Notice – Office Closure

Our offices will be closed, and services unavailable from 4:30 p.m. EDT on September 29, 2023, until 8:30 a.m., EDT October 3, 2023.

Service requests received during this time will be processed when service resumes at 8:30 a.m. EDT on October 3, 2023.

Overview

The Mining Lands Administration System (MLAS) is an online system for:

  • administering public lands for mining purposes
  • registering mining claims online

With MLAS you can:

  • view active unpatented mining claims
  • register a new mining claim
  • manage your mining claims
  • buy or renew your prospector’s license

If you want to register a claim, you must register for an MLAS user account and hold a valid prospector’s license.

Non-registered users can use the MLAS Map Viewer to view active unpatented mining claims.

Migration instructions

If you have not yet received an email with migration instructions to Public Secure/ My Ontario account, please contact the Provincial Mining Recording office.

If you have questions, email the Provincial Recording Office at pro.ndm@ontario.ca or call us at 1-888-415-9845. Voicemail messages left after hours will be returned the next business day.

How to register for MLAS

There are 4 steps to register in MLAS.

Step 1: Create a Public Secure / My Ontario Account. Follow the direction to ‘create a new account’. Use your email address as your ‘username’ and create a password.

Step 2: A verification email will be sent to the address you provided. Click on the ‘Complete Activation’ button.

Step 3: You will be redirected to default internet browser. Click on the ‘Complete Activation’ button.

Step 4: Input details to create your MLAS client profile.

Once confirmed, you will be issued an MLAS client ID and sent a confirmation email with your client details. You will then be able to use MLAS.

If you do not already have a prospector’s licence (PDF) you can apply for one in MLAS once you have your MLAS user account.

How to use MLAS

Mining Act directives

Read the Mining Act directives for a step-by step guide on how to use MLAS.

Video tutorials

How to register

Licences

Mining claims

Land notices, withdrawals and reopenings

The Minister may, by order:

  • withdraw an area from prospecting, staking (mining claim registration as of April 10 annually), sale and lease, known as a withdrawal order
  • lift an existing withdrawal to reopen the area for prospecting, staking, sale and lease, known as a reopening order

For a list of withdrawals and reopenings, visit Land notices, withdrawal and reopenings.

June 1 open list

Each year we publish a list of lands or mining rights open for registration as of June 1. This list is published in one issue of the Ontario Gazette.

We also publish a second list of lands that are in arrears of mining land taxes. If the total amount of taxes, penalties and costs are not paid by December 31 of the current year, the lands may be forfeited to the Crown.

Some of the lands on the June 1 open list may have mine hazards within their boundaries. You should conduct your mineral exploration activities as per the Mining Act and other health and safety regulations.

Some of the June 1 open list lands may be subject to withdrawal under the Mining Act. We encouraged you to reference the MLAS map viewer or contact the Provincial Recording Office if you have any questions.

Mining lands data

You can analyze and combine mining lands data with other data by using geographic information system (GIS) software.

Data is available in ESRI® ArcView® shape file format. The data is split into two files:

  • operational data for claims and alienations, mining land tenures and non-mining land tenures
  • administrative data for cell grid, lots and concessions, administrative boundaries, mining divisions, exploration regions, legacy claims and the provincial boundary

You can download the data from OGSEarth mining claims.

Mining claim maps

Paper maps

You can buy mining claim maps in paper format. Maps are available at two standard scales: 1:20000 and 1:40000.

The cost varies depending on the size and colour quality you would like.

To order paper maps, contact the Publication Services Sales Coordinator:

Tel: 705-670-5691

Email: pubsales.ndm@ontario.ca

Historical maps

Before claim maps were available online, mining claims had to be drawn by hand on a map made of paper, linen or Mylar. These mining claim maps are now known as historical mining claim maps.

We have digitized all historical mining claim maps. They are available as PDFs from the Historical mining claim map website.

News and updates

Check this page for updates on mining lands and MLAS.
MLAS Fact Sheets and Update Bulletins archive.

Fact sheets

MLAS bulletins

There are no updates at this time.

Get email updates

Get email updates about mining lands and MLAS. Email miningact@ontario.ca, with the subject line “MLAS update bulletin,” to be added to our email distribution list.