Applying for Mineral and Placer Claims (BC)

Mineral and Placer Claims are applied for and acquired using the Mineral Titles Online (MTO) system. The online MTO system allows clients to apply for, acquire and maintain (register work, payments, etc.) mineral and placer claims.

You register an application for a cell claim by selecting one or more adjoining cells on the electronic MTO map.

• Placer Titles can only be applied for and acquired in Placer Claim or Placer Lease Areas (PDF, 448KB) in the Province. You cannot use a Mineral Claim to carry out Placer activity and vice versa.
• Mineral Titles can be applied for and acquired anywhere in the province where there are no other impeding interests (other mineral titles, reserves, parks, etc.).

No two people can select the same cells simultaneously, since the database is live and updated instantly; once you make your selection, the cells you have selected will no longer be available to another person, unless the payment is not successfully completed within 30 minutes.

The web map allows you to select single or multiple adjoining grid cells. Cells range in size from approximately 21 hectares (457m x 463m) in the south to approximately 16 hectares at the north of the province. This is due to the longitude lines that gradually converge toward the North Pole. Clients are limited to 100 selected cells per submission for acquisition as one claim. The number of submissions is not limited, but each submission for a claim must be completed through to payment before you can commence another registration.

When you have made your cell selection, you must confirm it and make payment electronically through your Visa, AMEX or MasterCard, or by cash or cheque if you are using a PC terminal in a government office.

• Fee for Mineral Claim Registration: $1.75 per hectare
• Fee for Placer Claim Registration: $5.00 per hectare

MTO will calculate the exact area in hectares according to the cells you select, and calculate the required fee. The fee is charged for the entire cell, even though a portion may be unavailable due to a prior legacy title or alienated land.

Upon confirmation of payment, which is immediate, your application is submitted. An application number will be issued for the application. You will receive an immediate email confirmation of your application and application number.

MTO provides you with the GPS co-ordinates for the four corners of each cell in your claim. Using a GPS unit, you can easily determine the claim position on the ground. For more information about obtaining coordinates using MTO, refer to the MTO Help Guide.

NOTE: Rights to any ground encumbered by existing legacy claims will not be granted with the cell claim except through the Conversion process. However, the rights held by a legacy claim or lease will accrue to the cell claim if the legacy claim or lease should terminate through forfeiture, abandonment, or cancellation, but not if the legacy claim is taken to lease. Similarly, if a cell partially covers land that is alienated (park, etc) or a reserve, no rights to the alienated or reserved land are acquired; but if that alienation or reserve is subsequently rescinded, the rights held by the cell expand over the former alienated or reserve land within the border of the cell.

Upon application approval a claim is registered. Upon registration, a cell claim is deemed to commence as of that date (“Date of Issue”), and is good until the “Expiry Date” (Good To Date) that is one year from the date of registration. To maintain the claim beyond the expiry date, exploration and development work must be performed and registered, or a payment instead of exploration and development may be registered. If the claim is not maintained, it will forfeit at the end of the “expiry date” and it is the responsibility of every recorded holder to maintain their claims; no notice of pending forfeiture is sent to the recorded holder.