MINING NEWS: B.C. mineral claims at your fingertips

The age of claim staking — with all of its excitement, intrigue and even hand-to-hand combat — is over in British Columbia.

Now you can acquire mineral rights without even leaving your office.

The provincial government has joined two other Canadian provinces, Quebec and Newfoundland, in abandoning the centuries old tradition of actually driving stakes into the ground to mark out a claim and introduced the computer and an Internet connection.

Currently, the smallest claim in British Columbia is about 40 acres and costs about C$6.40.

But not all prospectors are enthusiastic about the change, arguing that big companies will drive into extinction the hundreds of adventurers who were prepared to tackle the wilds to secure rights.

They point to a recent staking rush in Quebec, where a small number of companies locked up more than 50 million acres.

—Gary Park