Canada for at least 183 days in each calendar year or authorized to work in Canada to possess a free miner certificate. Work performed on a mineral title by someone with a suspended FMC, no FMC, or an expired FMC will not be eligible for work credits.
- The need to register any quads or other transportation equipment as offroad vehicles as per BC’s ORV requirements.
- Chainsaw use for deadfall work only.
- Updated equipment rates as per the Equipment Rental Guide of the BC Roadbuilders & Heavy Construction Association (“The Blue Book”).
Any questions concerning this update may be directed to Mineral.Titles@gov.bc.ca.
May 9, 2024 - Mineral Titles Online Maintenance
Mineral Titles Online will be down on May 9th, 2024, from 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm for maintenance. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.
April 08, 2024 – MTO Payment Screen Redirecting to Invalid Domain Site
When attempting to make a payment in MTO users are redirected to a page that indicates the domain name for the payment service has expired. The payment company has been alerted and is working to resolve it as soon as possible. It appears that the payments are being processed, please do not try to register a payment a second time as this may result in redundant charges. If you notice additional charges on your statement please contact the Mineral Titles Branch and we will work to rectify these errors as soon as we are able to do so.
April 23, 2024 - Planned service interruption, BCGW, April 28, 2024
The BC Geographic Warehouse (BCGW) will not be available on April 28th starting at 6 AM.
This affects all government mapping applications such as MTO, ILRR, iMapBC and the spatial data downloading service.
​March 18, 2024 - Mineral Titles Online
Mineral Titles Branch is pleased to announce that the Ministry of Energy, Mines and Low Carbon Innovation will be updating Mineral Titles Online (MTO) with more modern technology. Work to upgrade our technology is starting soon and more details will be provided as this work moves forward. MTO is the online registry of mineral, placer mineral and coal tenures in BC. For future announcements, please follow News, Notices and Announcements on the Mineral Titles Branch website.
Why is MTO being replaced?
- MTO was implemented in 2005. Over the years, as technology has advanced, users have complained that the system has not kept up accordingly.
- In spring of 2023, Mineral Titles Branch hired EY Canada to complete a service design project assessing MTO. The findings of the project confirmed that “the application has limited functionality and utility, with no capacity for improvement or innovation”.
- In the Declaration Act Action Plan released in 2022, the Province committed to modernize the Mineral Tenure Act in consultation and cooperation with First Nations and First Nations organizations. Changes to MTO are needed so that the digital system is to be ready to implement future legislative changes.
- On September 26, 2023, the British Columbia Supreme Court (in Gitxaala v British Columbia) declared that the provincial Crown’s conduct in establishing an online system allowing automatic registration of mineral claims without creating a system for consultation breaches the obligations of the Crown to First Nations.
- The ruling requires the Province to establish a consultation regime (or for the province to amend legislation) within 18 months.
As the online registry for mineral, placer, and coal tenures, the new MTO must:
- Continue to provide a reliable and trusted registry for mineral, placer and coal claims, leases and notices. This is foundational to ensuring a responsible mining exploration and development industry in the province.
- Contain the functionality and capability to respond to future needs, including changes to the MTA developed through consultation and collaboration with First Nations, and engagement with Industry.
- Support reconciliation and strengthen government-to-government relationships with First Nations.
- Meet the needs of users now and in the future. MTO users will be engaged in the system replacement.
- Improve transparency, confidence, and user satisfaction.
For more information about Mineral Tenure Act modernization, please visit https://engage.gov.bc.ca/mtareform/
For information about the Mineral Titles Online system development, please visit News, Notices and Announcements
Donna Myketa
Chief Gold Commissioner and Executive Director
Mineral Titles Branch
March 8, 2024 - Moratorium in the Ehattesaht Hay-na Mining Deferral Area and the Lax K’naga Sts’ool Mining Deferral Area.
On March 7, 2024, orders were made under the Environment and Land Use Act to establish a five-year moratorium on certain mining activities within the Ehattesaht Hay-na Mining Deferral Area and the Lax K’naga Sts’ool Mining Deferral Area, as well as an indefinite pause on the registration of new mineral and placer claims in those areas.
