M-13 - Mining Act

Section 31 Disposition versions

1977-12-31

31. In unsurveyed territory, every prospector’s licence shall entitle the holder to mark out on the ground one or more but no more than five claims, the sides of which shall be roughly four hundred metres in length and shall run astronomically northward and southward, eastward and westward, and the area of each of which shall be sixteen hectares, in the following manner:

(a)  The staker must plant a stake at the apex of each angle of the claim, commencing with stake No. 1 and ending with stake No. 4;

(b)  The stake in the north-east angle shall bear the number 1, that in the south-east angle the number 2, that in the south-west angle the number 3 and that in the north-west angle the number 4;

(c)  The staker must affix to each stake a metal plate bearing the number of the stake, the number of the claim and the number of his prospector’s licence;

(d)  He must also mark on stake No. 1, in legible characters, his name and the time and date of the staking;

(e)  On stakes Nos. 2, 3 and 4 he must mark the date of the staking;

(f)  The lines between the stakes shall be marked out or indicated on the ground in such a way that they may be followed from one stake to the next;

(g)  If it is impossible to plant a stake at the apex of any of the angles of the claim, the staker must plant at the nearest convenient place a stake on which he must:

i.  affix the metal plate prescribed in paragraph c;

ii.  inscribe the particulars required in paragraphs d and e;

iii.  affix the inscription “W.P.” (witness post) or “P.I.” (piquet indicateur);

iv.  indicate the distance between the witness post and the actual apex of the angle of the claim;

v.  indicate in which direction from the witness post the actual apex of the angle is located;

(h)  The length of the stakes above ground must be approximately one metre and twenty-five centimetres and their diametre approximately ten centimetres; they must be squared on all four sides for a length of at least thirty centimetres starting from the head; stumps or trees of the required dimensions may be used in place of stakes;

(i)  Stakes marking out claims shall not be used for a new staking;

(j)  Any person beginning to stake a claim must complete it before beginning to stake another;

(k)  If the same person stakes out contiguous claims, he may plant a single stake at the apices of the adjacent angles.

1965 (1st sess.), c. 34, s. 33; 1970, c. 27, s. 5; 1977, c. 31, s. 6; 1977, c. 60, s. 65.