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O. Reg. 309/12: ASSESSMENT WORK


Published: 2012-10-02

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ontario regulation 309/12

made under the

Mining Act

Made: September 26, 2012
Filed: October 2, 2012
Published on e-Laws: October 3, 2012
Printed in The Ontario Gazette: October 20, 2012


Amending O. Reg. 6/96

(ASSESSMENT WORK)

1. Section 1 of Ontario Regulation 6/96 is amended by adding the following definitions:

“assessment work report” means,

(a) an assessment work submission form, in a form approved by the Minister, and

(b) a technical report applicable to the type of activity and any other required supporting documents for the activity or the expenses, as set out in sections 3.1 and 8 to 18.1 of this Regulation; (“rapport de travaux d’évaluation”)

“claim unit” has the same meaning as in Ontario Regulation 43/11 (Claim Staking and Recording) made under the Act; (“unité de claim”)

“unit of assessment work” means the annual assessment work requirement for a claim, except that the first unit of assessment work refers to the amount of assessment work required by the second anniversary date of the claim. (“unité de travail d’évaluation”)

2. Section 2 of the Regulation is revoked and the following substituted:

2. Until the recorded holder of a mining claim has met all of the requirements in the Act and the regulations to apply for a lease of the claim, including the payment of any required fee, the recorded holder of the mining claim shall continue to perform and apply on that claim the required annual assessment work.

2.1 (1) Subject to clause (2) (b), subsection (3) and section 2.2, the recorded claim holder shall perform and report assessment work in the following amounts: 

1. $400 per claim unit, before the second anniversary date of the mining claim.

2. $400 per claim unit in each subsequent assessment year of the mining claim.

(2) Assessment work shall be reported,

(a) where assessment work is performed on a claim, by submitting an assessment work report and any additional report or information required by this Regulation; or

(b) where assessment work is not performed on a claim and assessment work credit is being allocated to the claim from another mining claim, by including the allocation on the assessment work report submitted for that other claim.

(3) Where assessment work is not performed on a claim, the recorded claim holder shall submit the approved form,

(a) where assessment work credits are to be assigned to a mining claim from banked assessment work credits; or

(b) where assessment work credits are to be assigned to a mining claim from contiguous mining lands.

3. Subsection 2.1 (3) of the Regulation, as made by section 2, is amended by striking out “or” at the end of clause (a), by adding “or” at the end of clause (b) and by adding the following clause:

(c) where payment in place of assessment work is being made.

4. The Regulation is amended by adding the following section:

2.2 (1) Where payments in place of performing and reporting annual assessment work are permitted by the Act, the payments shall be credited at 100 per cent of the payment amount, subject to the following:

1. The payments must be credited only in the assessment year for which they are made. The assessment work credit for the payments cannot be banked or carried forward for future use.

2. The payments cannot be used for the first required unit of assessment work for a mining claim.

3. The payments cannot be used in an assessment year if a payment in place of assessment work of any amount was credited in the immediately preceding assessment year for the same claim.

4. The payments cannot be credited towards the units of assessment work required to apply for a lease of the mining claim under section 81 of the Act.

(2) Money paid in lieu of performing additional assessment work under subsections 81 (16) and 95 (5) of the Act is not subject to paragraphs 1 to 4 of subsection (1). 

5. (1) Subsection 3 (1) of the Regulation is amended by striking out the portion before clause (a) and substituting the following:

(1) Expenses incurred by the holder of mining land are eligible for assessment work credit if they are related to a type of activity that is eligible for assessment work credit under this Regulation, the activity has been carried out in accordance with the Act and the regulations and they are related to,

. . . . .

(2) Subsections 3 (2), (3) and (4) of the Regulation are revoked and the following substituted:

(2) The cost of rehabilitation work is eligible for assessment work credit if the rehabilitation work is carried out as part of another activity that is eligible for assessment work credit under this Regulation.

(3) Assessment work credit for eligible expenses, including eligible expenses where the assessment work is carried out personally by the holder of the mining land, must be consistent with industry rates for similar work.

(3) Subsection 3 (5) of the Regulation is revoked and the following substituted:

(5) Subject to sections 8 and 9, assessment work is eligible for assessment work credit and assignment on condition that the work has been performed after the recording of a mining claim.

6. The Regulation is amended by adding the following section:

3.1 (1) Expenses incurred by the recorded holder of a mining claim for providing Global Positioning System geo-referencing data for ground staked mining claims in unsurveyed territory are eligible for assessment work credit of $400 per claim unit if,

(a) they are for geo-referencing of,

(i) corner posts and witness posts, and

(ii) line posts that are used to indicate a change in direction of a claim boundary for a ground staked mining claim;

(b) the ground staked mining claim was recorded before Global Positioning System geo-referencing data was required for making an application to record a ground staked claim;

(c) the Global Positioning System data complies with standards that are satisfactory to the Minister; and

(d) the required technical report is submitted.

(2) Expenses incurred on or after the date this section comes into force by the holder of mining lands in conducting consultation with Aboriginal communities in relation to exploration activities proposed to be conducted on those lands are eligible for assessment work credit in accordance with the following:

1. The expenses are not subject to the time limits or reductions under subsections 4 (1), (3) and (4).

2. For the first required unit of assessment work for a mining claim, expenses may be submitted without accompanying geoscience assessment work. 

