ERO Number 019-6692…

ERO Number 019-6692
Attention: Sophie Fortin, sophie.fortin@ontario.ca
March 27, 2023

Dear Ms. Fortin :

Thank you for the opportunity to comment on the draft “Hobby Mineral Collecting Guide”, which was posted on the Environmental Registry. This Guide is essential to clarify the legality of hobby rock and mineral collecting in the context of the changes that were made to the Mining Act when it was modernized.

We have been keenly awaiting the posting of this document since a draft was shared with our club in 2014. Although we are pleased that the long-awaited guide has finally been posted by the Ministry of Mines, we have concerns about some of its contents.

I am writing to you on behalf of the Nipissing Rock and Mineral Club. The Mineral Collecting Guide will influence if, how and where our 178 members will be able to collect rocks and minerals in Ontario, something that we have done as a club continuously for more than 65 years. This is a pursuit that enables families and individuals of all ages to enjoy the outdoors, and to learn about rocks, minerals, fossils, geology and mining. Moreover, rockhounds contribute to local economies when they participate in collecting trips. The following are our concerns:

1) Guide vs Policy - The document is entitled a “Guide” but it is described on the registry as a “Policy”. We believe the title should be changed to “Hobby Mineral Collecting Policy” so there is no confusion about its status.

2) Land Withdrawn from Staking - We understood that the draft policy that was shared by the Ministry with rock and mineral clubs in 2014 was written to ensure that collecting could occur in parts of southern Ontario that were “withdrawn from staking” under the updated mining act because the surface rights were privately held and the mining rights were not. This applies to a very large area where we have collected for decades, including in the vicinity of Bancroft and Haliburton. However, the draft guide has excluded the provision that would make it legal to collect on such sites. Please modify the Guide to ensure that collecting on such sites is possible with the permission of the landowner.

3) Fossils and Panning - The draft Guide does not mention panning or fossil collecting. Please include a statement that says “For the purposes of this Policy, “panning” and “fossil collecting” are interchangeable with, and mean the same thing as hobby mineral collecting”.

4) Where Collecting Cannot be Done - On p. 4, the Guide says “In general, hobby mineral collecting cannot be done on lands where the mining rights are not open for mining claim registration.” This suggests that hobby collecting cannot be done on already claimed land (which is technically not “open”), leased land, or patented land, even with the permission of the landowner. Please change the wording to clarify this.

5) Where Permission is Not Required – There is no statement in the Guide explaining that permission to collect on Crown land is not required if it is open for staking and there is no existing claim on it. Please add this statement on p. 4.

6) Selling of Specimens – P. 3 suggests that the selling of any mineral specimen collected under the Guide is prohibited, but swapping is allowed. This would prevent club members, who are not dealers and who do not have commercial operations, from obtaining specimens from other hobby collectors to build their own collections, unless it is done by “swapping”. Those who are new to the hobby who have nothing valuable to “swap” will have great difficulty building their collections. Please add a statement that allows sales to happen on a small, non-commercial scale for such a purpose.

7) Additional Information is Needed – On p. 6, the Guide says it is the responsibility of the hobby mineral collector to find out the status of the land, to obtain permission, permits etc., but there is no information on how to do this. The only contact given is the general Ministry of Mines phone number and its surface mail address. The Ministry has excellent web sites and resources that could help; please include a “where to find information” section to assist us in this process.

8) Tools – On. p. 3, the Guide seems to prohibit the use of power tools under all circumstances. A small, portable, power saw can help greatly to extract a specimen from a large rock or a rock wall without excessively damaging it or the rest of the geological feature. Please add “small, portable power saw” to the list of acceptable tools on p. 3.

Thank you for the opportunity to comment on this much-needed Policy. We look forward to seeing it in its finished form!

Sincerely,

Nipissing Rock and Mineral Club Inc.