Across the mineral…

Across the mineral exploration industry, there is a colloquial understanding that data is generally difficult to discover and access in Ontario.

The MLAS system for claim staking and monitoring, and the precompetitive data system (OGS Earth) are outdated in terms of organisation and accessibility. These issues create a barrier to efficient mineral exploration and land management.

For examples of well organised data please refer to (1) the Yukon Geological Survey: https://data.geology.gov.yk.ca/; (2) the Geological Survey of New South Wales: https://resourcesandgeoscience.nsw.gov.au/miners-and-explorers/geoscien…; and (3) Finland https://www.gtk.fi/en/services/data-sets-and-online-services-geo-fi/nat….

As well as having a promotional function, pre-competitive geoscience data collection initiatives act to correct a number of negative issues. Positive effects include:

A. positive externalities, whereby the geological knowledge of a deposit may increase the probability and reduce the costs of the discovery of an analogue deposit;
B. public provision of geoscientific data, which acts to redress any advantage held by "insiders" who have preferential access to another explorer’s work/data;
C. improving the public good, i.e., facilitating and underpinning policy-making decisions and land use planning;
D. reduction of risk and uncertainty (financial) across the resources exploration industry, which may prevent exploration activity falling to inefficiently low levels;
E. harmonising of the data at provincial and continental level; and
F. public equality of access to information, and efficiency of data distribution.

Together these factors create an ecosystem where exploration groups can operate with confidence and in best practice.

In summary - it is my opinion that if Ontario wants to stimulate exploration in the critical minerals sector it should first focus on improving its data organisation and delivery, as these fundamentally underpin relevant downstream decisions across government, industry, and financing spaces.

S. Hood, PhD MSc PGeo