The moratorium restricts existing tenure and permit holders from engaging in mining activities, with exceptions allowed for reclamation, monitoring, protection, control, or treatment efforts.
For further information regarding the moratorium, please see the March 2024 press release.
For additional information on reforming the Mineral Tenure Act, please see the March 7, 2024, update.
Resources:
- Ehattesaht Hay-na Mining Deferral Area Order
- Ehattesaht Hay-na Mining Designated Area Order
- Lax K’naga Sts’ool Deferral Area (Banks Island) Order
- Lax K’naga Sts’ool Designated Area (Banks Island) Order
- Notice to Tenure Holders
- Frequently Asked Questions
February 21, 2024 – Next Cell Release Scheduled for March 6, 2024 at 1 PM PST
The next cell release has been scheduled for Wednesday, March 6, 2024 at 1:00 pm PST.
Below are links to the mineral and placer lists of cells key ID’s that will be released. The cells contained on these lists may be from titles where:
- A title forfeited due to the expiry of a time extension before the title was brought into good standing;
- A title forfeited because an exploration and development work event was reduced or cancelled (section 33 orders) and the resulting amount of maintenance was insufficient to keep the title in good standing; or
- A cell being made available due to a previous incorrect status.
Please note that these lists of cell key ID’s are subject to change.
February 21, 2024 - Mineral Titles Online Scheduled Maintenance
Mineral Titles Online will be down on February 29th, 2023, from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm for maintenance. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.
January 30, 2024 - Mineral Titles Branch Office Closure
Please note the Mineral Titles Branch will be closed during the week of February 5-10, 2024, for staff training and development. During this time email and voicemail will not be monitored. Inquiries will be responded to when the branch reopens on February 12, 2024. Mail will not be collected during this time. Please submit any requests that are time sensitive (eg. may result in claim forfeiture) on or before 12 noon on February 2nd and include ‘TIME SENSITIVE’ in the subject line.
January 12, 2024 – BC Applications Outage
Starting at 12:00 am Sunday, January 21, 2024, BC Government applications related to the Natural Resource Sectors will be unavailable for scheduled maintenance until 5:00 am Sunday, January 21, 2024. During this time users may not be able to access Mineral Titles Online.
We apologize for any inconvenience.
January 11, 2024 - BCeID Outage
Starting at 6:00 am on Sunday January 14th, 2024, BCeID services will be down for maintenance. The expected outage is expected to last until 12:00 pm on January 14th, 2024. During this time users will not be able to login to MTO or government web services that require a BCeID to login.
We apologize for any inconvenience.
2023 News Notices and Announcements
2022 News Notices and Announcements
October 19, 2022 - MTO is back online
MTO is back online (10:35am). Thanks for your patience while IT staff resolved the issue.
October 19, 2022 - MTO is currently offline
MTO is currently offline, our IT folks are working to resolve the issue. There is no ETA at this time.
October 18, 2022 - IM/IT Planned outage - October 29-30, 2022
UPDATED, October 19, 2022 - the dates moved from Oct 22-23, 2022 to Oct 29-30, 2022
Please be advised that many government services, including Mineral Titles Online (MTO), will be taken offline this weekend for a planned and mandatory upgrade.
The outage is scheduled for Saturday, October 29 6:00 AM to Sunday, October 30 8:00 PM. Service may be up sooner than the outage window.
If you have a claim coming due this weekend, please ensure you apply claim maintenance to keep your title in good standing.
MTO step-by-step instructions
- SOW: Exploration and Development Work/Expiry date change
- CIL: Payment Instead of Exploration and Development Work
Oct 17, 2022 - Planned service interruption - Oct 17, 2022 @ 1:30pm
MTO will be taken offline at approximately 1:30pm on Oct 17, 2022. The outage is expected for approximately 1 hour.
