B.C.’s new mineral claims rules criticized by those most affected [Video]

Prospectors wanting to make a mineral claim in B.C. will soon have to consult with local First Nations under new provincial rules.

But neither First Nations representatives nor prospectors are happy with them, and a mining professor says the rules could leave some community members feeling left out.

First Nations say the development of a new consultation framework — which goes into effect March 26 —  was rushed, and its drafting didn’t meet the province’s obligations to consult under the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (DRIPA).

Prospectors say the new framework will add at least 60 days in consultation time to a mining permitting process that is already dogged with delays.

The new framework was introduced after the province lost a court case in 2023, in which the Gitxaała and Ehattesaht First Nations said the lack of informed consent before a claim was approved was discriminatory.

In that case, B.C. Supreme Court Justice Alan Ross gave the province a year and a …