Date: 2026-04-08
Purpose: Where we get data, what's worth paying for
### 1. BC Ministry of Energy and Mines WFS — $0/mo
What it is: Official claim tenure registry. Every mineral and placer claim in BC, updated daily.
How we use it: bc_mining_fetch.py hits the BC WFS endpoint, parses tenure records, geocodes centroids, stores in claims.db.
Strengths:
Weaknesses:
Moat: None. Anyone can fetch this.
Status: Keep. This is the foundation.
### 2. BC EAO EPIC — $0/mo
What it is: Environmental Assessment Office project database. Every major BC mining project in the EA process.
How we use it: eao_scraper.py polls projects.eao.gov.bc.ca/api/public/recentActivity every 6 hours. Alert triggers on FN agreement types.
Strengths:
Weaknesses:
Moat: Scraping + FN relationship synthesis. Anyone can scrape the API; the synthesis is our work.
Status: Keep and expand. This is the FN data backbone.
### 3. Yahoo Finance — $0/mo (rate-limited)
What it is: Free stock price data via query1.finance.yahoo.com/v8/finance/chart/
How we use it: fetch_stock_prices() in eao_scraper.py pulls TSX/TSX-V prices on demand.
Strengths:
Weaknesses:
Moat: None.
Status: Keep as is. Upgrade only if adding many more tickers.
### 4. NRCan Indigenous Mining Agreements — $0/mo (NEW DISCOVERY)
What it is: Canadian federal government open data portal has an Indigenous Mining Agreements dataset — downloadable, free, covers agreements across Canada.
URL: https://open.canada.ca/data/en/dataset/488faf70-b50b-4749-ac1c-a1fd44e06f11
Formats: CSV, ESRI File Geodatabase, interactive map
What it contains:
Strengths:
Weaknesses:
Moat: Adding this to our dataset adds coverage breadth we can't easily get elsewhere.
Action: Download this dataset and cross-reference against our BC companies. Integrate into the FN relationship scoring. HIGH VALUE — do this next week.
### 5. GEO.CA Indigenous Mining Agreements Active Map — $0/mo
What it is: https://geo.ca/economy/indigenous-mining-agreements-active/
What it is: An interactive map of Canada's active indigenous mining agreements, powered by NRCan data but with better UX.
Strengths: Good for verification and discovery.
Weaknesses: No API. Must manually cross-reference.
Status: Use for research verification.
### 6. SFU Impact Benefit Agreement Database — $0/mo
What it is: Simon Fraser University has an IBA database covering BC mining agreements, with particular focus on Mount Polley and other Cariboo-area agreements.
URL: https://www.sfu.ca/rem/planning/research/iba/database.html
What it contains:
Strengths:
Weaknesses:
Action: Download and cross-reference.
### 7. SEDAR+ — $0/mo (basic), paid for bulk
What it is: Canadian securities filings repository. Material agreements must be disclosed here.
URL: https://www.sedarplus.ca
Strengths:
Weaknesses:
Moat: None at basic level.
Status: Keep using free search for specific company research. Don't pay for bulk access yet.
### 8. Press Releases / GlobeNewswire — $0/mo
What it is: Company announcements of FN agreements, EA milestones, drilling results.
How we use it: FN Watch triggers on EAO activity; press releases are manual FN research.
Strengths:
Weaknesses:
Status: Manual but sufficient for now.
### Tier 1: Likely Not Worth Paying
#### TMX Datalinx (TMX Group)
What it is: Official Toronto Stock Exchange market data division.
What we'd get: Professional-grade real-time TSX/TSX-V prices, official company data.
Estimated cost: Not publicly listed — requires a sales call. Typically $500-5,000/month for professional access.
Verdict: Not worth it. Yahoo Finance gives us prices good enough for a $20-$75/month product. The difference in data quality doesn't translate to subscriber value at our price point.
#### Finnhub Stock API
What it is: Financial data API with a free tier (150 API calls/minute) and paid plans.
Cost: Free tier available; paid plans ~$50-500/month.
Verdict: Use the free tier. 150 calls/minute is plenty for our 6-8 tickers. Check whether TSX-V small caps are supported in free tier before paying.