October 17, 2022 - Cell release update (Placer)
The following cells have been added to the placer list of cells to be released on Thursday October 20, 2022 at 1pm PDT.
Placer cell key ID's (revised) [PDF, 270KB]
| Cell Key ID | Cell Key ID | Cell Key ID |
|---|---|---|
| 093N09E077A | 093N09E076B | 093N09E076A |
| 093N09E075B | 093N09E075A | 093N09E074B |
| 093N09E074A | 093N09E073B | 093N09E064B |
| 093N09E065C | 093N09E065D | 093N09E064C |
| 093N09E064D | 093N09E073C | 093N09E074D |
| 093N09E074C | 093N09E075D | 093N09E075C |
| 093N09E076D | 093N09E076C | 093N09E077D |
| 093N09E086B | 093N09E086A | 093N09E085B |
| 093N09E085A | 093N09E084B | 093N09E084A |
| 093N09E083B | 093N09E083A | 093N09E082D |
| 093N09E082C | 093N09E083D | 093N09E083C |
| 093N09E084D | 093N09E084C | 093N09E085D |
| 093N09E085C | 093N09E086D | 093N09E086C |
| 093N09E096B | 093N09E096A | 093N09E095B |
| 093N09E095A | 093N09E094B | 093N09E094A |
| 093N09E093B | 093N09E093A | 093N09E092B |
| 093N09E092C | 093N09E093C | 093N09E094D |
| 093N09E094C | 093N09E095D | 093N09E095C |
| 093N09E096D | 093N09E096C | 093N09L006A |
| 093N09L005B | 093N09L005A | 093N09L004B |
| 093N09L003B | 093N09L005D | 093N09L005C |
| 093N09L006D | 093N09E073D | 093N09E077B |
October 11, 2022 - Next cell release scheduled for October 20, 2022 at 1pm PDT
The next cell release has been scheduled for Thursday, October 20, 2022 at 1pm PDT.
Below are links to two lists of cells that will be released – one list contains placer cells, and one list contains mineral cells. The cells contained on these lists are from titles where:
- A title forfeited due to the expiry of a time extension before the title was brought into good standing
- A title forfeited because an exploration and development work event was reduced or cancelled (section 33 orders) and the resulting amount of maintenance was insufficient to keep the title in good standing
- A title was abandoned by the recorded holder
- A recorded holder has removed cells from a title by requesting a reduction
Mineral cell key ID's [PDF, 4MB]
Placer cell key ID's [PDF, 222KB]
August 23, 2022 - Assessment Report Indexing System (ARIS) - New search portal launched
The Assessment Report Indexing System (ARIS) public search page has been updated to include new features and improve stability. We recommend updating bookmarks to the new site https://apps.nrs.gov.bc.ca/pub/aris
July 28, 2022 - Update: Information Update #20 - Claim Maintenance - Portable Assessment Credit (PAC)
Information Update #20 has been updated, please take the time to review the document.
July 27, 2022 - Assessment Report Indexing System (ARIS) update
Please be advised that the Assessment Report Indexing System (ARIS) public search page (https://aris.empr.gov.bc.ca/) is being updated to include new features and improve stability.
The page will be moving mid-August 2022.
There will be an automatic re-direct to the new webpage, however it is recommended that you update any bookmarks to the new webpage after the update.
July 12, 2022 – Next cell release postponed
Please be advised that the next scheduled cell release which was estimated for late July 2022 has been postponed.
Continue to watch this News, Notices and Announcements page for a future notice as to when the next cell release will take place.
June 29, 2022 - Planning underway for next cell release
Please be advised that work is underway for the next scheduled cell release which we estimate will occur within late July 2022.
Mineral Titles is reviewing a list of mineral and placer cells that may be released.
Please watch News, Notices and Announcements for a future notice with the list of cells, release date(s) and time(s) to be posted by mid-July 2022.
June 29, 2022 - Logoff of Mineral Titles Online error
Some government applications (MTO, NROS, vFCBC) are returning an error message when users click the logoff or exit this service button. Applications will need to update their parameters to avoid this error. There is no impact to the end user. There is no ETA at this time for when MTO will have the fix applied to the production environment.
