British Columbia to Launch Internet-Based System

Following two years of development, the British Columbia government has announced plans to create an Internet-based claim staking system for its Mineral Titles Online (MTO) system by next January.

“The Mineral Titles Online system will bring B.C. mineral exploration to the forefront of technological innovation providing considerable business and investor advantages to British Columbia’s exploration sector,” said Michael Gray, president of the BC and Yukon Chamber of Mines. The online system will replace the cumbersome paper-based system with a more accurate, real-time, map-based geographic information system (GIS). It will improve a mineral exploration company’s ability to interact with government, resulting in quicker decision-making and lower location costs for tenure acquisition. MTO will also eliminate overlapping titles resulting in fewer land use conflicts.

Claim staking in British Columbia is up considerably over last year. In the first five months of 2004, 24,059 claims were recorded in British Columbia, a 78% increase over the 13,535 claims recorded in the first five months of 2003.

Go to the B.C. government’s website at www.gov.bc.ca and click on “Natural Resources” to learn more about the MTO program.