Task: At the Crossroads Coming up at the end of this section.

2.1 Prospecting Rules

		You don’t just become a prospector overnight. There are rules to follow. Do you know what they are?
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2.1.1 Who Does the Subsoil Belong To?

Allowing for exceptions, the subsoil is public property in Québec. The law only recognizes private ownership rights for the surface.

Underground mineral resources are therefore collective resources accessible to everyone! Everyone has access to them, but there are rules to follow!

		For example, mining exploration is prohibited in sanctuaries and ecological reserves.
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In Québec, the Mining Act sets the rules for prospecting.

The rules are established by the Ministère des Ressources naturelles (MRN) which manages everything associated with mineral resources.

The MRN plays an important role for prospectors: its geologists, cartographers and computer specialists continually collect and compile geological data, making an inventory of Québec’s mineral resources.

The data collected is made public every year to assist prospectors in their work.

The MRN also issues prospecting licences and grants prospectors the exclusive right to search for mineral resources on a designated territory.

This right is always granted to the first applicant after a parcel of land has been staked.