April 10 marked the full launch of the province’s online mining claims system, part of the multi-year revamp of the Ontario Mining Act that began in 2006.
The Mining Lands Administration System (MLAS) replaces the old, on-the-ground staking process by having prospectors input GPS coordinates into the system to delineate their mining claims rather than visit the site and hammer wooden stakes into the ground.
This makes staking available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, from anywhere in the world.
In a news release, the province said this move to modernization is designed to simplify the process, improve how mining claims are registered, and enhance the province’s competitiveness in the mining industry.
This is actually the second phase of the introduction of the MLAS. The first phase launched on Feb. 7. It allowed clients to enrol in the program, set up their new client profile, and explore the features of the system.
Other provinces already using a digital system include British Columbia, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Saskatchewan.
