How claim conversion works

On this page

1. Conversion of staked claims into unit claims
2. How claim expansion works
3. How existing leases are affected
4. Ground staked claims that occupy a very small portion of a unit which is otherwise open Crown land
5. Expansion of multiple staked claims sharing a unit that contains open Crown lands
6. Defining the "anniversary date" of a claim
7. How the recording of claims in good standing under the former regulations (2014) are affected on the coming into force of the amended regulations (2020)
8. How existing staked claims are affected after the 90-day transitional period following the coming into force of the amended regulations (2020)
9. How the recording date of the converted claim is modified
10. Changing the recording date of a new unit claims by the claim holder
11. The status of the converted claim during the period between its recording date as a unit claim on January 30, 2021, and its modified recording date
12. What will happen to any unallocated excess costs of work on existing claims after the coming into force date of the amended regulations (2020)
13. How the excess costs of work allocated to the future years of the claims prior to their conversion are taken into account when determining the deadline to submit the first report of work after the 90-day transitional period
14. How the first deadline to report work for a converted claim is determined and what amount of work has to be reported
15. The deadline to file the second report of work for a converted claim
16. Reducing a converted claim during its first year

Conversion of staked claims into unit claims

Claim conversion is the process used to transform a ground staked claim recorded under the former Nunavut Mining Regulations (2014) to a claim composed of units from a pre-defined grid and displayed on an online map. The converted claim is recorded on the 91st day after the amended Nunavut Mining Regulations (2020) have come into force. The converted claim receives a new number and its original recording is cancelled.

To simplify the management of the next reports of work, the recording date of the converted claim is modified to correspond to its next anniversary date established under the former regulations (2014). Information that is on file for a claim before its conversion is transferred to the converted claim. For more details, refer to the section on the How the recording date of the converted claim is modified.

If there are any open Crown lands within a unit that is part of the claim before conversion, the claim is expanded to fill these available lands. For more details on that subject, refer to claim expansion.

How claim expansion works

Claim expansion is part of the conversion process for mineral claims recorded under the former regulations (2014) where these claims are found in the same unit as open Crown lands. The purpose of expansion is to eliminate any open Crown lands inside units that correspond to a claim that existed prior to the coming into force of the amended regulations (2020), making all open lands in a unit part of the converted claim.

On January 30, 2021, the 91st day after the amended regulations came into force, existing claims are expanded to include the entire available lands within all grid units they occupied before being recorded as unit claims. The expansion does not increase the costs of work required for a claim under the new rules because these costs are based on the number of units in a claim and not on its area.

The unit claims exclude lands that are:

• part of prospecting permits, other claims or leases
• not available for prospecting such as:
  • lands within a National Park
  • Inuit owned lands where the Inuit own the sub-surface rights

It remains the responsibility of the claim holder to determine where the boundary of their recorded unit claim is located in relation to all these types of lands.

How existing leases are affected

Existing leases are not converted into unit claims on the coming into force of the amended regulations (2020). Their limits are represented on the online map as determined by the legal survey carried out under the former regulations (2014).

Ground staked claims that occupy a very small portion of a unit which is otherwise open Crown land

The expansion of claims existing before the coming into force of the amended regulations (2020) is mandatory, even if a claim occupies a very small portion of a unit which is otherwise open Crown lands. However, a transitional measure facilitates the reduction of converted claims. For more details, refer to reduction of converted claims.

To visualize the effects of the one-time conversion of claims, illustrations depicting the expansion and reduction principles are available at Conversion of Staked Claims into Unit Claims.

Expansion of multiple staked claims sharing a unit that contains open Crown lands

If more than one staked claim occupies a unit containing open Crown lands, the claim that was staked first among the claims that are contiguous to the open Crown land is expanded. If none of the claims are contiguous to that land, the claim that was staked first, regardless of contiguity, is expanded. It is estimated that the expansion increases the total area of claims in Nunavut by approximately 7%.

Defining the "anniversary date" of a claim

The anniversary date of a claim is repeated each year, always on the same day of the same month as the initial recording date of the claim before conversion. For example if a claim is recorded on January 5, 2020, its anniversary date will be on January 5th of every subsequent year.

How the recording of claims in good standing under the former regulations (2014) are affected on the coming into force of the amended regulations (2020)

The recording of claims in good standing on the day before the coming into force of the amended regulations (2020) is maintained until their conversion to unit claims after the 90-day transitional period. On January 30, 2021, the 91st day after the coming into force of the amended regulations, the original recording is cancelled and the converted claim is recorded. After that, the recording date of the claim is automatically modified to match the following anniversary date of the claim established under the former regulations (2014). For more details, refer to How the recording date of the converted claim is modified.

How existing staked claims are affected after the 90-day transitional period following the coming into force of the amended regulations (2020)

The cancellation of the recording of existing staked claims and their recording as new claims under the amended regulations (2020) is a fundamental aspect of their conversion into unit claims.

The new recording of the claim marks the end of the current regime and the beginning of the mining rights administration regime established under the amended regulations.

The recording of the unit claims marks a change in the status of the claims as their location is then defined by the coordinates of their boundaries on the grid predefined in the Nunavut Map Selection system, and no longer by the location on the ground of their legal posts. In addition, this recording is taking into consideration the expansion of some of the claims to match the boundaries of the grid.

How the recording date of the converted claim is modified

Although an existing claim is recorded as a unit claim on January 30, 2021, the 91st day after day the amended regulations (2020) came into force, its recording date is automatically modified on a later date.

