Changes to the Mineral Tenure Act and the Mineral Tenure Act
Regulation governing notice requirements for mining activities on private
land and Land Act leases come into force on June 2, 2008.
In March 2007
the Legislature approved amendments to Section 19 of the Mineral Tenure
Act (Act) that require a person to notify landowners before entering
private land for any mining activity. The Act amendments also extend
the notice requirements to include holders of Land Act leases and
provide authority to make regulations that prescribe the timing and details
of the notices. Additional changes to the Mineral Tenure Act Regulation
(Regulation) allow costs related to serving notice to be used to satisfy
work requirements for claims. The Act changes and amendments to the Mineral
Tenure Act Regulation take effect June 2, 2008.
The amended notice
requirements specify that a person must not begin a mining activity until
eight days after giving notice to the owners of the surface area where the
activity will take place. The notice must state when the activity will
occur and include the names and addresses of the free miner or recorded
holder and of the on-site person responsible for the operations. The notice
must also describe the activity that will be conducted, state approximately
how many people will be on site and include a map or written description of
where the activity will take place. Notices may be mailed, e-mailed, sent
by facsimile transmission or hand delivered to the owner.
If
there are substantial changes to the activity described in the notice, or if
the dates in which the work will occur changes by more than seven days, the
person must give the landowner an amended notice. Work related to the
amended notice may not begin until eight days after the amended notice has
been given.
Where a
person has made reasonable efforts to serve notice but has been unsuccessful
in doing so, the Chief Gold Commissioner may exempt a person from the notice
requirements. A person seeking exemption must apply in writing to the Chief
Gold Commissioner and provide evidence supporting the application. A form
that may be used for applications will be available soon.
Costs
related to determining the ownership of land and serving notice can be used
to satisfy exploration and development work requirements for claims. The
costs may be registered on the claims for which the land ownership and
notice work was done. If the work is done for land on which claims do not
exist, the work can be registered on claims which are subsequently acquired
in the area.
The
provincial government has prepared online tools to help miners determine the
location of private land and Land Act leases and the addresses of the
owners. Access to the tools will be announced shortly.
Details
on functions and use of the online tools are included in the pamphlet
Notice for Access on Private Land – Information for Free Miners and Mineral
Title Holders. This pamphlet also details the changes to the Act and
Regulation, describes the rights and obligations of miners regarding access
to private land and suggests methods for determining land ownership and
serving notice on landowners.
