Mineral claim staking in Ontario comes to an end on Jan. 8 as the province begins conversion to online mining claim registration.
Ontario Prospectors Association executive-director Garry Clark says the province's modernization of the Mining Act will bring an end to what he calls "the romantic side" of prospecting.
"There's no one out there rushing" to hammer stakes into the ground, Clark told tbnewswatch.com in an interview. "It's now a keystroke rush instead of a rush in the bush."
Clark said abandoning the requirement for mining companies to send people out to blaze lines and pound in corner posts will bring Ontario in line with most other provinces.
The new system involves map-selection using a computer.
Clark said "Everything is divided into small cells, and then you select your cells. It's kind of good in the way that it makes it absolute. You get exactly what you pick."
One disadvantage, Clark noted, is that under the old system "When you walked around and you did blaze a line around your claim, you did see some rocks and you may have found something...So there's a little bit of a loss of that."
Clark estimates that there are currently 1,000 to 2,000 licensed prospectors in northwestern Ontario—including about 600 who are very active—and about 5,000 in the province.
He believes about 60 per cent of prospectors are happy with the map-staking method, but there are a number who would still rather stake a claim on the ground.
People such as weekend prospectors, Clark said, may prefer to utilize their own "sweat equity" in the bush rather than going on a computer to record a claim.
He also noted that "A lot of people hire people to do that. So the people that are being hired are obviously going to have to find something else to do. We're hoping that will result in more exploration, and they will be out looking for rocks after they are staked."
According to Clark, the fees for the new system have not yet been announced.
More information is expected to be available at a prospectors' event in Thunder Bay in April.
