British Columbia is making changes to speed up permitting for mineral exploration.
B.C.’s Ministry of Mining and Critical Minerals will introduce new fixed permitting timelines in April. It says exploration permits will be processed within 40 to 140 days. If a decision cannot be made within that time, applications will be sent to the chief permitting officer for a decision within two weeks.
Premier David Eby announced the changes in a speech at an Association for Mineral Exploration (AME) gathering in Vancouver on Monday.
He said the ministry will also get a $3 million budget increase to support the changes and implement the province’s new Mineral Claims Consultation Framework.
The framework comes after a 2023 B.C. Supreme Court found B.C.’s previous online system allowing automatic registration of mineral claims without First Nations’ consultation was unconstitutional. It ordered B.C. to create a new consultation process before granting mineral claims.
The province launched the first phase of that new system in March 2025.
The mining ministry said in a December update it had received or registered 5,643 mineral claim applications in 2025, an eight per cent increase compared to the seven-year average. However, the total area decreased by 20 per cent.
Mining and Critical Minerals Minister Jagrup Brar said the changes to permitting timelines come in response to industry feedback.
Todd Stone, head of the Association for Mineral Exploration BC, said the organization has been calling for additional funding to improve permitting times.
“This is a key initiative to assist prospectors and junior miners in particular,” said Stone.
Mining Association of B.C. president and CEO Michael Goehring also welcomed the moves. MABC has long been calling on governments to address lengthy permitting delays. It says permits for a new mine in Canada can take up to 15 years.
The announcement came after western provinces and northern territories signed an agreement to develop a shared critical minerals strategy. The memorandum of understanding was signed Sunday between B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut.
B.C. said the regions will work together to promote Western Canada as a critical minerals hub, and collaborate on infrastructure planning and investment.
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