Directives and notices on mining legislation

When legislative or regulatory amendments are made to the Mining Act and Mining Regulation, a notice is published. The directives provide clarification on specific legislative or administrative elements.

Transmission conditions – Application for authorization to perform work under section 70 of the Mining Act

As of August 18, 2016, any holder of an exclusive exploration right obtain the authorization of the Minister of Natural Resources and Forests, and comply with the conditions that he determines, in order to carry out work on an improvement or strip of land and subject to an exclusive exploration right.

See the details.

New obligation for the holders of an exclusive lease to mine surface mineral substances to transmitting a copy of the environmental authorization or declaration of compliance

As of August 17, 2026, any holder of an exclusive lease to mine surface mineral must send to the Minister of Natural Resources and Forests a copy of the ministerial authorization.

See the details.

Conditions required for the renewal of an exclusive exploration right in the case of an offer or promise to purchase

As of August 12, 2026, an holder of an exclusive exploration right need to respect some conditions in order to apply any excess amount from the exclusive exploration rights arising from the promise or offer to purchase for the exclusive exploration rights they own.

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Notice of coming into force of the Regulation to amend the Mining Regulation

Some éléments of the Regulation to amend the Mining Regulation came into effect on July 15, 2026. A summary of the major amendments is available.

See the details.

Notice of coming into force – An Act to amend various provisions for the main purpose of reducing regulatory and administrative burden

Some of the measures to reduce the regulatory and administrative of An Act to amend various provisions for the main purpose of reducing regulatory and administrative burden, adopted on June 11, 2026, make change to the mining regime.

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Annual work planning and information session - Modifications made to the obligation for exclusive exploration rights holders

The exclusive exploration right holder has the obligation to submit an annual work planning to the Ministère des Ressources naturelles et des Forêts, as well as to the representatives of any local municipality located in the region of the land subject to the right and, as the case may be, of any Indigenous nation or community concerned, at least 30 days before the start of exploration work on site, including airborne geophysical surveys. The planning should also include a report of the work completed in the previous year, if applicable.

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Coming into force of some measures of An Act to amend the Mining Act and other provisions

Two measures will come into force on May 29, 2026. The first measure regards the modification of a request for renewal of an exclusive exploration right. The second clarifies that a non-exclusive lease (BNE) can now cover only one unconsolidated deposit of mineral substances in its natural state. In addition, a new section provides that the perimeter of a non-exclusive lease will be limited to the territory authorized or declared under the Environment Quality Act.

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Mode of transmission of applications for leases to mine surface mineral substances

Any person who wishes to obtain, renew or, if applicable, extend a lease to mine surface mineral substances must submit their application in the form prescribed by the Minister. Starting June 1, 2026, in order to increase the quality of services and with a view to making a digital shift, requests must be sent by email to the Centre de services des mines (services.mines@mrnf.gouv.qc.ca).

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Extraction of surface mineral substances from lands in the domain of the State for State works — Absence of compensation to the mining right holder

Some legislative provisions provide that mandated departments and agencies of the State may, for the purpose of construction or maintenance of State works, extract surface mineral substances from public lands, regardless of the existence of mining rights granted to third parties. This extraction may be carried out without any compensation being paid to the holders of the mining rights concerned.

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Procedure to upload the statutory work report and related documents to GESTIM

As of May 6, 2026, any reports produced by the holder of the exclusive exploration right must be uploaded directly into the work declaration form available in GESTIM. These documents may also be submitted by mail.

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Authorization for departments and agencies (AMO) to extract or mine a surface mineral substance

As of May 1, 2026, the Ministère des Ressources naturelles et des Forêts may authorize certain departments or agencies to mine surface mineral substances without a lease. The applications must justify the requirements, specify the site and duration, and respect a minimum distance of 10 km between sites, unless there is a justified exception.

See the details (in French only).

Procedure for preparing the report of exchanges for an application for an authorization for impact-causing exploration work

When requesting an authorization for impact-causing exploration work, the holder of an exclusive exploration right must include a report of exchanges with local municipalities and Indigenous communities, where applicable. This report must be written in the template provided and contain the questions asked and responses given during the discussions with each municipality and Indigenous community met.

See the details.

Ministerial Authentication Service outage management — Submitting a notice of map designation

In the event of a Ministerial Authentication Service outage, the submission of a notice of map designation through GESTIM will be temporarily suspended to ensure fairness for clients of the mining sector. Check the GESTIM homepage regularly for the date and time of service reinstatement.

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Implementation of the new Ministerial Authentication Service for GESTIM

The Authentication Service of the Ministère des Ressources naturelles et des Forêts will be implemented progressively for the GESTIM application.

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Removal of PDF mining title maps

As of December 10, mining title maps in PDF format will no longer be produced and published on the GESTIM document distribution site.

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Procedure change for the transfer of an exclusive exploration right during its first term

As of November 29, 2025, any holder of an exclusive exploration right who wishes to transfer their right during the first term must first obtain the authorization of the Minister of Natural Resources and Forests.