May 17, 2022 - Planned Service Interruption, June 12th 5am-10am - MTO offline
Please be advised that many government applications will be unavailable on Sunday, June 12th from approximately 5am-10am. This planned service interruption affects MTO, ILRR and Natural Resources Online services, to name a few.
May 17, 2022 - BCGW Planned Service Interruption, May 29, 2022 6am - 10am
Please be advised that the BC Geographic Warehouse (BCGW) will be undergoing regular maintenance on Sunday, May 29, 2022 from 6am - 10am. There may be temporary service interruptions during this time. This will affect the display of all layers in MTO CWM except the Mineral/Placer/Coal Titles (MTO) folder. Download of spatial data via the Data Catalogue may also be unavailable during this time.
April 27, 2022 - MTO Planned Service Interruption - April 28, 2022
MTO will be offline April 28,2022 starting at 2:30pm. The planned outage should last approximately 1 hour.
April 21, 2022 - Title Overlap Report (TOR) - regenerated for period April 4 - 14,2022
Title Overlap Reports will be regenerated for the April 4 - 14, 2022 timeframe. The TOR service was offline during this time period and TORs will be run today. Clients should expect emails in their inbox for any newly acquired title or TOR request (TORR) during the time frame.
April 20, 2022 - Portable Assessment Credit (PAC) FAQ updated
The frequently asked questions for PAC have been updated and posted to the branch website.
Reminder: Effective May 1, 2022, the transfer of PAC credits between accounts will no longer be allowed.
April 7, 2022 - Title Overlap Reports (TOR) not being generated
Please be advised that TOR reports are not being generated for newly acquired title or TOR requests. Once the service is corrected, all TORs will be regenerated for the time period the service was offline. A follow-up notice will be posted once the service is back online.
April 5, 2022 – Portable Assessment Credit (PAC) Transfers – Effective May 1, 2022
Effective May 1, 2022, the transfer of PAC credits between accounts will no longer be allowed.
Section 9 of the Mineral Tenure Act Regulation sets out who can earn portable assessment credit (PAC), how credit can be applied to a PAC account and how PAC credits can be used to satisfy exploration and development on a claim.
Currently, the Mineral Titles Branch has been allowing the practice of transferring credits between PAC accounts. However, section 9 of the Regulation does not provide authorization for the transfer of credits between accounts to occur.
If your current business practice has been to hold PAC credits on behalf of other free miners or account holders, you may wish to review your account holdings and request the necessary adjustments prior to May 1, 2022.
March 21, 2022 - MTO Planned Service Interruption, March 24, 2022
March 16, 2022 - Cell Release planned for March 29-30, 2022
A review of all the MTO grid cells in the province has been completed. The next cell release will occur over two days, March 29 and 30, 2022. Each release will occur at 1pm Daylight Savings Time (DST).
March 29, 2022 – Map blocks 082, 083, and 092
March 30, 2022 – Map blocks 093, 094, 103, 104, and 114
January 21, 2022 - Cell(s) Not Releasing as per Release Schedule
We are aware that some cells are not being released according to the release schedule as expected. We are reviewing these cells. Upon completion of the current release schedule, we will be setting up another release date for these remaining cells. Please watch for a future notice for more details about their release.
January 26, 2022 - Cell release planned today for 0800AM will be available at 0900AM PST
At 0900AM PST Mineral Titles Online will be restarted. You will need to log back into MTO after the restart. Once you log in, the cells planned for release at 0800AM will be available.
January 26, 2022 - 8:00 AM Cell release postponed
Due to time constraints, the planned scheduled release for 8:00AM today is delayed. We will post a notice as soon as the release is ready.
January 25, 2022 - Re-Schedule of Cell Release for Map Blocks 092 and 093
The previously scheduled cell release of cells related to map blocks 092 and 093 has been re-scheduled.
