Hunting on Mining Claims ?

[J_T]

^^ Good question. It does move this discussion along....
In most cases a permit is linked to the mining claim. A permit is not always held by the claim owner though. An owner may have an agreement with a contractor, or operator to carry out work. In these cases the permit is held in the name of the operator. Most of the time an owner has a solid relationship with the permit holder and is a logical point of contact.

In a scenario where you want to go fishing, hunting, berry picking, mtn biking etc if you use the map to see if there is a claim on it, is the first step. Finding out 'if' there is a permit on the claim/land is more difficult. "Notices of work" are submitted online through the BC Gov FLNRO portal https://portal.nrs.gov.bc.ca/web/cli...notice-of-work When a permit is issued (and the security bond in place) the permits are issued in the Mine Management System (MMS). I think the only way to probe this further and determine if there is a permit on the land is by contacting the ministry. But, I don't think the only Ministry staff with access to the information are Mines staff. I think Service BC, Front Counter, and NRO staff might have access to this information. It probably comes down to individual skill set. Some people will know how to help you advance your request, others won't.

[wildcatter]

Claim owners cannot restrict access, mineral claims are still crown land, therefore public and the claim holder has only mineral and no surface rights. On a mining lease yes access and therefore hunting can be restricted, for example elk hunting on Tecks coal mines in the Elk Valley etc.

Off the topic, but are you into rally racing?

[Swissrallyman]

I was at one point..name stuck around.

[Rye]

To add to the mix, BC does allow the construction of private roads on crown land. Where these private roads exist, you may have the right to hunt, you just don’t have the right to use the road to do it.

[wos]

I know here in the Princeton area a lot of claims have had to remove their gates. A lot have no trespassing signs, not sure if they are legal, and I have seen temporary signs on some claims during hunting season advising that there are people working on the claim.

That area is a whole different topic on how people are abusing claims and making up their own rules.

[Piperdown]

I can tell you one thing none of you are going to hunt on my claim....i also own the property so it is private property

[geo guy]

People often confuse what's legal and what's actually being done.

There are gates of questionable legality all over the place. What are you gonna do when you show up and theres a gate and you have no way to tell on the spot whether it's legal or not. Reality is most people get pissed off and move on.

Its not illegal to put up gates on mineral claims, one of my previous clients would leave hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of equipment on site we dont need that getting stolen (some did unfortunately). Additionally they are also there for public safety in some situations. Our project had lots of historical workings on it that were unmarked as well as new trenches from us. Dont want someone falling in an old unmarked shaft now.