VANCOUVER — A British Columbia mining advocate is taking its complaints about murky and restrictive legislation to a hearing in Ontario.
The Association for Mineral Exploration BC says the future of mining exploration and development is at risk because of a decreasing land base.
Members will make their case at the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada annual convention underway in Toronto.
The B.C. group says four per cent of provincial land was closed to mining in 1977, but more than 18 per cent is closed now, while a further 33 per cent is subject to tough restrictions.
A recent report by the association says less land is available for exploration while mining companies confront increasingly complex legislation governing how land is accessed and used.
Officials with the prospectors and developers association endorse the B.C. group's call for a national conversation on how restrictions to mining are affecting the industry across Canada.