Chapter 19: Improvements on Mining Property
19.1 | Why do lien claims against improvements on mining property receive special treatment?
Mining property
Commentary: the previous chapter examined the status of liens against improvements on land which has not been brought into the province’s land registry system. The lack of a public registry for claims against improvements built by the holders of interests such as grazing leases and forest tenures leaves the Builders Lien Act only partially applicable.
Most mining tenures are also on unregistered Crown land but they differ from the other kinds of interest in that there is a public register available where lien claims can be registered. These are the records of mineral titles maintained in the office of the Gold Commissioner under the applicable legislation.
[See Mineral Tenure Act R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 292]
The Builders Lien Act takes advantage of this registration machinery to ensure that the Act applies fully to improvements on mining property.
19.2 | How is a lien filed against mining property?
Filing against mineral title
Commentary: the procedure to file a claim of lien against mineral title is set out in section 18(1). Basically, the lien claimant must file a prescribed form in the office of the Gold Commissioner where the mineral title is located.
The prescribed form is Form 5*. It is the same form used to file a claim in the Land Title Office but with the description of the property adapted to set out a sufficient description of the mineral title.
In those instances where the mining property is on land within the land title system, a second filing must be made in the appropriate land title office.
19.3 | Does the Act contain any other special provisions in relation to liens against mineral titles?
Other provisions
Commentary: the Act contains a number of provisions that refer expressly to the Gold Commissioner, Gold Commissioner’s Office and Mineral Title. Generally speaking, whenever these expressions appear, it is in a context that contains a parallel reference to the Registrar of Titles, the Land Title Office or the land itself.
[See sections 18, 23, 24, 25, 28, 33 and 35]