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Different monitoring committee composition

As of November 29, 2024, holders of mining leases and concessions can request a different composition of the monitoring committee.

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Obligation to establish a monitoring committee for mining leases and concessions

Any holder of a mining lease or concession in force on November 28, 2024, must, by November 29, 2025, have established a monitoring committee.

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Standards to be met during the scoping and market study

Until the Mining Regulation is amended accordingly, mining rights holders who will be required to provide a scoping and market study will have to refer to the Minister of Natural Resources and Forests, who will determine the standards applicable in their case.

See the details.

Standards to be met during the feasibility study

Until the Mining Regulation is amended accordingly, holders of exclusive exploration rights who will be required to provide a feasibility study will have to refer to the Minister of Natural Resources and Forests, who will determine the standards applicable in their case.

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Standards to be met when preparing the rehabilitation and restoration plan

Until the Mining Regulation is amended accordingly, holders of exclusive exploration rights who will be required to submit a rehabilitation and restoration plan will have to refer to the Minister of Natural Resources and Forests, who will determine the standards applicable in their case.

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Authorization of impact-causing exploration work — Bulk sampling — Maximum quantity that can be extracted or shipped

The maximum quantity of ore that may be extracted or shipped for sampling as part of an application for authorization to conduct impact-causing exploration work is set out based on the mineral substance.

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Clarification of the concept of mining operation and the content of the mining operation report as part of an application to renew a mining lease

The holder of a mining lease who wishes to renew it must file a report demonstrating that they have been mining for at least two years during the term of the lease. As of November 29, 2024, the holder of a mining concession must, for each 10-year period following that date, perform mining operation work for at least two years.

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Annual exploration work planning — New obligations for exclusive exploration rights holders

The holders of exclusive exploration rights have an obligation to provide an annual work planning to representatives of any local municipality and, if applicable, any Indigenous nation or community located in the area of the land subject to the right at least 30 days prior to the start of the exploration work on the site, including airborne geophysical surveys.

See the details.

Notice of coming into force of An Act to amend the Mining Act and other provisions

A number of amendments have been made to the Mining Act.

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Notice of coming into force of the Regulation to amend the Regulation respecting mineral substances other than petroleum, natural gas and brine

Since May 6, 2024, all so-called impact-causing exploration work must be authorized before being carried out.

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Authorization for impact-causing mining exploration work — Content of the report of exchanges with local municipalities and Indigenous communities

The holder of an exclusive exploration right must accompany their application for an impact-causing exploration work authorization (ATI) with a report of exchanges with local municipalities and Indigenous communities, where applicable. They must be as transparent in their report as in discussions with the local community.

See the details.

Completion and transmission of the work declaration form (claims) in GESTIM only

As of September 1, 2023, all claims work declarations will have to be completed and submitted via the form available in GESTIM.

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Content of the resource and reserve estimate report required for an application to expand a mining lease

The Minister of Natural Resources and Forests may grant a lessee, on request, an increase in the area of the territory covered by the lease, provided that the application is accompanied by certain documents, including a report providing an estimate of mineral resources and reserves (report).

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No withdrawal after submitting a notice of map designation

No withdrawal can be accepted from the time a notice of map designation is submitted through the GESTIM website and is being processed.

See the details (in French only).

New notice regarding the registration of an exclusive exploration right within the last 60 days

The holder of an exclusive exploration right no longer has the obligation to notify the parties concerned of the registration of their exclusive exploration right within 60 days after that registration. That is now the responsibility of the Minister of Natural Resources and Forests.

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Change to the order in which notices of map designation are received on the GESTIM website

The order of receipt of notices of map designation is now managed with a very high degree of accuracy, at one millionth of a second. This addresses the problem of simultaneous map designations of land within a second.

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Credit card payment

Effective April 1, 2025, credit card payment will only be accepted in GESTIM. Payments by cheque are also accepted.

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Reimbursement and method of reimbursement of a balance

The amount of any refund will be deposited into the payor’s client account balance. The balance of a request will be refunded upon written request marked “Refund” in the subject line.

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Mining mineral substances in lakes and watercourses

Any person planning to mine mineral substances (excluding surface minerals) for commercial or industrial purposes must first enter into a mining lease with the Minister of Natural Resources.

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Registration of mining rights transfers

The filing of an application for the registration of a transfer of mining rights by a corporation must be accompanied by a resolution of its board of directors. In the case of an individual, the application must be accompanied by a letter signed by that individual.

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Application to abandon a mining lease, a mining concession and an exclusive lease to mine surface mineral substances

When abandoning a mining title, the provisions of the Mining Act and its regulation must be complied with, such as, but not limited to, payment of rent, filing of declarations and payment of royalties, if applicable.

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Authorization to erect or maintain a construction on lands in the domain of the State

The purpose of this directive is to ensure that constructions erected or maintained by a holder on the land subject to their exploration right are required solely for the purposes of mining exploration.

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