This consultation was open from:
September 22, 2022
to November 6, 2022
Decision summary
The ministry has decided to publish three new assessment work policies which will provide claim holders and decision makers with direction on: (i) work types; (ii) eligible costs; and (iii) how to allocate and distribute credits and make payments in place of credit.
Decision details
Assessment work requirements are imposed under the Mining Act, R.S.O. 1990, M.14 (the Act) and Ontario Regulation 65/18 (the Regulation); additional standards are set out in the Technical Standards for Reporting Assessment Work.
For claim holders to keep their claims in good standing, the required annual units of assessment work must be satisfied. Early exploration work must be performed and claim holders must submit an assessment work report through the Mining Lands Administration System (MLAS). The minister or their delegate reviews the report and assigns assessment work credits to eligible expenses, which are placed in the reserve of the mining lands on which the work was performed.
These three policies are intended to provide clarity regarding the assessment work system.
Assessment work policy – work types
This policy provides guidance to claim holders and decision makers on the types of work that are eligible to meet the annual units of assessment work requirements.
Assessment work policy – costs
This policy provides guidance to claim holders and decision makers on the eligible costs and expenses that can be included when reporting the amount of assessment work performed on mining lands. It also provides further details of the costs and expenses that are eligible for assessment work credits. A list of non-eligible costs is included as well.
Assessment work policy – allocating credit, applying credit and making payments in place
To meet their assessment work requirements, claim holders may allocate credit, apply credit or make payments in place. This policy explains these options and provides guidance.
The final policies are attached with this posting for your convenience.
Effects of consultation
The ministry received comments on the draft policies through the Environmental Registry, directly and by email, and comments were considered by the ministry. Comments were generally supportive of enhanced transparency on assessment work and plain language interpretations of the Regulation.
Commonly expressed themes were as follows:
- Capped rates for a claim holder’s own work and per diem rates
- Requirements for receipts and invoices
- Expansion of eligible costs
The ministry reviewed these comments and took them into consideration before finalizing and deciding to publish the policy. In comparison to partner jurisdictions, the requirement to conduct $400/cell of assessment work annually to keep a claim in good standing is competitive and remains very low. The rate caps and per diems are consistent with other jurisdictions. The ministry will continue the practice of reviewing receipts and invoices for all claimed expenses, where required, as this method provides assurance that all costs submitted are valid. The eligibility of costs for the assessment work policy were based on the related expenses outlined in the Regulation; at this point in time, the ministry is not proposing to amend the Regulation.
The ministry continues to review opportunities to improve its approach to assessment work, and the themes expressed in these comments will inform future reviews.
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.
933 Ramsey Lake Road
3rd Floor
Sudbury,
ON
P3E 6B5
Canada
Connect with us
Contact
Marc Bilodeau
Willet Green Miller Ctr Bldg B Level B3, 933 Ramsey Lake Rd
Sudbury,
ON
P3E 6B5
Canada
Original proposal
Proposal details
Assessment Work Policy – Work Types
The purpose of this policy is to provide direction to claim holders and decision makers on the types of work that are eligible to meet the annual units of assessment work requirements. This is pursuant to Mining Act, R.S.O. 1990, M.14 (the Act), Ontario Regulation 65/18 (the Regulation) and the Technical Standards for Reporting Assessment Work.
For claim holders to keep their claims in good standing, the required annual units of assessment work must be satisfied. Early exploration work must be performed and claim holders then must submit an assessment work report through the Mining Lands Administration System (MLAS). The Minister or their delegate reviews the report and assigns assessment work credits to eligible expenses, which are placed in the reserve of the mining lands on which the work was performed.
Assessment Work Policy – Costs
The purpose of this policy is to provide direction to claim holders and decision makers on the eligible costs and expenses that can be included when reporting the amount of assessment work performed on mining lands. A list of non-eligible costs is also included. This is pursuant to the Act and Regulation.
The Regulation sets out the eligible costs and expenses that may be used to determine the amount of assessment work credits to assign to the work performed. This policy provides further details of the costs and expenses that are eligible for assessment work credits.
Assessment Work Policy – Allocating Credit, Applying Credit and Making Payments in Place
The purpose of this policy is to provide direction to claim holders and decision makers on what their options are for meeting their assessment work requirements and how credits can be applied. Claim holders may allocate credit, apply credit or make payment in place. This is pursuant to the Act and Regulation.
Ministry staff review the assessment work reports for adherence to the Ministry’s Technical Standards, including the validity and amounts of claimed costs. These reviews must be completed within 90 days of submission. If not reviewed in that time period, the submitted expenses are deemed to be approved as is under O. Reg 65/18. This introduces risk that invalid costs are applied to the claims as credit, which keeps claims in good standing while reducing the amount of actual exploration work that is being completed.
Approved assessment work credits are placed in the reserve for mining lands and can then be distributed to a mining claim to satisfy the claim’s annual assessment work requirements.
The draft policies are attached with this posting for further viewing. Comments can be submitted for any or all of the policies.
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.
Willet Green Miller Ctr Bldg B Level B3, 933 Ramsey Lake Rd
Sudbury,
ON
P3E 6B5
Canada
Comment
Commenting is now closed.
This consultation was open from September 22, 2022
to November 6, 2022
Connect with us
Contact
Scott Kaldeway
Willet Green Miller Ctr Bldg B Level B3, 933 Ramsey Lake Rd
Sudbury,
ON
P3E 6B5
Canada
Comments received
Through the registry
18By email
4By mail
0