Making the move to digital: georeference mineral claims to prep for digital system: ministry.

• Author: Kelly, Lindsay
• Position: MINING

The Ministry of Northern Development and Mines is encouraging people with mineral claims in Ontario to double-check their claim boundaries as the province inches closer to introducing digital claim staking.

The adoption of online claim system is part of the modernization of the Mining Act, which began in 2006.

"We're streamlining the process, moving Ontario into the 21st century by providing that type of service for our clients," said project lead Roy Denomme. "This is really taking us to the next level."

Other provinces already using a digital system include British Columbia, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Saskatchewan.

Moving to a digital platform simplifies the process for Ontario's international mining clientele, Denomme said. Many junior mining companies, for example, are headquartered in Vancouver or Australia, and the geographical distance makes registering staked claims at a bricks-and-mortar location more difficult.

"It meets the needs of our client group and hopefully encourages others to come to Ontario," Denomme said.

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Two components make up the new system. The first is the online registration process to acquire land. Whereas claim stakers used to go out into the bush and erect posts at the four corners of a claim site, registration will now be done with a few clicks of a mouse at the ministry website.

"There's a provincial map that has a provincial grid overlaying it, and you actually click cells to define those areas that you want to explore," Denomme said. "You end up with a set of coordinates that tells you your area of exploration."

The second component is the accompanying online administrative system, allowing for legal transactions, such as transferring claims between owners.

Before the new system becomes active, the ministry is urging claim holders to georeference their mining claims in comparison to the claim boundaries as defined on the provincial map, so discrepancies can be resolved.

"What we're moving to is the ; map being the legal representation of where mining claims are, so where these posts are in the field will no longer be the legal representation," Denomme said. "The legal representation will be the four coordinates that are shown on our map."

Denomme said...