Recovery of Minerals

Comments were received from the public and industry and have been summarized below.

Summary of comments and ministry responses

One commentator expressed interest in the Ministry’s Environmental Values Statement and information on how the requirements of the Environmental Bill of Rights are integrated in the Ministry’s decision-making.

Response: The Ministry’s Statement of Environmental Values is publicly available and outlines its commitment to the environment and promoting a strong, safe and sustainable minerals industry by providing a predictable and efficient regulatory regime, generating valuable geological information, supporting Aboriginal consultation, and ensuring safe, environmentally sound mineral development and rehabilitation.

Another commentator noted that cyanide be permitted for use in gold tailings reclamation projects, especially as technology is readily available to eliminate any short-term concerns with cyanide toxicity. Since cyanide degrades in natural conditions, short term use at tailings sites would have no long-term impact on environment.

Response: The Ministry recognizes that mineral recovery may involve novel technologies. As a result, the approach the Ministry is considering would focus on the potential impacts and results of recovery rather than identifying specific processes for recovery. This would support flexibility and permit the adoption of novel technologies as they develop.

Another commentator sought clarity on several components of the proposal, including:

• the terms used to describe the materials from which minerals would be recovered
• how novel technologies and the proprietary information surrounding them would be considered in a recovery and remediation plan
• the holder of liability when minerals are being recovered on a mine site

Response: The Mining Act establishes the recovery permit system and uses the phrase "tailings and other waste materials". This was intended to be broad to ensure all waste products (e.g. waste rock piles) would be captured. The Ministry does not necessarily expect a recovery and remediation plan to disclose confidential information or trade secrets. A recovery and remediation plan would need to provide adequate information to demonstrate how the land would be remediated to ensure protection of the environment, and public health and safety. The legal liabilities associated with a mine site on which a recovery permit activity is occurring will depend on the circumstances of any given scenario, but it is notable that a recovery permit does not exempt the permit holder from legal and regulatory obligations under other statutes, and that the issuance of a recovery permit does not constitute a “contrary intention” for the purposes of subsection 153.3 of the Mining Act.

In addition, the commentor notes that baseline studies for recovery projects are a challenge, especially when considering the different types of mine sites (i.e., active mine site versus an orphaned mine site); that requirements for a remediation plan should focus on the outcomes rather than specific remediation processes as this would better address the specifics of each site; and that recovery projects should seek to holistically reprocess and remediate sites, for example seeking innovative ways to use tailings for carbon sequestration through carbon mineralization.

Response: A recovery and remediation plan is required to describe the project and set out how the land would be remediated such that condition of the land with respect to public health and safety and the environment is “comparable to or better than” it was before the recovery. The proponent would need to determine what information is necessary to demonstrate this, and baseline studies may not always be necessary. The Ministry is not considering specific standards for remediation; rather the requirement would be to bring a site to a state that is “comparable to or better than” it was before the activity; however, sufficient detail on processes is required in the plan for the Ministry to understand the nature and content of the remediation work that is proposed to be done.

Next steps

After consideration of what was heard during the initial consultation period and developing the proposals further, the Ministry is providing additional details and seeking further feedback on the proposed regulatory amendments which can be found at the following posting (https://ero.ontario.ca/notice/019-7724).