How Mineral Claims Work in BC, Ontario and Quebec

How mineral claims are registered and kept in BC, Ontario and Quebec: online cells, annual work requirements, fees, and BC's new First Nations consultation step.

A mineral claim in Canada is a provincial right to explore for minerals on a defined piece of Crown land. In British Columbia, Ontario and Quebec, claims are now registered online on a map grid rather than staked with posts in the ground. Each province then requires the holder to spend money on exploration, or pay fees, every year to keep the claim alive.

What a claim gives you, and what it does not

A claim is an exploration right. It is not a mining permit and not ownership of the land. British Columbia's rules make the limits plain: a claim covers the available rights to minerals that have not already been granted, but it does not include surface rights, sand and gravel, or permission to build a cabin. Actual exploration or mining activity still needs permits under the province's Mines Act.

Quebec's Mining Act now calls the claim an "exclusive exploration right" (EER). It gives an exclusive right to search for mineral substances in the public domain, again excluding sand, gravel, clay and other loose deposits.

That distinction matters when reading company news. A large claim package means a company holds exploration rights over that ground. It says nothing about whether a deposit exists. For what comes next in the sequence, see what NI 43-101 means and what a technical report tells you.

British Columbia: cells, work credits and a new consultation step

BC runs claims through Mineral Titles Online (MTO). To hold one, you need a Free Miner Certificate: $25 for an individual and $500 for a corporation, and free for individuals 65 and over. Applicants select one or more adjoining grid cells, up to 100 cells per claim application. A cell is about 21 hectares in southern BC and about 16 hectares in the north, because lines of longitude converge.

Registration costs $1.75 per hectare. After that, the holder must register exploration and development work each year, or pay cash in lieu at double the work value, before the claim's anniversary date. Otherwise the claim forfeits at midnight on that date.

Claim year (BC mineral claim)	Work required per hectare	Cash in lieu per hectare
Years 1 and 2	$5	$10
Years 3 and 4	$10	$20
Years 5 and 6	$15	$30
Year 7 onward	$20	$40

The bigger change is legal. In the 2023 case Gitxaała v. British Columbia, the BC Supreme Court found the province had a duty to consult First Nations when claims are registered, not only later at the exploration permit stage. BC responded with the Mineral Claims Consultation Framework, which took effect March 26, 2025. Claims are no longer registered instantly. An application goes to the ministry, affected First Nations are consulted, and the chief gold commissioner decides whether to register the claim, register it with accommodations, or deny it.

The case continued. On December 5, 2025, the BC Court of Appeal ruled 2 to 1 that the province's Declaration Act incorporates the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples into BC law, and that the claims regime was inconsistent with it. The Supreme Court of Canada granted BC leave to appeal on May 21, 2026.

Ontario: online registration since 2018

Ontario ended ground staking under its Mining Act modernization. The electronic Mining Lands Administration System (MLAS) went live on February 7, 2018, and online claim registration opened on April 10, 2018. Existing claims were converted to the new cell grid, with cells of about 20 hectares.

The costs are set in Ontario's fee schedule:

Prospector's licence: $40, for a five-year term. A licence is required to register claims.
Claim registration: $50 per cell.
Lease application: $90, for holders moving from a claim to a mining lease.

To keep a claim, the holder must perform $400 of assessment work on each claim unit every year.

Quebec: map designation and the 2024 overhaul

Quebec was early to online map designation, introducing its GESTIM system in November 2000. Today the only accepted way to apply for an exclusive exploration right is through GESTIM.

Bill 63 amended the Mining Act, with changes effective November 29, 2024. Under the current rules:

An EER runs for an initial three-year term, then renews in two-year periods if the holder meets the conditions, chiefly completing the required exploration work.
Exploration work with environmental impacts requires a separate authorization before it starts.
Holders must send an annual work plan to local municipalities and Indigenous communities at least 30 days before work begins, a requirement in force since May 30, 2025.

By the numbers: carrying 1,000 hectares in BC

Using BC's published rates, a holder who registers 1,000 hectares pays $1,750 to register. To hold the ground for the first year, they must record $5,000 of exploration work, or pay $10,000 in cash in lieu. By year seven, the annual bill is $20,000 of work or $40,000 in cash. Over the first six years, the minimum spend adds up to $60,000 of work ($5,000 + $5,000 + $10,000 + $10,000 + $15,000 + $15,000), plus the registration fee.

The effect of the rising schedule is simple: holding ground gets more expensive every two years, so a holder has to either keep exploring or let some of it go.

What to watch

The Supreme Court of Canada hearing in Gitxaała v. British Columbia, once it is scheduled, and any BC legislation that follows.
BC's approval times and denial rates under the Mineral Claims Consultation Framework.
Quebec regulations setting the nature and cost of work required to renew an exclusive exploration right under Bill 63.
Claim anniversary dates and assessment filings, which are public in each province's online registry.
Fee schedule updates from each province.

Sources

Frequently asked questions

How do you stake a mining claim in BC?

In British Columbia you need a Free Miner Certificate, $25 for individuals and $500 for corporations, then apply through Mineral Titles Online by selecting grid cells, up to 100 per application. Registration costs $1.75 per hectare. Since March 26, 2025, First Nations are consulted before the chief gold commissioner decides whether to register the claim.

How much work is required to keep a mineral claim in Ontario?

Ontario requires $400 of assessment work on each claim unit every year to keep a claim in good standing. Claims have been registered online through the Mining Lands Administration System since April 10, 2018. Registering costs $50 per cell, and a prospector's licence, which is required to register, costs $40 for a five-year term.

How long does a mining claim last in Quebec?

Quebec now calls a claim an exclusive exploration right. Under the Mining Act as amended by Bill 63, effective November 29, 2024, it runs for an initial three-year term and can be renewed in two-year periods if the holder meets conditions, chiefly completing required exploration work. Applications are made only through GESTIM.

How Mineral Claims Work in Canada: Staking in BC, Ontario and Quebec