Introduction to MTO

MTO is an Internet-based Mineral Title administration system that provides a powerful new tool to the mineral exploration industry. It allows you to allocate more funds and energy for exploration rather than tenure acquisition. MTO was developed with these objectives:

1. Provide secure tenure for existing and new titles. All existing mineral tenures in BC possess the right to mine an ore body. The implementation of MTO did not weaken this right. In fact, new titles are more secure because the loss of a right through a claim challenge for poor staking has been eliminated, and the position of the cell claim is absolute.
2. Establish a fair and orderly system for allocating rights. MTO has simple, fair, and consistent rules for allocating rights.
3. Help reduce the cost of doing business in B.C. The elimination of physical claim staking represents potential savings each year for miners. These savings will be available for investment in exploration.
4. Provide an effective and efficient titles system. MTO is designed to meet industry's needs for secure tenure, and meet government's need to provide an efficient but cost-effective means of allocating mineral rights.  New technology, such as e-commerce, Global Positioning System (GPS), and Geographic Information System (GIS), makes it easier for miners to find, acquire, explore, and develop properties.
5. Maintain a competitive investment climate for exploration. Implementation of MTO is expected to be a factor in attracting investment for mineral exploration in BC.

MTO will meet the business needs of the government and its clients for the foreseeable future. It will also help ensure compatibility with other future Web-based systems and applications that are now being planned or developed across government.

The initial phase of implementation that occurred on January 12, 2005 now allows you to:

• view spatial and attribute data including current mineral titles information online,
• renew free miner certificate (FMC),
• authenticate yourself as a legitimate client and authorize any number of other persons to act as your agent,
• select claim tenure for acquisition,
• maintain claims by registering exploration and development work or making a payment instead of work,
• maintain leases by rental payments,
• transfer interest in your mineral titles to another free miner,
• amalgamate or reduce cell claims, and
• make electronic payment where required for any of the above registrations.

To conduct mineral titles business, you need the following:

1. BCeID (BC electronic identification) registration.
2. Access to a computer and the internet using a current internet browser (Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox).
3. An email address.
4. Ability to pay electronically with a Visa, MasterCard or American Express credit card. Cash and cheques will continue to be accepted but you will have to conduct the online business using a terminal in a recording office during regular office hours in order to pay by cash or cheque.
5. A valid free miner certificate (FMC) to acquire any mineral title, or to register work or a payment instead of work on your claims.