The modification is effective on the day that, following the 90-day transitional period, has the same day and the same month as the initial recording date of the claim before conversion.

The modified recording date is the first day of the new 30-year duration of the converted claim. That day is also the day on which the revised per-unit cost of work requirements begins to apply to the converted claim. For example, if a staked claim has an initial recording date (before conversion) of July 15, 2015, its modified recording date after its conversion to a unit claim is July 15, 2021.

Changing the recording date of a new unit claims by the claim holder

Holders of new unit claims selected and recorded after the 90-day transitional period using the Nunavut Map Selection system have an opportunity to apply to change the recording date of their claims. The application must be made in the year following the recording of the claim and the chosen date must be no later than one year after that date. The recording date can only be changed once.

Holders of claims recorded under the former regulations (2014) are not able to request that the recording date of their converted claims be modified. This measure aims to simplify the transition of existing claims to the new regime.

The status of the converted claim during the period between its recording date as a unit claim on January 30, 2021, and its modified recording date

The holder of the converted claim has full management of their claim during this period. All provisions of the amended regulations (2020) related to claims apply to converted claims recorded as unit claims on the 91st day beginning on the coming into force of these regulations. The holder of the converted claim has the exclusive right to prospect on the claim lands. It is permitted to:

• file a report of work
• transfer the claim
• apply for a lease of that claim from January 30, 2021, the first day after the end of the 90-day transitional period

Before the recording date of a claim is modified, an application to reduce the claim cannot be submitted and a certificate of work cannot be issued with respect to that claim.

What will happen to any unallocated excess costs of work on existing claims after the coming into force date of the amended regulations (2020)

Any excess cost of work on existing claims that has not yet been allocated before the coming into force of the amended regulations (2020) still exists as unallocated excess work on the claim post conversion.

The holder of the converted claim has the opportunity to apply for these excess costs to be allocated forward towards future years under the amended regulations. The revised costs of work requirements apply. However, excess cost of work cannot be allocated until the recording date of the converted claim is modified.

How the excess costs of work allocated to the future years of the claims prior to their conversion are taken into account when determining the deadline to submit the first report of work after the 90-day transitional period

All costs of work already allocated to future years are taken into account in determining the deadline of the first report of work for a converted claim.

The holder of the converted claim is not be required to submit a report of work for the period of time for which costs of work have already been allocated to the claim prior to conversion. Transitional measures establish the new deadline for submission of the first report of work. This date is never earlier than the reporting date set under the former regulations (2014).

In the case of converted claims for which no costs of work have been allocated to future years post conversion, the first report of work shall at a minimum include the costs of work required under the amended regulations (2020) for the first year of their new 30-year duration, which is $45 per unit or partial unit in the claim.

How the first deadline to report work for a converted claim is determined and what amount of work has to be reported

After the coming into force of the amended regulations (2020), the revised costs of work requirements apply. The holder of a converted claim shall submit to the Mining Recorder's Office a report of work only for the years for which no excess costs of work have been allocated under the former regulations (2014).

The deadline to report work will be 120 days beginning on the anniversary date of the converted claim that marks the end of the year for which work must have been done.

In the case of a converted claim for which no costs of work have been allocated, under the former regulations (2014), to the time period corresponding to the first year of its new 30-year duration, a first report of work must be submitted no later than one year and 120 days beginning on the modified recording date of the claim under the amended regulations. The cost of the work corresponds to the requirements for year 1, $45 per unit or partial unit in the claim (refer to the example in line 1 of the table below).

In the case where excess costs of work have been allocated, under the former regulations (2014), to the future years of the new 30–year duration of the converted claim, the holder of the claim is not be required to submit a report of work for the years for which costs of work have already been allocated. A first report of work must then be submitted no later than 120 days beginning on the anniversary date of the modified recording date of the claim under the amended regulations (2020), that marks the end of the year for which work must have been done. The cost of the work corresponds to the requirements for the year in question (for example year 2 in row 2 of the table below).

The deadline to file the second report of work for a converted claim

The deadlines to report work after the first report for converted claims follow the usual rules of the amended regulations (2020) applying to new unit claims selected on map. The deadline is 120 days beginning on the subsequent anniversary dates of the modified recording date of converted claims. The report must at least cover the costs required for the preceding year. If there are excess costs of work reported, they can be allocated to the future years of the claim. The revised costs of work requirements apply.

Reducing a converted claim during its first year

Transitional measures related to claims reduction facilitate the transition to the new regime by reducing the effects of the mandatory expansion of certain converted claims.

Once the recording date of a converted claim has been modified, it is possible to reduce it by removing units. Certain usual conditions for reducing claims, such as the rule requiring that at least the equivalent of 2 years' worth of cost of work has been done on the claim before it is possible to reduce it, does not apply to converted claims during their first year.

Under these transitional measures, the effect of the claim reduction on the costs of work obligations applies immediately. This reduces the costs of work required for the first year of the converted claim since these costs are based on the number of units making a claim.

For the other categories of claims:

• new unit claims selected and recorded using the Nunavut Map Selection system
• converted claims after their first year

The effect of the reduction on the number of units to be considered in the calculations of the cost of work obligations is delayed to the year that follows the year that the claim is reduced.

You may also be interested in:

• Online map selection of mineral claims in Nunavut
• Conversion of Staked Claims into Unit Claims (Principles and Illustrated Examples)