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Old method was costing too much
For mining companies in Saskatchewan, going to MARS can save them thousands of dollars and weeks, if not months, of waiting for their mineral claims to be processed.
The Mineral Administration Registry Saskatchewan, or MARS for short, has handled mineral claims covering three million hectares since its inception nearly a year ago. That’s a 40-per cent increase over the old paper-based mineral claims staking system, which dates back to the late 19th century.
“The MARS system has made the issuing and managing of our mineral claims and leases much more timely and efficient, making our mineral sector even more competitive and attractive to investors,” Energy and Resources Minister Tim McMillan said in a news release Tuesday.
Since MARS was implemented Dec. 1, 2012, the staking rate in the province has multiplied by a factor of five. The online system has reduced approval for claims from a minimum 30 business days to five, a substantial saving of time for exploration companies.
The old paper-based system was also costing the industry a lot of money. Under the old system, the cost for staking the average claim of about 3,000 hectares was $30,000.
“Today, we are talking about $1,800 for the same thing,” said Mike Detharet, director of mineral tenure for the Ministry of the Economy.
More importantly, the old system was costing the province and the industry a lot of missed opportunities.
For example, during its first year of operation, the new system successfully handled three staking rushes. The first rush occurred in March following a uranium discovery, during which MARS processed 119 claims covering 458,000 hectares in a 27-hour period. Another rush related to kimberlites and micro-diamonds resulted in the staking of 261 new claims covering 966,000 hectares.
“If we didn’t have the new system and we had the same discoveries, people would have been excited, but I guarantee that they wouldn’t have staked all of that (nearly 1.5 million hectares of land),” Detharet added.
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