Submit a Class 1 exploration notice

Notice of relief

Due to travel restrictions and economic impacts related to the COVID-19 pandemic, miners do not have to do work on their claims or prospecting leases in 2020. You will not have to:

• do annual representation work on quartz claims;
• do annual representation work on placer claims;
• do annual representation work on prospecting leases in their 1^st or 2^nd years; or
• make a payment-in-lieu of work on quartz claims.

Relief applies to claims and prospecting leases that expire between April 23, 2020, and April 22, 2021. We’ll automatically extend the claims and prospecting leases expiring within this period. 

If you’ve already applied for relief and your claims expired prior to April 23, 2020, the Mineral Resources Branch will contact you.

If you choose to perform work, all notification and permitting requirements still apply. The relief order will not extend the expiry date of your notification or approval.

For more information, contact a district Mining recorder’s office.

Submit a Class 1 notification

You are required to submit a class 1 notification to carry out:

• Class 1 quartz exploration work; or
• Class 1 placer exploration work; or
• placer prospecting lease work.

A notice is required if your planned work is not covered under another mining land use approval. 

As of April 1, 2020, the Class 1 notification is Yukon-wide. Read what's new with Class 1 notification. 

Submitting a notification for someone else

If your notice is for claims owned by someone else, you will need to submit a claim holder authorization form with your notice.

If an agent is helping with your notice, they will need to submit a record of agent authorization form with the notice.

You can submit these forms as attachments in our online system.

Submit online

Quartz and placer exploration notices can be submitted online. Submitting your notification online is the best way to ensure your program complies with thresholds.

You can't submit placer prospecting lease work notices online.

Submit a class 1 exploration notice

Read step-by-step instructions on how to submit your Class 1 notification online.

Other ways to submit

Fill out the application form

• Quartz class 1 notification form
• Placer class 1 notification form
• Prospecting lease work class 1 notification form

Submit your form to the Mining Recorder's office

You can submit your form to any Mining Recorder's office. You may have to wait longer for your program to be approved if you submit a paper application. 

What happens next?

We will review your notice and consult with all affected First Nations on your proposed program. You will receive a response once this is complete. This process usually happens within 25 days.

Mineral activities in the Peel River watershed

The 2019 Peel Watershed Regional Land Use Plan guides the management of the region. This includes:

• environmental protection;
• social considerations; and
• economic development.

The cornerstone of the plan is sustainable development.

We will evaluate proposed mineral activities in the Peel Watershed region for conformity to the plan. The plan will also inform assessment and regulatory steps.

Read our brochure to see a summary of the standards for all classes of mineral activities throughout the Peel Watershed region.