Placer Mining in BC

Information and Resources

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Placer Mining Law to Read

Rules and Regulations

About The Word "Mineral"

In BC law, the Mineral Titles website and Mineral Titles Online, the word "Mineral" has two meanings -

The Legislation Page

The Legislation Page has links to the law and regulations that placer miners should know about.

You should at least read the Table of Contents and the parts that are important to you in...

There are other links to law that is not as important for most placer miners and prospectors...

The Mines Act sort of the lays the foundation for other mining law.

The Mining Right of Way Act is about entering private land to get to and from a claim.

Information Updates

You should read the table of Information Updates. There are about 30 of them. Only some of them will be important to you.

They are important - they make rules and explain how to follow rules.

Pumping Water

For some time, hand miners have generally been allowed to pump water without a licence if the suction intake is 1.5 inches or less and properly screened

If you don't qualify for the hand mining exception...

Pumping water from a natural watercourse is governed by the Water Sustainability Act, which came into force February 29, 2016. You should read the table of contents and appropriate sections.

To learn more about applying to pump water, see If You Must Apply on the Pumping Water page.

Working Underground

Any workings underground or that require construction, like a retaining wall, must be either designed by a Professional Engineer or the design must be approved by a Professional Engineer.

This kind of work may be covered by the Health, Safety and Reclamation Code for Mines in British Columbia.

A lot of law and regulations apply to operations with employees, that don't apply if the only workers are the owner of the claim and partners.

Employees and Contract Workers

I know nothing about this subject. I assume that some laws and rules that apply to employees, also apply to contract workers.

I believe that rules about employees don't apply to contracting businesses. You can hire a business - perhaps a self-employed "guy with a backhoe", without being an employer or having your mine turn into a "workplace".

It is important to remember that I know nothing about this.

If you want employees, one of the things you have to look into is WorkSafeBC.

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