The rights of a free miner to access mineral tenures in British Columbia are governed by two statutes; the Mineral Tenure Act and the Mining Right of Way Act. The interpretation of these statutes is set out in the case law.
Under the Mineral Tenure Act a free miner may enter mineral lands to explore for minerals or placer minerals on lands which the Crown holds the mineral rights. The right of entry does not extend to land occupied by a building, the curtilage of a dwelling house (the curtilage was determined in the case of Cofrin v. Bicchieri to be 75 metres), orchard land, land under cultivation (note that orchard lands and land under cultivation must be under active cultivation, it is not sufficient to say that they are capable of being used for agricultural purposes, in some instances even though the land may be under cultivation, access may be granted during the winter or other periods when the land is not being actively cultivated) land lawfully occupied for mining purposes, protected heritage property, park land or recreation area lands.
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