Apply for a notice of work permit - new or amendment

Apply for a new or amend an existing notice of work

Before you start

An application for a notice of work (NoW) allows you to apply for a Mines Act permit under the Mines Act, in order to explore and develop the Province's mineral, coal, placer, quarry and aggregate resources. This application is used for both new and amendment notices of work.

Overview

Costs

Budget 2015 includes the introduction of permit fees for mines in B.C. These fees will be charged to new and existing applications for major mines, large pits and quarries and very large placer mines. There are no fees for exploration activities. The fees will enable government to assign the proper resources to provide the services needed and ensure a timely permitting model is maintained.

The new fees will NOT be charged for amendments to applications that are merely administrative or clerical in nature.

For placer applications, the fee will be calculated based on the maximum annual pay dirt that your operation will move in the highest operating year. For large sand and gravel pits and quarries, fees will be calculated based on the maximum annual tonnage extracted in the years being applied for and the number of years that your facility has been operating.

You will have the opportunity to pay the fee once the fee amount is calculated on your application. See  payment guidelines for more information.

Responsibilities

The submission of an application does NOT allow you to commence any mechanized work until such time as a Mines Act permit is issued.

The permittee is responsible for the safe operation and maintenance of the mine site in accordance with the Mines Act and the Health, Safety and Reclamation Code for Mines in British Columbia, and any other relevant legislation.

Apply

Collect the following information and documents before you start your online application.

Review guidance documents

Review the guidance for completing a NoW application:

Sand, gravel and quarry operators:

  • If you have an existing permit check the Mine Plan Update Policy (PDF, 355KB) to determine if you need to submit a NoW application. Fill in the self-assessment and declaration form found at the end of the policy document. Material and boundary changes to the currently approved mine plan require an amendment to the Mines Act permit. Submit the proposed mine plan amendment as a NoW application.

Consulting First Nations

The Province is legally obligated to consult and accommodate, where required, First Nations on land and resource decisions that could impact their Aboriginal Interests.

While the Province is responsible for ensuring adequate and appropriate consultation and accommodation, it may involve the proponent in the procedural aspects of consultation.

Proponents are encouraged to engage with First Nations as early as possible in the planning stages to build relationships and for information sharing purposes. To get more information about the guidelines and procedure manuals that are designed to assist government officials and proponents with meeting consultation obligations with First Nations, please visit Consulting with First Nations.

Mine permittee information

  • Mines Act permittee (company/organization or individual) registered with updated contact information in BCeID
  • Applicant relationship, including agent/consultant representation agreement, and contact information
  • Notice of work type: mineral/coal exploration, placer operations, sand and gravel or quarry (construction aggregate and industrial mineral)
  • Application type: new permit or amendment (with permit number ex. MX-1-123 or P-123456)
  • Any outstanding permit or code required reports, including annual summaries
  • Property mine number (7-digit number ex. 0500123, may be found using NoW spatial locations)
  • Type of authorization: multi-year site specific or multi-year area based
  • Term of authorization 1 to 5 years for exploration, or life of mine for producing sites
  • Maximum annual tonnage proposed to be extracted from producing sites (this drives the application fee)
  • Mine name and location (latitude and longitude in decimal degrees displayed on location map)
  • Tenure information: title, crown grant, district lot, licence of occupation, etc. (displayed on tenure/title map)
  • Detailed directions to site from the nearest municipalities (displayed on location map)
     

Proposed mining activities

  • Proposed mining activities to be undertaken within the tenured area and proposed permit mine area map and geospatial file, including surface disturbance of each activity (average length and width), reclamation plan for each activity and costing (use the reclamation bond calculator), and timber/vegetation cutting volume (m3):
    • Access road, trails, heli pads, air strips and/or boat ramps
    • Blasting
    • Camps, buildings, staging areas and, or fuel and lubricants storage
    • Cut lines and induced polarization surveys
    • Surface drilling
    • Mechanical trenching/test pits
    • Placer operations
    • Sand & gravel/quarry operations
    • Settling ponds
    • Surface bulk sample
    • Underground exploration including underground bulk sample
    • Water supply including source and estimated volume
  • Description of the proposed work program in sufficient detail of the work program to enable a good understanding of the types and scope of the activities proposed in layman terms for non-technical review
  • Timing of operations: intermittent, seasonal (annual proposed start and end dates) or year round
  • Access to tenure/mine site on using public roads, forestry roads, or other roads
  • Information about the present state of the land (vegetation, physiography, means of access, existing equipment or infrastructure, recreational use, etc.)
  • Land ownership (private land, community watershed, in a park, in a conservation area)
  • Proponent's First Nation engagement records
  • Cultural heritage resource information including change find procedure for the site
  • List of equipment including quantity, type and size/capacity
  • Contact information: mine manager, permittee, site operator, and tenure holder

General map guidelines

All applications must include location, title/tenure, and proposed permit mine area maps.

General map requirements:

  • Computer generated using GIS specific software, see iMapBC Maps and Data Creation Reference Guide (PDF, 8.2MB)
  • Clear and legible
  • Consistent mapping symbology
  • Consistent mapping content
  • At appropriate map scale to ensure everything is clearly visible (consider using overview map(s))
  • Metric units (ex. elevation contours in metres, disturbance areas in hectares)
  • Digital file size (under 100MB) and resolution (usually 300DPI or lower)

Required map elements:

  • North arrow to true north pointing to top of page
  • Map graticule/grid
  • Coordinate system and projection (either NAD 1983 BC Environment Alberta or UTM)
  • Map legend (utilize legend over labels)
  • Map title (Location, Title or Permit Map), author, and date
  • Page size map was created for (letter size preferred)
  • Scale bar and ratio (use whole numbers such as 1:2000 or 1:5000, not 1:1567)
  • Base mapping (hill shade, orthophoto/imagery, TRIM, road map, etc.)

