Registry number: ERO 019…

Registry number: ERO 019-6692

It is nice to see the proposed Guide for Hobby Mineral Collectors posted by the Ministry of Mines
on the Environmental Registry.
Hobby mineral collecting is a key aspect to my upbringing. I have many fond memories of camping when I was younger, seeking out and learning about my next mineral find. This Guide for Hobby Mineral Collectors is something that has been needed for a long time. I am happy that this guide is going to be available to help me understand what I can do, and where I can do it.

Why is this document going to be a “guide” and not a “policy”. The 1990 “Mineral Collecting in
Ontario” was a policy, and the draft shared with the mineral collecting community in 2014 was a
“policy”. This new document should be a “policy”.

Clarification is needed where the Guide says, “open for claim registration.” Does it just refer to areas where claims can be staked, or does it refer to areas where claims have already been staked, too?

As I understood the draft policy that the Ministry shared with clubs in 2014, it was specifically written so that parts of Southern Ontario that were withdrawn from staking because the surface rights are privately held would be made available for hobby mineral collecting. In the version posted on the Environmental Registry, these areas are still off limits. It is important to make them available again, subject to the permission of the surface rights holders. These areas have many historic hobby mineral-collecting sites and are important to the local economies of communities like Bancroft and Haliburton.
Born in southern Ontario, having been to many mineral collecting trips, and running them. I can certainly attest to the numbers of people it can bring out. These are all people staying in Bed & Breakfasts, campgrounds, hotels, and enjoying the local stores and eateries.

The proposed guide indicates that I can only use hand tools to go collecting. Power saws are not listed as “hand tools” yet are used by many hobby mineral collectors to help ensure that minerals encased in large blocks of rock are not damaged while being collected. Please add power saws to the list of hand tools that can be used. This is very important when it comes to fossil collecting. Many of the fossils collected by hobbyist have been used in research studies.

I have been a mineral collector for a long time. Sometimes, I sell a piece that I have collected to another collector if the other collector doesn’t have anything for which I want to trade. Many hobby mineral collectors do this. We do not collect for commercial reasons and are not mineral dealers. Please include a clause in the guide that will allow us to continue this practice to build our collections. For example, it could say “the collector does not collect for commercial purposes and is not a mineral dealer.” The hobby mineral collector does not make a living through the minerals they collect. This terminology is commonly used for many professional designations. The amount earned by the hobby dictates the status from a hobby to a professional/dealer. This is used in photography.

I collect fossils, not minerals. I don’t know whether or not the Guide to Hobby Mineral Collecting is intended to apply to me to. Can this be clarified?
I have read through the Guide to Hobby Mineral Collecting posted on the Environmental Registry, and still don’t know whether I need some sort of permission to go mineral collecting where there are no mining claims, and no-one owns the surface rights. It would be helpful if this could be explained in the Guide.

I am a long-time hobby mineral collector and have used some of the Ministry of Mines online resources to identify places where I can find minerals, and to determine whether or not the areas have mining claims or are privately held. It might help new collectors if the Guide included more information about where to get this information, instead of just saying contact the Ministry of Mines for inquiries about hobby mineral collecting. I have American friends who came to Ontario to go mineral collecting before the COVID-19 lockdown. Does someone have to be a resident of Ontario to legally collect minerals here? If not, would the Guide to Hobby Mineral collecting apply to my American friends, too?