#### Costmine Mining Intelligence ($4,400/user/year)
What it is: The big institutional mining data player. Detailed operational, financial, and production data on thousands of mining companies and properties.
Verdict: Completely wrong for our market. This is for institutional investors spending $50,000+/year on research. At $20-$75/month, our customers can't afford this and we can't buy this. Skip entirely.
### Tier 2: Could Be Worth It (Later)
#### SEDAR+ Bulk Access (Professional Subscription)
What it would give: Systematic access to all NI43-101 reports, material agreements, and company filings.
Estimated cost: Not publicly listed. Industry estimates: $1,000-5,000/month for API access.
When it makes sense: Only if we build a Company tier ($200-500/month) with 10+ paying companies who need systematic filing monitoring. Not yet.
#### BC Government Data Partnership
What it would give: Access to Crown consultation records, EA files, and government-FN correspondence via FOIPPA or direct data-sharing agreement.
Cost: FOIPPA requests are free; formal data-sharing agreements may require negotiation.
Verdict: FOIPPA requests are free for specific records. Pursue targeted FOIPPA requests for companies where we need FN engagement history.
### Tier 3: Definitely Worth Pursuing (Free)
#### NRCan Indigenous Mining Agreements Dataset
Cost: $0
Action: Download the CSV, import into Neo4j, cross-reference against our BC companies and FN organizations.
Timeline: This week.
Value: Adds federal layer to our FN dataset. Covers agreements we may not have found yet.
#### BC First Nations Energy & Mining Council (FNEMC)
What: Primary referral source for FN introductions. Also has FN mining agreement resources.
Cost: Free to access; relationship-building required.
Verdict: This is the single most valuable free relationship to build. A FNEMC introduction to Williams Lake FN or Taku River Tlingit is worth more than any paid subscription.
#### BC Crown-FN Consultation Records via FOIPPA
What: Crown consultation records for specific EA files.
Cost: Free per request (within reasonable limits).
Verdict: File FOIPPA requests for New Polaris (Canagold) and Spanish Mountain EA files. This gives us the actual government-FN engagement history.
### Keep (Free)
### Upgrade Path (When Revenue Justifies)
1. First: NRCan dataset (free, immediate value)
2. At 20+ paying subscribers: File targeted FOIPPA requests for key companies
3. At 10+ Company tier subscribers: Evaluate SEDAR+ bulk access
4. Never: Costmine, TMX Datalinx, institutional data providers — wrong market segment
### The Real Moat
The data sources are all free. The moat is:
1. Synthesis — connecting claims → FN agreements → EA milestones → stock prices
2. Curation — manually verifying FN relationship status, not just scraping
3. Local knowledge — Chris can confirm what's actually happening on the ground in Williams Lake
4. FN relationships — the dataset improves when FN communities correct it
No paid subscription creates any of those. Focus time and money on building the FN relationship dataset, not buying data.
1. Download NRCan Indigenous Mining Agreements CSV and import into Neo4j
2. Download SFU IBA database and cross-reference against BC companies
3. File FOIPPA request for New Polaris (Canagold/CCM.TO) Crown consultation records
4. File FOIPPA request for Spanish Mountain (SPA.V) EA file
5. Check Finnhub free tier TSX-V coverage — if it works for CCM.TO and SPA.V, switch from Yahoo Finance
6. Build NRCan FN agreement data into the FN relationship scoring
| Source | Current Cost | Recommended Change |
|---|---|---|
| BC WFS | $0 | Keep |
| BC EAO EPIC | $0 | Keep |
| Yahoo Finance | $0 | Keep (or switch to Finnhub free tier) |
| NRCan IMA | $0 | Download and integrate |
| SFU IBA Database | $0 | Download and cross-reference |
| SEDAR+ | $0 | Keep free tier |
| Press releases | $0 | Keep |
| FNEMC | $0 | Build relationship |
| FOIPPA | $0 | File targeted requests |
| TMX Datalinx | $0 (skip) | Don't pay |
| Costmine | $0 (skip) | Don't pay |
| SEDAR+ Bulk | $0 (skip) | Don't pay yet |
Total data cost: $0/month
Total paid subscriptions: $0
Value available for free: claims, EA milestones, FN agreements, stock prices