A minimum of 3 maps are required:

  1. Location Map
  2. Title Map
  3. Proposed Permit Mine Area Map

Location map for all applications

  • Appropriate base mapping for understanding where the general location of the mine is in relation to communities/highways/landmarks
  • A labeled point location of the mine with its coordinates (same as the geographic coordinates of mines latitude and longitude in the application form)
  • A labelled polygon representing the proposed and/or existing permitted mine area
  • A labelled access route highlighting the exact directions to the site
  • The nearest service community labelled with name

Title (tenure) map

Title (tenure) map for mineral and coal exploration, industrial mineral quarries, and placer applications:

  • Mineral, placer, or coal title(s), including Crown grant(s), and indicate ownership
  • Proposed and, or existing permitted mine area

Land title (or licence of occupation) map for sand and gravel applications:

  • Land title(s) and, or licence(s) of occupation in and surrounding the site, and indicate ownership
  • Proposed and, or existing permitted mine area

Proposed permit mine area

Mineral/coal exploration, and placer applications:

  • Proposed and/or existing permitted mine area (same as proposed and/or existing MYAB area(s))
  • Site specific proposed disturbance and reclamation activities (separate map needed for MYAB Year 1 program)
  • Existing disturbance and reclamation activities
  • Elevation contours in metres

Sand and gravel, industrial mineral quarry, and bulk sample applications:

Overview map(s) if necessary

  • Appropriate base mapping for understanding where the general location of the mine is in relation to communities/highways/landmarks
  • Location and extent of the larger scale maps included in the application

Geospatial data requirements

All geospatial data must be created as polygons and be identical in geographical shape, size and location to the features on maps. For more information see the NoW application mapping requirements

Geospatial data to submit with your notice of work application: 

  1. Permitted Mine Area (PMA) - required
    • The permitted mine area is the footprint or boundary of the entire work program. The boundary needs to include all disturbance and mine infrastructure
  2. Disturbance areas - optional; required once spatial data standards are established
    • All mining activities proposed/existing including access roads and trails (existing, modified, and new), trenches and stockpiles, drill pads/laydowns, and heli pads etc.
  3. Reclamation areas - optional; required once spatial data standards are established
    • All reclamation activities such as revegetation to reclaim areas affected by mining

Spatial file elements:

  • Must be a polygon
  • Follow naming standards
  • PMA area: one polygon in a single geospatial file

Geospatial file types

Acceptable geospatial filetypes to accompany your NoW submission (see file naming standards):

  • Shapefiles: must include the following (4) files - [your_filename].shp, [your_filename].shx, [your_filename].dbf, [your_filename].prj
  • Google Earth: [your_filename].kml or [your_filename].kmz
  • Geomark: URL

File naming standards

The following naming standard is preferred to allow for consistency and increase efficiencies in the permitting process.

MineName_MineNumber/PermitNumber_Year_Existing/Proposed_Featuretype_Date(YYYYMonDD).File_extension

  • Permitted mine area file naming example using a shapefile:
    • ABCMine_1234567_2022_Proposed_PermittedMineArea_2021Oct31.shp
  • Disturbance type file naming example using a shapefile:
    • ABCMine_1234567_2022_Proposed_ExplorationTrails_2021Oct31.shp

Documents for sand and gravel and quarry applications

Additional resources

Register for BCeID to submit an application to FrontCounter BC

A BCeID allows you to save, reopen and check the status of your natural resource application: 

  • Basic BCeID can be used in a personal capacity
  • Business BCeID is used when representing a legal entity 
Register

Submit an application

Once you have assembled the required information for your application, apply online.

Apply

Update your application

After you have submitted an application, you can amend or cancel it:

After you apply

Your application will go through the following process before any decision is made:

  1. Receiving the application
    FrontCounter BC will review your application and process any applicable application fees. Then the application will be sent to Mines staff for a completeness review. You will be contacted if there is anything basic missing from the application.

    An application will not be accepted and processed until all required information as well as payment has been received.

  2. Technical review
    A regional inspector of mines, permitting, will review the application for compliance with the Mines Act, Health, Safety and Reclamation Code for Mines in British Columbia, and confirm or recalculate the estimated reclamation security bond cost. You will be contacted if there is anything technical missing from the application. You will receive an acknowledgement letter with the required reclamation security bond cost.

  3. Consultations, referrals and public comment
    Consultation of your application will occur with impacted First Nations. Referrals are sent out at the same time to other affected parties including other ministries, natural resource authorization holders, etc. Your application may also be sent out for public comment at this point at the discretion of the inspector.

  4. Review and decision
    Once all comments, and responses have been received and considered. The decision will be made by weighing all of the information provided and you will be informed of the decision. You can also get this information if you sign up for MineSpace.

Application enquiries

Read more about application processing and how to check the status of your application.

Contact information

Find the FrontCounter BC office closest to you.

FrontCounter BC Toll Free
1-877-855-3222
Email
FrontCounterBC@gov.bc.ca