MyProspects offers prospectors and exploration companies enhanced querying capability and geoprocessing tools to display publicly available data
Accessing publicly available information on unpatented mining claims in Ontario with Caracle Creek International Consulting’s newest software release is faster, easier and more powerful, according to Tania Poehlman, the software architect and lands management specialist who oversaw its development.
The newest module in Caracle Creek’s MyMaps software suite, MyProspects was launched in December and showcased at the PDAC in March.
MyProspects and the Ontario Ministry of Northern Development and Mines’ CLAIMaps application mine the same public databases, but MyProspects offers prospectors and exploration companies enhanced querying capability and geoprocessing tools to display the data.
“We’re a group of geoscientists who have been in business for years doing what people do who use these applications, and we recognized that there was a need out there to have something that would help us keep our lands in good standing, support our projects, minimize expenditures and research time, and help track the growing wealth of information that’s out there,” said Poehlman.
Other MyMaps modules, including MyTargets, MyLands, MyDocs, MyGeoscience and MyPlanning, organize and access proprietary data. MyProspects is solely designed to access public databases.
Using MyProspects, geologists, prospectors and lands managers are able to search for titles held by a specific company, said Poehlman.
“On the government website, I can only search by mining division. Then I would have to manually piece everything together. I can tell you from having done it myself personally that it can literally take hours. With MyProspects, if I type in the name of a company in the search field, I get a list of all their claims broken out by percentage of ownership. It shows the summary information on those claims and allows me to export the data and use it for any reporting purposes. There’s also a link to the claim abstract.”
Searches can also be performed based on claim number, township or mining division.
“The other thing we capture is the G number, an internal identifier for any work performed and credits assigned to a particular parcel of land. This is not currently available on the government’s website. You actually have to call them up and request the number, which would be needed if I am going to move credits around.”
Users can monitor claimstaking activity, as well as any claims coming due in 30, 60 and 90 days in an area of interest, then launch the claim abstract to see who owns it and what work has been performed on it.
“If a company is interested in expanding its holdings, and wants to go in and stake, they can quickly access the available research that’s been performed and better define where they should be staking,” said Poehlman.
They can pull up information on grab samples, regional bedrock geology and rock type, for example. One of the slickest features in MyProspects is the map printing tool. Once the view is selected, MyProspects automatically creates a legend based on all the elements in the view, includes the scale and a north-south arrow, and allows the user to edit the title. If you zoom in or out, the legend automatically adjusts.
“In the time it takes me to call my geomatics team and say, ‘I need this, this and this. When can it be done?’ It’s done. And it’s just point and click.”
The Ministry also offers a print tool on its site, but it’s very limited, said Poehlman. It often doesn’t include all the information needed for processing plans and permit applications.
“When the government implemented the plans and permit process in Ontario, companies were having a hard time just trying to meet the requirements. It was taking some companies upwards of six to eight weeks just to get the map right. We made sure to include all the required elements.”
MyProspects also includes a buffering tool that comes in handy if there is a royalty agreement that applies to any additional claims staked within a given radius. The tool draws a circle around the centre point of the claim and generates a list of all the titles that fall within the specified distance
A drawing tool is also available if a company wants to build a road to access its claims and needs permission from other titleholders whose lands have to be traversed.
“You click on the drawing tool, trace your road and MyProspects automatically recognizes all the titles it passes through and gives me a list, so I know who to call,” said Poehlman.
MyProspects is currently only available for Ontario, but Caracle Creek is already in discussions with Quebec and plans to roll it out to other jurisdictions. MyMaps, on the other hand, has already been set up for British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Newfoundland, Quebec, Nunavut and several other jurisdictions, including Mexico, Finland, and the Dominican Republic.
MyProspects is priced at $40 a month or $350 a year, although a free Lite version is also available without the bells and whistles.
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