Gold Panning and Prospecting in Canada

British Columbia

Where: 14 recreational hand panning reserves: Barnes Creek, Cayoosh Creek, Erickson, Goldstream River, Hope, Kennedy River, Kettle River, Lytton (two sites), Princeton, Quesnel-Fraser River junction, Spruce Creek, Wild Horse River and Yale Town. On a claim or lease you need the title holder's permission, and on private land the owner's. Panning is not allowed in parks, conservancies, ecological reserves, protected areas, provincial heritage sites, federal land, treaty settlement lands or Indian reserves.

Licences and permits: No Free Miner Certificate is needed for recreational hand panning. A Free Miner Certificate is needed for metal detector prospecting and to acquire or hold a mineral or placer title; it costs CAD 25 for an individual and CAD 500 for a company (for applicants under 65), lasts up to 12 months, and individual applicants must be at least 18.

Equipment: Hand pan and hand shovel only. No metal detectors, sluice or shaker boxes, suction dredges or other mechanical devices in the reserves. Do not dig into stream banks or remove streambed gravel (salmon spawning); refill holes by the end of the day; do not divert water; clean, drain and dry gear.

Alberta

Where: Rivers and streams; get landowner permission to cross occupied land. The official page opened does not single out the North Saskatchewan River.

Licences and permits: Panning with hand-held, non-mechanised equipment needs no mineral agreement or licence. A sluice box or other mechanised equipment in rivers and streams needs a Placer Minerals Licence: CAD 50 plus GST for five years (a 30-day temporary licence can be emailed while the application is processed). Royalties apply if more than 1 troy ounce of precious metal is produced and sold in a year.

Equipment: Hand-held, non-mechanised tools for recreational panning. Dredging in rivers and streams is prohibited. Licensed operations: no more than 14 days in one place; Class A and B waters open only 15 May to 15 September, Class C and D waters year-round with some restrictions.

Yukon

Where: Public land that has not been withdrawn from prospecting or staking and has not been staked. Staked claims are off-limits to recreational panning. Ask the nearest Mining Recorder's Office where recreational panning is allowed, or book a panning tour through a Visitor Information Centre.

Licences and permits: The Yukon government page does not mention a permit for recreational panning.

Equipment: A gold pan and a shovel only; no other equipment. Historic and prehistoric objects, including fossils and bones, are protected: leave them and report them to the Cultural Services Branch.

Ontario

Where: Land where mining rights are open for claim registration (check the MLAS Map Viewer or ONland), and private land, claims, leases or patents with the holders' consent (both surface and mining rights holders if they differ). Not in provincial parks, conservation reserves, other protected areas, national parks, Indian Act reserves, land withdrawn from mining, or mine rehabilitation sites.

Licences and permits: The Mining Act says only prospector's licence holders may explore for minerals, but under the Hobby Mineral Collecting Policy (updated 16 August 2023) the ministry generally does not enforce this against hobby collectors who follow the policy on open land. A prospector's licence (through MLAS, 18 or older, after completing the online Mining Act Awareness Program within the previous 60 days) is needed to stake claims.

Equipment: Hand tools only, such as pans, shovels, picks, crowbars, hammers and chisels; mechanised equipment takes you outside the policy. Collect only what you can dig by hand and carry unassisted from one site at one time, for your own collection, not for commercial purposes. The policy does not mention sluices or metal detectors.

Quebec

Licences and permits: The Quebec government says prospecting, the first step of mineral development, needs no permit; it means collecting surface rock samples and must still respect land-access rules and other land uses. To get exclusive rights to explore for minerals you register an exclusive exploration right (droit exclusif d'exploration, formerly a claim) by designating map cells online through GESTIM. It lasts three years at first and can be renewed for two-year periods if the required exploration work is done.

Nova Scotia

Where: Prospecting is allowed on 'open' land with the landowner's permission (the Minister acts as landowner for Crown land under exploration licences). It is generally not allowed in national parks, candidate protected areas, special places, Department of National Defence land or federal penitentiary land. Indian reserves need the landowner's consent, and provincial parks or closed lands need Governor in Council approval.

Licences and permits: A Prospector Registration from the Department of Natural Resources costs CAD 10 (no tax), lasts 10 years and renews free; it covers only non-disturbance prospecting such as outcrop and float examination, mapping and sampling. Any surface disruption needs a Mineral Exploration Licence. The 2008 legislation guide says registrants must be 19 or older. The official pages opened do not mention recreational panning specifically.

Equipment: Mechanical trenching, pitting or stripping, or hand digging deeper than 1 m, needs a free Excavation Registration filed at least 7 days ahead.