This consultation was open from:
June 10, 2019
to July 25, 2019
Decision summary
We reviewed responses received and have implemented our regulation proposals to amend the Mine Development and Closure Regulation, and the Mining Claims Regulation and revoke the Conversion of Legacy Claims Regulation.
Decision details
On June 10, 2019, a proposal notice was posted for a 45-day comment period to seek input on the proposed regulatory amendments including:
- Updating the Mine Rehabilitation Code in O. Reg. 240/00 with respect to tailings dams so that it refers to the most recent version of the Dam Safety Guidelines and related technical bulletins.
- Removing an outdated regulation (O. Reg. 454/17).; The regulation detailed how mining claims would be converted at the launch of Phase 3 of the Mining Act Modernization process.; The launch of Phase 3 and the conversion of mining claims occurred on April 10, 2018 so this regulation is no longer useful or necessary.
- Changes to the Mining Claims Regulation which includes the following:
- remove a restriction that prevented claim holders from merging or amalgamating mining claims, if there is an early exploration plan or permit in effect on any of the claims;
- insert in the Mining Claims Regulation further direction to claim holders on the process for disputing mining claims before a mining recorder; and
- set out some rules as to when the recorder can extend deadlines for clients whose mining claims are at risk of forfeiture while the Mining Lands Administration System is down.
As a result of the public consultation, the ministry received two letters in response to the posting of the proposed amendments on the Environmental Registry, both of which were out of scope as the letters were not related to the regulation proposals. The decision was made to implement the regulation proposals with no changes.
The amendments to the Mining Development and Closure Regulation and revoking of the Conversion of Legacy Claims Regulation were filed on December 2, 2019. Due to required changes to the Mining Lands Administration System, the amendments to the Mining Claims Regulation was filed on March 9, 2020.
Effects of consultation
The ministry received two letters in response to the posting of the proposed amendments on the Environmental Registry, both of which were out of scope of the regulatory amendments. As a result, no changes were made to the proposed regulations.
Supporting materials
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Some supporting materials may not be available online. If this is the case, you can request to view the materials in person.
Get in touch with the office listed below to find out if materials are available.
2nd Floor, 933 Ramsay Lake Road
Sudbury,
ON
P3E 6B5
Canada
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Contact
Nathan Hammill
5th Floor, 99 Wellesley St W
Toronto ,
ON
M7A1W3
Canada
Original proposal
Proposal details
The Ministry of Energy, Northern Development and Mines is proposing the following regulatory amendments/revocations:
Mine Development and Closure (Ontario Regulation 240/00)
Ontario Regulation 240/00, including the Mine Rehabilitation Code came into force in June 2000. The Mine Rehabilitation Code requires that all persons engaged in the design, construction, maintenance and decommissioning of tailings dams and other containment structures give due regard to the procedures and requirements in the Dam Safety Guidelines published by the Canadian Dam Association
The Mine Rehabilitation Code does not provide for updating to the most recent version of the Dam Safety Guidelines. This means the Dam Safety Guidelines that were in place in June 2000 are the ones that apply
The proposal is to amend Ontario Regulation 240/00, Part 4, Subsection 36 (1), regarding Tailings Dams and Other Containment Structures, so that it will refer to the most recent version of the Dam Safety Guidelines and its related technical bulletins.
Mining Claims (Ontario Regulation 66/18)
Adhering to the Mining Act and regulations can be a burden to clients. To reduce possible burdens to clients when managing mining claims on the MLAS, and to provide more flexibility to manage their mining lands, the following amendments are being proposed to the Mining Claims Regulation (Ontario Regulation 66/18:
- Merger and Amalgamation Mining Claims: Proposal to amend subsections 3(4)(d) and 4(4)(f) to allow claim holders to merge or amalgamate their mining claims that have a common plan or permit.
- Mining Claim Disputes: Section 48 of the Mining Act relates to the dispute of a registered mining claim. Proposal to amend the Mining Claims Regulation to include direction to claim holders on the process for disputing mining claims before a mining recorder.
- MLAS Outages, extensions of time: Subsection 138(2) of the Mining Act relates to deadlines clients must meet, if time expires when the MLAS application is not functioning. Proposal to amend the Mining Claims Regulation to include conditions that may apply for a mining recorder to grant an extension of time to prevent the forfeiture of mining claims when MLAS is down.
Conversion of Legacy Claims (Ontario Regulation 454/17)
On April 10, 2018, Phase 3 of Mining Act Modernization (MAM) was launched, including a system for province wide, online mining claim registration and a 24/7 online system to administer mining lands. As part of that modernization, all existing recorded mining claims (“legacy claims”) were converted into new, digital mining claims as of April 10, 2018.
Ontario Regulation 454/17 provided some detailed rules about how legacy claims would be converted under s. 38.2 of the Mining Act including due dates by which a claim holder must distribute assessment credits or make a payment in place to a mining claim to keep it in good standing, as well as how assessment work credits for legacy claims would be transferred dealt with in the conversion process
The proposal seeks to revoke Ontario Regulation 454/17, as it is no longer necessary because the conversion process was completed as of April 10, 2018.
Supporting materials
View materials in person
Some supporting materials may not be available online. If this is the case, you can request to view the materials in person.
Get in touch with the office listed below to find out if materials are available.
5th Floor, 99 Wellesley St W
Toronto ,
ON
M7A1W3
Canada
Comment
Commenting is now closed.
This consultation was open from June 10, 2019
to July 25, 2019
Connect with us
Contact
Nathan Hammill
5th Floor, 99 Wellesley St W
Toronto ,
ON
M7A1W3
Canada
Comments received
Through the registry
0By email
2By mail
0