Seeking Input on…

Seeking Input on Opportunities to Improve Ontario’s Mineral Exploration Assessment Work Regime
INITIATIVE: Annual Work Requirement

I think that the current $400/cell claim annual work requirement is ok and should not be increased and is sufficient to complete work annual on the property. If it was increased, more claims would be dropped due to the inability of the claim holder to raise money. Commodity prices are cyclical and some years it is impossible to raise money for the commodity on the property. There is also small prospectors who option properties based on the current annual work requirements if these the annual work requirement changes significantly, then the optionee would not be spending enough to keep the claim the burden would fall on the prospector.

INITIATIVE: Grass Roots Prospecting Double Credit Incentive
I really like this incentive and it encourages boots on the ground work which is the only way to make discoveries rather than airborne geophysics or drilling the same small area over and over again. This also encourages small prospectors to work on the ground. If you remove this, small prospectors will likely not work on the ground and drop the claims. They can’t raise money through the markets. Allowing double credit for prospecting for the first two years of claim registration is not too bad compromise. I want to keep the double credit.

INITIATIVE: Daily Rate/Sweat Equity
The current rate of $350/person per day would only cover a junior geologist. You can’t hire a senior geologist for this rate. I would double it to $700/d for a senior geologist based on 5 years of experience.

INITIATIVE: Credits in Reserve
Absolutely, do not take away credits in reserve!!! Significant credits are accumulated during a drill program and these also result in significant increase in knowledge on the property. An exploration company is not going to run a drill program if they are going to lose the credits. One year the exploration company raises a lot of money for a drill program, but the next year the commodity price drops and they can’t raise any. They need the reserve to keep the property with decent chances of success. Please keep the status quo.

INITIATIVE: Increasing work types, geoscience data and related expenses eligible for assessment work credits
1. Yes add historic data compilation and AI interpretation to assessment credit eligible list. This is a new look at old data and can identify new exploration targets.
2. No why would you get credit twice for the same assay invoice?
3. Overflight always happens because the helicopter has to fly to the property boundary and then fly off the property to turn around for the next flight line. This is just the cost of doing the survey and should be included within a reasonable amount of distance for a helicopter to turn around.
4. Yes, please…..assessment filing could include raw datasets for geophysics survey. Over time these datasets get lost and can’t be found or used by subsequent exploration companies. I like the idea of extra credit for submitting raw datasets. Some exploration companies want to keep the raw datasets secret and don’t want their neighbours looking at them and learning from them.
5. Yes….cost to demobe geologists between provinces should be included. I hire geologists from Manitoba but can’t use the cost of them travelling to the Ontario border. Definitely include costs between Manitoba-Ontario-Quebec as the neighbouring provinces. I would not use international travel to Ontario for credit.
6. One of my pet peeves is logistics planning takes me at least one week but is not included as credit. Getting supplier quotes, booking flights and hotels. Checking access in advance of a program. Looking at google earth to identify outcrops to be ground truthed, preparing maps…..etc….Geologists can’t go into the field wondering around lost with no maps and no idea of where the outcrops are on day one.

INITIATIVE: Proof of Work/ Expense Verification
I think that large receipts like geologist labour, drill invoice, hotel and truck rentals should be submitted as part of assessment filing to prove that it was completed at that cost. However, submitting receipts for each Tim Horton’s coffee is just silly. Geologist often lose meal receipts, so a per diem per day for meals is reasonable. Hotel costs can vary widely depending on the number of stars and hotels will give receipts. In remote locations costs are significantly higher than in a city. I don’t like using industry standard rates set by the Ministry because I am sure that they will be set below the actual cost and it will be a never ending fight to get the actual credit.

INITIATIVE: Service Standards and Reporting Processes
Industry standard of when the assessment report will be approved by. This is in place for permits and plans.
A standard within which MNDM will return a call/email. Sometimes I leave messages and never hear back and other times they phone me back quickly.

INITIATIVE: Submittable Templates for Assessment Work and Guideline
Templates are good for assessment reporting. I have been writing assessment reports for years so I have my own, but others would like one.

INITIATIVE: Mining Lands Administration System (MLAS) Improvements

INITIATIVE: Resolving Issues Related to Boundary Claims and Maximizing Land Available for Mineral Exploration

I would like MNDM to digitized the boundary cell claim outlines. I have to manually do it myself based on the legacy claims which is a burden. Also it would be nice if MNDM could send out an email when the neighbour drops their boundary cell and you automatically get their ground to create a single cell. Open fractions in a cell which no one can stake…..confusing….. it would be nice if MNDM can help me fill these holes. Help with merging cell claims……so complicated that I need to hire a land manager to figure it out for me.