Apply for a notice of work permit - new or amendment

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Review the guidance for completing a NoW application:

• Mineral and Coal Exploration Notice of Work Application Companion (PDF, 14.2MB)
• Placer Mine Application Requirements (PDF, 185KB)
• Aggregates Mine Application Guide (PDF, 950KB)

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.

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.

• 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 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

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

• 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 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

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:

• Proposed and/or existing permitted mine area
• Site specific proposed disturbance and reclamation activities, including phased mining activities and progressive reclamation
• Existing disturbance and reclamation activities
• Elevation contours in metres
• Excavation setbacks as per Health, Safety and Reclamation Code for Mines in British Columbia part 10.5.8 or 10.5.11
• Cross and long section traces

• 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

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

• Private land owner authorization if activities are proposed on private land
• Cross sections examples can be found under Guidance documents by activity type for regional mines

• Mine emergency response plan guidelines
• Mining proponent guide to the Notice of Work application process
• Aggregate Operators Best Management Practices Handbook for British Columbia Volume 1 (PDF, 1.3MB)
• Aggregate Operators Best Management Practices Handbook for British Columbia Volume 2 (PDF, 1.5MB)
• Health & Safety: A Practical Guide for Aggregate Operations (PDF, 4.9MB)
• Mines Act Permit Application - iMapBC Project File Template (GVHP, 254KB) (see iMapBC Maps and Data Creation Reference Guide (PDF, 8.2MB)
• Notice of work application mapping requirements
• Mountain Caribou Wildlife Habitat Areas and Ungulate Winter Range (PDF, 350KB)
• Caribou in British Columbia
• Archaeological Chance Find Procedure (PDF, 330KB)
• Annual reporting for mines in B.C.
• Safekeeping Agreement Form (PDF, 315KB)
• Water Policy Bulletin: Water Use for Mineral Exploration and Placer Mining (PDF, 180KB)

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 

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

Apply

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

• If you applied with a BCeID, log in to manage your application including updating or cancelling it
• If you applied without a BCeID, log in to update a submitted application or cancel an application