http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/sudbury/
Ontario prospectors are getting ready for big changes to the industry. Starting in 2018, they won’t have to venture deep into the bush to stake their claims.
They’ll soon be able to do that with just a few clicks over the internet. The adoption of technology will make it easier for everyone, says Garry Clark the executive director of Ontario Prospectors Association.
“You won’t have to go into the field to acquire the ground.” “If there’s a piece of ground you’re interested in, in Red Lake — and you’re in Sudbury — you can acquire it just by going on the computer and selecting the area and paying a fee for the land you pick,” Clark says. Currently, prospectors have to stake 4-by-4 wooden posts on the corners of their land, plus inscribe their names, the date and time, and the co-ordinates of the property.
‘It’s the way of the future’
Moving prospecting online will make mineral exploration easier for everyone, Clark says. “It’s the way of the future. We’re one of the last provinces that have physical stakes in the field.”
The Ministry of Northern Development and Mines is overseeing the operation of the prospecting website CLAIMaps. It should be fully operational by April 2018.
However, the new system isn’t without its critics. Some in the industry worry the move will create unemployment. There’s also concern there will be fewer economic spinoffs traditionally related to claim-staking.
For the original source of this article: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/sudbury/prospector-changes-claims-1.4466277