Notice of Work - New and Amendment

Notice of Work - New and Amendment

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As of November 30th, 2021 a Basic, Personal, or Business BCeID is required for entering Notice of Work applications. Please visit BCeID.ca/Register for more information on registering for a BCeID.

Contents:

Overview

This application allows you to apply for a Mines Act Permit under the Mines Act, in order to explore and develop the Province's mineral, coal, placer, quarry and aggregate resources. This application is used for both New and Amendment Notices of Work.
Contact FrontCounter BC

Costs and Responsibilities

Fee

Budget 2015 includes the introduction of permit fees for mines in B.C. These fees will be charged to new and existing applications for major mines, large pits and quarries and very large placer mines. There are no fees for exploration activities. The fees will enable government to assign the proper resources to provide the services needed and ensure a timely permitting model is maintained.

The new fees will NOT be charged for amendments to applications that are merely administrative or clerical in nature.

For Placer applications, the fee will be calculated based on the maximum annual pay dirt that your operation will move in the highest operating year. For large sand and gravel pits and quarries, fees will be calculated based on the maximum annual tonnage extracted in the years being applied for and the number of years that your facility has been operating.

You will have the opportunity to pay the fee once the fee amount is calculated on your application. Please see Payment Guidelines for more information.

Responsibilites

The submission of an application does NOT allow you to commence any mechanized work until such time as A Mines Act Permit is issued.

The Permittee is responsible for the safe operation and maintenance of the mine site in accordance with the Mines Act and the Health, Safety and Reclamation Code for Mines in British Columbia, and any other relevant legislation.

What you need to apply

You will need the following information and documents to fill out the Notice of Work application form. For more guidance, please use the Mineral & Coal Exploration Notice of Work Application Companion Document, Placer Mine Application Requirements, and Aggregates Documents.

Information needed:

  • Mines Act permittee (company/organization or individual) registered with updated contact information in BCeID
    • Applicant relationship, including agent/consultant representation agreement, and contact information
  • Notice of work type: mineral/coal exploration, placer operations, sand & gravel or quarry (construction aggregate and industrial mineral)
  • Application type: new permit or amendment (with permit number ex. MX-1-123 or P-123456)
  • Any outstanding permit or code required reports, including annual summaries
  • Property mine number (7-digit number ex. 0500123, may be found using NoW spatial locations)
  • Type of authorization: multi-year site specific or multi-year area based
  • Term of authorization 1 to 5 years for exploration, or life of mine for producing sites
  • Maximum annual tonnage proposed to be extracted from producing sites (this drives the application fee)
  • Mine name and location (latitude and longitude in decimal degrees displayed on location map)
  • Tenure information: title, crown grant, district lot, licence of occupation, etc. (displayed on tenure/title map)
  • Detailed directions to site from the nearest municipalities (displayed on location map)
  • Proposed mining activities to be undertaken within the tenured area and proposed permit mine area map and geospatial file, including surface disturbance of each activity (average length and width), reclamation plan for each activity and costing (use the reclamation bond calculator), and timber/vegetation cutting volume (m3):
    • Access road, trails, heli pads, air strips and/or boat ramps
    • Blasting
    • Camps, buildings, staging areas and/or fuel/lubricants storage
    • Cut lines and induced polarization surveys
    • Surface drilling
    • Mechanical trenching/test pits
    • Placer operations
    • Sand & gravel/quarry operations
    • Settling ponds
    • Surface bulk sample
    • Underground exploration including underground bulk sample
    • Water supply including source and estimated volume
  • Description of the proposed work program in sufficient detail of the work program to enable a good understanding of the types and scope of the activities proposed in layman terms for non-technical review
  • Timing of operations: intermittent, seasonal (annual proposed start and end dates) or year round
  • Access to tenure/mine site on using public roads, forestry roads, or other roads
  • Information about the present state of the land (vegetation, physiography, means of access, existing equipment or infrastructure, recreational use, etc.)
  • Land ownership (private land, community watershed, in a park, in a conservation area)
  • First nations early engagement information, and cultural heritage resource information including a chance find procedure for the site
  • List of equipment including quantity, type and size/capacity
  • Contact information: mine manager, permittee, site operator, and tenure holder.

Documents needed:

All applications must include location, title/tenure, and proposed permit mine area maps.

General map requirements:

  • Computer generated using GIS specific software (iMapBC guidance available here)
  • Clear and legible
  • Consistent mapping symbology
  • Consistent mapping content
  • At appropriate map scale to ensure everything is clearly visible (consider using overview map(s))
  • Metric units (ex. elevation contours in metres, disturbance areas in hectares)
  • Digital file size (under 100MB) and resolution (usually 300DPI or lower)

Required map elements:

  • North arrow to true north pointing to top of page
  • Map graticule/grid
  • Coordinate system and projection (either NAD 1983 BC Environment Alberta or UTM)
  • Map legend (utilize legend over labels)
  • Map title (Location, Title or Permit Map), author, and date
  • Page size map was created for (letter size preferred)
  • Scale bar and ratio (use whole numbers such as 1:2000 or 1:5000, not 1:1567)
  • Base mapping (hill shade, orthophoto/imagery, TRIM, road map, etc.)
A minimum of 3 maps are required: 1. Location Map, 2. Title Map, and 3. Proposed Permit Mine Area Map. Below are sub-lists of the items required on each of these maps

