Regulatory amendments related to retaining proceeds from the sale of samples taken from unpatented mining claims

Amendments to the Mining Act in Bill 276 enabled the creation of a “permit by rule” model, which would allow mining claim holders to sell the end product of a bulk sample, and retain proceeds, without seeking the minister’s permission, provided that prescribed conditions are met. 

The amendments in this proposal would prescribe those conditions, allowing Ontario to proclaim the Bill 276 amendments and bring them into force.

Prescribed conditions are anticipated to include:

• An advance notification requirement;
• Reporting requirements; and
• Details on the eligible costs that can be recovered from the sale of materials, beyond which any profits must be returned to the Crown until a claim is taken to lease.

If these conditions are not met, the claimholder would not be able to sell the end product of a bulk sample and retain proceeds without either obtaining the minister’s permission or first taking the claim to lease.

The proposed regulatory amendments are seen as beneficial by the ministry and by some members of the mining industry, as they will increase certainty regarding the retention of proceeds for bulk sampling projects. The proposed changes are not expected to result in impacts to the environment as they pertain to the permission to sell materials extracted for the purpose of testing without seeking minister’s permission. minister’s permission is still required for the extraction, as well as any other applicable regulatory requirements such an exploration plan/permit or advance exploration closure plan, which consider impacts to the environment.

The proposed amendments will streamline the approvals processes and provide clarity regarding the requirements for the retention of proceeds. This will ultimately reduce red tape.

There are no anticipated costs, or cost-savings to proponents or the ministry to implement these amendments.

The proposed amendments are not expected to impact small businesses and are not expected to result in a change of annual costs. However, greater clarity regarding ability to sell bulk sample end product, and any retention of proceeds may help proponents offset a portion of the costs of early or advanced exploration on their mining claim.