Whereas provincial legislation enabled the issuing of Crown-grant mineral claims from the mid-1800s until approximately 1960, and then the Mineral Tenure Act enabled miners to stake mineral claims on private property entitling miners to prospect, explore, locate, mine and produce minerals, notwithstanding any negative impact of such activities on the rights of private property owners; And whereas Section 19 of the Mineral Tenure Act relates to Right of entry on private land and compensation and sets out a process for resolving disputes involving private property owners and miners undertaking mining activities on private property but does not specifically reference Crown-granted mineral claims, and the Surface Rights Board of British Columbias interpretation is that it has no jurisdiction to resolve disputes involving private property owners and Crown-granted mineral claims: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM ask the Province to amend the Mineral Tenure Act to clarify that the Surface Rights Board of British Columbia has jurisdiction to resolve disputes involving private property owners and Crown-granted mineral claims.