1. Location Map – all applications
  • Appropriate base mapping for understanding where the general location of the mine is in relation to communities/highways/landmarks
  • A labeled point location of the mine with its coordinates (same as the Geographic Coordinates of Mines Latitude and Longitude in the application form)
  • A labelled polygon representing the proposed and/or existing permitted mine area
  • A labelled access route highlighting the exact directions to the site
  • The nearest service community labelled with name
2.a. Title (Tenure) Map – mineral/coal exploration, industrial mineral quarries, and placer applications
  • Mineral, placer, or coal title(s), including crown grant(s), and indicate ownership
  • Proposed and/or existing permitted mine area
2.b. Land Title (or Licence of Occupation) Map – sand and gravel applications
  • Land title(s) and/or licence(s) of occupation in and surrounding the site, and indicate ownership
  • Proposed and/or existing permitted mine area
3.a. Proposed and/or Permitted Mine Area Map – mineral/coal exploration, and placer applications
  • Proposed and/or existing permitted mine area (same as proposed and/or existing MYAB area(s))
  • Site specific proposed disturbance and reclamation activities (separate map needed for MYAB Year 1 program)
  • Existing disturbance and reclamation activities
  • Elevation contours in metres
3.b. Proposed and/or Permitted Mine Area Map – sand and gravel, industrial mineral quarry, and bulk sample applications
  • Proposed and/or existing permitted mine area
  • Site specific proposed disturbance and reclamation activities, including phased mining activities and progressive reclamation
  • Existing disturbance and reclamation activities
  • Elevation contours in metres
  • Excavation setbacks as per HSRC 10.5.8 or 10.5.11
  • Cross and long section traces
4. Overview Map(s) – if necessary
  • Appropriate base mapping for understanding where the general location of the mine is in relation to communities/highways/landmarks
  • Location and extent of the larger scale maps included in the application

Maps & Geospatial Requirements:

NOTE: .zip files will not be accepted
  • I have files with Location, Title AND Proposed Permit Mine Area maps (PDF, JPG, etc.) under 100MB each
  • I have files with geospatial data of the proposed permit mine area (under 100MB each)
    • Shapefiles - .shp, .sbx, .dbf, AND .prj (BC Albers projection) PREFERRED, or
    • Google Earth - .kml or .kmz, or
    • Geomarks – URL

Additional Documents needed for Sand & Gravel and Quarry:

  • Private land owner authorization if activities are proposed on private land
  • To-scale Mine Development Plan with proposed permit mine area
  • Cross sections examples can be found under Aggregates Documents

What happens after you apply

There are a number of steps which will take place before a decision will be made on your application.

  1. Receiving the Application

    FrontCounterBC staff will review your application and process any applicable application fees. Then the application will be sent to Mines staff for a completeness review. You will be contacted if there is anything basic missing from the application.

  2. Technical Review

    An regional inspector of mines, permitting, will review the application for compliance with the Mines Act, HSRC, and confirm or recalculate the estimated reclamation security bond cost. You will be contacted if there is anything technical missing from the application. You will receive an acknowledgement letter with the required reclamation security bond cost.

  3. Consultations, Referrals & Public Comment

    Consultation of your application will occur with impacted First Nations. Referrals are sent out at the same time to other affected parties including other ministries, natural resource authorization holders, etc. Your application may also be sent out for public comment at this point at the discretion of the inspector.

  4. Review & Decision

    Once all comments, and responses have been received and considered. The decision will be made by weighing all of the information provided and you will be informed of the decision. You can also get this information if you sign up for MineSpace.

Link
Mine Emergency Response Plan Guidelines
Multi-Year, Area Based Proponent Guidelines
Mines Act & Health, Safety and Reclamation Code for Mines in British Columbia
Mineral and Coal Exploration Notice of Work Application Companion
Aggregate Operators Best Management Practices Handbook for British Columbia Volume 1
Aggregate Operators Best Management Practices Handbook for British Columbia Volume 2
Health & Safety: A Practical Guide for Aggregate Operations
Mines Act Permit Application - iMapBC Project File Template
Mountain Caribou Habitat & Mineral Exploration in BC
Northern Caribou Guidance
Chance Find Procedure
Annual Summary Form - Mineral & Coal
Annual Summary Form - Placer
Safekeeping Agreement Forms

Tips for a successful application

Follow these tips to make the application process easier:

  1. Review this guide and have all the information and documents ready before you start filling out the application.
  2. Use a Basic or Business BCeID  for your application. A BCeID  allows you to save your application, reopen it and check the status of your application online.
  3. Utilize the Explore by Location tool to determine if your area of interest is available for your purpose. Other online mapping programs available are FrontCounter BC Discovery Tool; Integrated Land & Resource Registry (ILRR) and ImapBC.
  4. Contact FrontCounter BC before you begin, to help you with all natural resource applications.