Establishing a public registry for mining and exploratory licences of occupation information

The Provincial Recording Office maintains a mining claims registry that includes records, maps and information about mining claims and claim holders. This registry is accessible to the public through MLAS.

Currently, there is no similar registry for mining and exploratory licences of occupation. In order to access the information that the ministry has, a request to the Provincial Recording Office must be made in writing or in person.

Industry representatives have asked for the mining and exploratory licences of occupation information to be more easily accessible, similar to the mining claim information.

Licences of occupation include:

• Mining licences of occupation (MLO), which are licences that allow for the extraction of minerals located under beds of water.
• Exploratory licences of occupation (ELO), which are licences that allow for the exploration of tracts of land and/or land under water.

The process for issuing mining and exploratory licences of occupation under the existing Mining Act regime requires the approval of the minister. They are generally issued for areas that are not open to claim registration.

The creation of a public registry would allow the public to access this information directly themselves, like they can for mining claims.

The public registry would provide certainty to the public about the type of information that is available. It would allow the public to access the information in a more consistent, timely and efficient manner and assist research undertaken about Ontario’s mineral industry. For companies or financiers doing due diligence into potential acquisitions or financings, transactional costs may be reduced. 

Establishing this public registry requires amendments to relevant provisions of O.Reg. 45/11. This will enable the proclamation of related provisions of the Mining Act that were passed as part of Bill 276. This will be timed concurrently with a technical update to MLAS.

Currently, the public pays a fee of $15/hour for ministry staff to gather the mining and exploratory licence of occupation information requested and produce a report. The ministry receives approximately 10 requests per month.

By establishing a public registry, this will be an approximate savings of $1,800 annually.

For companies or financiers doing due diligence into potential acquisitions or financings, transactional costs would be reduced.