Titles that were acquired over cells related to the January 24, 2022 11:00 am cell release will be cancelled and the acquisition fees will be refunded.
|
Map Sheet |
Date and Time |
|---|---|
|
092K, L, M, N |
January 26, 2022 @ 8 am |
|
092I, J, O, P |
January 26, 2022 @ 12 Noon |
|
093C, D, E, F |
January 26, 2022 @ 3 pm |
|
093A, B, G, H |
January 27, 2022 @ 8 am |
|
093L, M |
January 27, 2022 @ 12 Noon |
|
093K, N |
January 27, 2022 @ 3 pm |
|
093I, J, O, P |
January 28, 2022 @ 8 am |
|
092C, E, F |
January 28, 2022 @ 12 Noon |
|
092B, G, H |
January 28, 2022 @ 3 pm |
January 25, 2022 - MTO restart at 10:30h PST, cell acquisition disabled
At 1030h PST Mineral Titles Online will be restarted. If you are logged in during that time, you will be automatically logged out of the system.
Please be aware that claim acquisition will be temporarily disabled until a new schedule for cell release is developed.
January 24, 2022 - Cell Release of Monday, January 24, 2022 and Tuesday, January 25, 2022
Due to unprecedented demand related to the cell release this morning, Monday, January 24, 2022, the mapping server used by the Mineral Titles Online application for claim acquisition was not able to handle the volume of mapping demands. As such, many users found the map was either very slow to load or would not load at all.
To ensure free miners have a fair ability to acquire cells, it has been decided that the cell release of today, Monday, January 24, 2022 and for Tuesday, January 25, 2022 is hereby cancelled and will be rescheduled.
Titles that were acquired today over cells related to today’s cell release will be cancelled and the acquisition fees will be refunded.
January 12, 2022 (3:34pm) - MTO Online
Please be advised that Mineral Titles Online is now back online and available.
Clients with claims with good to dates of January 12, 2022 have had a time extension applied to their title.
January 12, 2022 - MTO taken offline temporarily
A number of cells related to legacy claims became available and were acquired. These claims forfeited as a result of the end of the COVID-19 time extension order.
The cells were intended to be released as per the revised schedule posted online.
As the cells were never intended to be released prior to the schedule and to ensure all free miners are given a fair opportunity to register claims, all related claims that were acquired starting on January 11, 2022 are being deleted from the registry as per section 6.36 of the Mineral Tenure Act.
Refunds of claim registration fees related to these claim registrations will be issued.
MTO access will be temporarily disabled today until the issue is resolved. We will notify you when MTO is available.
January 10, 2022 - MTO Availability and Emails to recorded holders
The plan is for MTO to be online and available to the public on Tuesday, January 11, 2022 at 1400h PST.
The following letter has been emailed out to recorded holders.
January 7, 2022 - Mineral Titles Online Status Update
On December 31, 2021, in order to terminate the effect of the COVID-19 order, it was necessary to update the MTO database, which involved taking MTO offline and updating the registry.
The planned update to the MTO registry resulted in a number of failures and created errors in the MTO production database and caused the forfeiture of a number of claims that were not intended to forfeit. In turn, a number of new claims were immediately registered after midnight on January 1st, 2022. MTO was turned off at 1200h on January 1st, 2022.
We had previously communicated in a notice posted on the Mineral Titles Branch website on December 6, 2021 that cells related to the end of the COVID-19 time extension order were to be released in a schedule between January 4, 2022 to January 10, 2022. Instead, these cells became available at midnight on December 31, 2021.
Following is a list of steps we have taken to resolve these issues:
- The previous cell availability schedule (Jan 4th - 10th) for cell release related to the end of the COVID-19 time extension has been cancelled. A new cell acquisition schedule has been developed as follows:
|
Mapsheet |
Date |
|---|---|
|
114 |
Thursday January 13, 2022 |
|
083 |
Friday January 14, 2022 |
|
102 |
Monday January 17, 2022 |
|
103 |
Tuesday January 18, 2022 |
|
094 |
Wednesday January 19, 2022 |
|
082 |
Thursday January 20, 2022 |
|
104 |
Friday January 21, 2022 |
|
092 |
Monday January 24, 2022 |
|
093 |
Tuesday January 25, 2022 |
- Cells subject to non-COVID-19 time extension orders should not have been released. Cells subject to the COVID-19 time extension order should only have been released according to the posted schedule. For these reasons all claims registered on January 1, 2022 have been deleted from the registry. Refunds for claim registration fees will be provided.
