How to Stake a Claim

The mineral claim or concession is the legal document that grants ownership over subsurface materials (in this case minerals). Every political entity in the world has a system for purchasing the claim and registering the ownership. In some jurisdictions the process is relatively simple and the title is defensible. In others it is laborious and the resultant title may or may not stand up to challenges. The prospector must be very careful to check the business and legal climate of the area he/she is working in.

With the increasing ability and desire of smaller personal and corporate entities to do business in increasingly remote parts of the world a competition between political entities has resulted in more secure legal frameworks in which to stake claims. If one country cannot demonstrate that a mineral claim properly registered can be defended, that country will see very little mineral exploration activity. And mineral exploration activity can lead to very lucrative tax receipts for the presiding government. The message is starting to get through.

What follows are brief descriptions of the procedures to stake mineral claims and concessions in a number of popular jurisdictions in the world. These procedures are not meant to be exhaustive, conclusive and they may not be up-to-date. Rather they give a glimpse into the relative ease or difficulty of registering claims. It is mandatory that the prospector (owner, a vendor or a purchaser of a claim) seek advice from a lawyer familiar with the rules of that jurisdiction on such matters, just as one would when purchasing a home.