New regulation and regulation amendments and withdrawals to support the modernization of the Mining Act

Updates

Proposed New Conversion of Mining Claims Regulation

The proposed new regulation is a key step towards implementation of MAM Phase III. Existing mining claims have been undergoing a transition process to make their boundaries and location as accurate as possible on the existing CLAIMaps system in preparation for those claims being converted to new, digital mining claims in the MLAS. MNDM will convert all existing recorded mining claims in Ontario to new digital claims all at once, on the “conversion date”, a date that will be set by a Minister’s regulation. The conversion date has not been definitely determined, but at present it is targeted for February 6th, 2018 and the MLAS will be fully launched on this date.

At conversion, existing mining claims (legacy claims) will be converted to cell claim(s) or boundary claim(s) and will be deemed registered in the mining claims registry in accordance with the Act. The basic rules for conversion are set out in the amendments to the Mining Act, which are not yet in effect, but details around certain aspects of the conversion process are to be set out in the conversion regulation.

Cell claims and boundary claims created as a result of conversion will have new mining claim numbers; and new records and abstracts for each cell claim and boundary claim will be created in the mining claims registry that will be part of the MLAS.

The anniversary date for some of the cell claims or boundary claims created will change. All assessment work credits in the bank and in reserve, on a legacy claim at conversion will be totalled and carried over. Claimholders will be able to transfer (these assessment work credits) after conversion.

Agreements, liens or other documents recorded on the abstract of an affected legacy mining claim at conversion, will be recorded on the corresponding abstract(s) of the cell claim(s) or boundary claim(s) that were created as a result of conversion.

Exploration plans or exploration permits in effect at conversion will continue in effect after conversion but they will apply to the same area as before – the area of the former legacy claim within the new cell claim or boundary claim. The Director of Exploration will notify the claimholder identified in an exploration plan or exploration permit of changes to the mining claim numbers as a result of the conversion.

Changes to current Ontario General Regulation 45/11

The current General Regulation 45/11 will be amended to reflect the MAM Phase III changes regarding a variety of things. It will provide details about the Provincial Grid (grid) as a digital representation of the province of Ontario that will be used to determine and reference the location of mining claims in Ontario.

In the new system, claimholders will have the ability to access the online system 24/7 to complete the Mining Act Awareness Program (MAAP) and to obtain or renew a prospector’s licence. The mining claims registry, which will be maintained by the Provincial Recording Office (PRO), will contain maps, claimholder information and abstracts of all active mining claims and these records and documents will be made available to the public through MLAS. The proposed changes to the regulation may include details as to how recorders can make amendments, deletions or additions to the mining claim registry.

The online MLAS will greatly reduce the amount of paper documents that are currently required to be filed with the PRO. Fees will be paid and collected through online transactions in the MLAS.

Some of the current administrative provisions of O. Reg. 45/11 relating to the filing of documents will be revoked and moved into Minister’s Directives. These Directives will set out how transactions are to be carried out, what information is to be provided, certain formats that may be required and how users will access the MLAS.

Miscellaneous provisions in O. Reg. 45/11 that refer to abandonment and voluntary surrender of a mining claim will be removed from the General Regulation and are proposed to be relocated in a new mining claim regulation. The Mining Act requires one remaining prescribed form, and it is proposed that it be moved to the General Regulation so that the Forms Regulation can be revoked.

Other amendments to the General Regulation will be made to reflect new terminology and the new cell claims and boundary claims.

Revocation of current Forms Regulation O. Reg. 44/11

The existing regulation lists two forms that are still prescribed under the Mining Act. One of those has become unnecessary as the provision to which it relates no longer exists. Other forms are Minister’s approved forms that are not required to be set out in a regulation and with the MLAS, there won’t be the old type of paper forms submitted; transactions will mostly be done with direct data entry into the MLAS or they will be set out as Minister’s approved forms. The one remaining prescribed form will be moved into the General Regulation, and this Forms Regulation will be revoked. This will help to streamline and reduce the administrative burden on clients.

Description of regulation

This proposal is for a new regulation to govern the conversion of existing mining claims into new cell-based mining claims, changes to the current General Regulation O. Reg. 45/11 and the revocation of the existing Forms Regulation O. Reg. 44/11. These regulations will support the implementation of amendments to Ontario’s Mining Act, made in Schedule 2 of Bill 39, the Aggregate Resources and Mining Modernization Act, 2017. These changes to Ontario’s Mining Act are part of the Mining Act Modernization (MAM) process that began in 2009 with Bill 173. MAM has been implemented in phases over time and these current changes are part of Phase III of MAM.

With MAM Phase III, Ontario will move from ground staking and paper staking of mining claims to online mining claim registration and a new electronic Mining Lands Administration System (MLAS). Clients will be able to manage their claims, and perform transaction 24 hours a day/7 days a week, by online access to MLAS. These amendments are not in force yet, while implementing regulations are being developed.

Purpose of regulation

The purpose of this proposal notice to notify the public about three proposed regulations, one amending an existing regulation, one revoking a regulation and one new regulation, under the Mining Act:

In addition, the purpose of this posting process is:

1. to advise the public of a new regulation providing details as to the process for converting existing mining claims to new cell claims and boundary claims.
2. to advise the public of changes to the current General Regulation and Forms Regulation.
3. to provide 45 days for the public to comment on the regulatory proposal, as outlined in this notice, by directing their comments online or to the contact person noted.

Public consultation

This proposal was posted for a 45 day public review and comment period starting July 11, 2017. Comments were to be received by August 25, 2017.

All comments received during the comment period are being considered as part of the decision-making process by the Ministry.

Please Note: All comments and submissions received have become part of the public record.