- Titles with time extensions beyond December 31, 2021 were reinstated. The time extension events were reapplied as they previously existed.
- Titles with good to dates between January 1, 2022 and January 11, 2022 have been reinstated and granted a short time extension for recorded holders to register work or pay cash in lieu, as recorded holders could not access MTO during this time.
-
A few recorded holders who tried to register work or make payment on their claims have reported they were not able to do so between 1600h and midnight on December 31, 2021. Their claims have been reinstated with a short time extension applied to allow for the registrations to be completed.
These steps will be completed by Monday, January 10, 2022.
The plan is for MTO to be online and available to the public on Tuesday January 11th 2022.
January 4, 2022 - Mineral Titles Online
MTO remains offline until further notice. The planned release of cells by NTS mapsheet has been cancelled. A new schedule for cell release will be posted here when it is available.
January 1, 2022 – Mineral Titles Online Outage / End of Time Extension
At approximately 11:45 am, Mineral Titles Online was taken offline. It will remain offline for the next two days while we resolve the following:
This morning, mineral titles automatically forfeited on December 31, 2021. These titles had time extension orders applied which meant they should not have forfeited. In some cases, the cells within these forfeited claims became available and were reacquired. The cells should not have become available for acquisition. MTO will remain offline while these errors are corrected.
Further updates will be posted as they become available.
2021 News Notices and Announcements
No news notices or announcements archived for this year.
2020 News Notices and Announcements
December 14, 2020 - Mineral Titles Branch office is open
The Mineral Titles Branch Vancouver office is open to in-person service with the following changes:
Do not come to the office if you have:
- Symptoms of COVID-19 including cough, shortness of breath or fever
- A sick family member or have been around someone who is sick
- Not completed required self-isolation
There are new requirements at the office to limit the ongoing spread of COVID-19 to protect the health and well-being of our employees, recorded holders and the public. Some of these changes include:
- Maximum of 2 persons in the public area. There is additional waiting space in the hallway.
- Sanitizer available for use
- A plexiglass barrier at the front desk
- The public washrooms are closed
- Masks must be worn
- Computer access terminals are not available for public use
We encourage you to take advantage of self-serve resources on our application website.
We continue to provide assistance by:
Email: Mineral.Titles@gov.bc.ca
Voice-Mail: 1-866-616-4999 (must leave a message)
June 11, 2020 – Guidance for Mining and Exploration Camps
By order of the PHO, operators in the natural resource sector that provide accommodation at their industrial camps must develop a COVID-19 Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) Protocol.
March 27, 2020 – Time Extension Order on Claims, Licenses and Leases
As the Ministry continues to respond and adapt to the directions and orders issued in response to COVID-19, the Chief Gold Commissioner has issued a blanket Time Extension Order for all claims and leases, as well as all coal licenses and leases. This Order gives more time for recorded holders to register work, make cash in lieu of work payments and make rental payments.
For more information, an Information Sheet is available. If you have any further questions, please visit the Mineral Titles Online Registry system or email Mineral.Titles@gov.bc.ca.
Claims
- The time to make cash in lieu or register work on claims that have expiry dates before December 31, 2021 is extended to December 31, 2021. Claims with expiry dates past this date are not subject to this Order
Mining and Placer Leases
- The time to register the annual rental payment, which is normally on the anniversary date, is extended to December 31, 2021
Coal Leases and Licenses
- The time to register the annual rental payment, which is normally on the anniversary date, is extended to December 31, 2021
Visit the Mineral Titles Online Registry system or email Mineral.Titles@gov.bc.ca for more information.