3. After the first required unit of assessment work, the expenses may only be submitted for assessment work credit if geoscience assessment work has been performed and is being reported at the same time for the claim.

4. The expenses cannot be credited towards the units of assessment work required to apply for a lease of the mining claim under section 81 of the Act. 

5. The required supporting documents for the expenses are submitted.

7. (1) The French version of subsection 4 (1) of the Regulation is amended by striking out “de jours”.

(2) The French version of clause 4 (5) (b) of the Regulation is amended by striking out “de jours”.

(3) The French version of subsection 4 (6) of the Regulation is amended by striking “de jours”.

8. Sections 5 and 6 of the Regulation are revoked and the following substituted:

5. Upon application, an extension of time under subsection 73 (1) of the Act may be granted for a period of not more than one year.

6. (1) All documents that are submitted with respect to assessment work credits under this Regulation must be filed in the office designated by the Minister.

(2) The Minister may reject all or part of the assessment work submitted for assessment work credit or may reduce assessment work credit if,

(a) the assessment work has not in fact been carried out as described in the technical report or has not been carried out on the mining land as described in the technical report; 

(b) the technical report is incomplete;

(c) the data presented in the technical report is not in a comprehensible form;

(d) the technical report is not accompanied by adequate technical support data as required by this Regulation;

(e) the expenses claimed for assessment work credit exceeds the industry rate for similar work;

(f) the assessment work is a duplication of assessment work previously performed on the same mining land and submitted for assessment work credit, except as permitted under clause 10 (1) (e) or subsection 10 (4);

(g) the data presented in the technical report consists predominantly of expressions of opinion or of compilations of previously published material or previously accepted documents, or of both types of compilations; or

(h) the type of expenses claimed are not eligible for assessment work credit. 

(3) If assessment work claimed in an assessment work report is rejected for assessment work credit or the credit for the assessment work is reduced, the Minister shall,

(a) notify the holder of the mining land, in writing, of the reason for the rejection or reduction; and

(b) include in the notice additional information or clarification on the reason for the rejection or reduction and what may be done to rectify the reason for the rejection or reduction.

(4) A revised report is deemed to have been submitted on the day the rejected assessment work report was submitted if the holder of the mining land files with the Minister, within 45 days after the date the notification under subsection (3) is sent, a revised assessment work report that satisfies the Minister that the reason for the rejection or reduction has been rectified.

(5) In addition to the reasons set out in subsection (2), the Minister may reject all or part of the assessment work submitted for assessment work credit if the holder of the mining land fails to verify the expenses claimed on the statement of costs within 45 days after a written request for verification is made by the Minister. 

(6) If no notification of rejection or reduction under subsection (3) or no request for verification of expenses is sent by the Minister within 90 days after the assessment work report is submitted, eligible assessment work described in the assessment work report is deemed to be approved for assessment work credit.

9. Subsections 7 (3), (4), (5) and (6) of the Regulation are revoked and the following substituted:

(3) Where assessment work has been done on mining lands that are contiguous to an unpatented mining claim such that the assessment work credits for that work may be assigned to the contiguous unpatented mining claim, the approved form shall be accompanied by a certified abstract of the holder’s title for the land or proof of a beneficial interest in the land. 

(4) The maximum value of the assessment work that may be assigned from an unpatented mining claim to a contiguous unpatented mining claim in any assessment year is $24,000 per claim unit up to a total of $96,000 per unpatented mining claim. 

(5) The maximum value of assessment work that may be assigned from mining land other than from unpatented mining claims in any calendar year is $1,500 per hectare of mining lands up to a total of $96,000 per unpatented mining claim. 

10. (1) The French version of subsection 8 (1) of the Regulation is amended by striking out “de jours” in the portion before clause (a).

(2) The French version of subsection 8 (1.1) of the Regulation is amended by striking out “de jours” in the portion before clause (a).

(3) The French version of subsection 8 (2) of the Regulation is amended by striking out “de jours”.

(4) The French version of subsection 8 (4) of the Regulation is amended by striking out “de jours”.

(5) Subsection 8 (5) of the Regulation is amended by striking out “in conformity with the Act” and substituting “in conformity with the Act and the regulations”.

11. (1) Section 9 of the Regulation is amended by striking out the portion before clause (a) and substituting the following:

9. Prospecting work carried out before the recording of a mining claim is eligible for assessment work credit if the holder of the claim submits,

. . . . .

(2) Clause 9 (a) of the Regulation is amended by striking out the portion before subclause (i) and substituting the following:

(a) a technical report,

(3) Subsclauses 9 (a) (i) and (ii) of the Regulation are revoked and the following substituted:

(i) identifying the mining land on which the prospecting was performed, its location and the means of access to it,

(ii) containing a key map showing the land prospected in relation to identifiable topographic features and township boundaries or in relation to established survey lines, stations or markers,

. . . . .

(4) Clause 9 (b) of the Regulation is amended by striking out the portion before subclause (i) and substituting the following:

(b) a legible plan of the mining claim at a scale between 1:100 and 1:5,000 showing,

. . . . .

12. (1) Subsection 10 (1) of the Regulation is amended by striking out the portion before clause (a) and substituting the following:

(1) The types of physical exploration work that are eligible for assessment work credit are,

. . . . .

(2) Clause 10 (1) (e) of the Regulation is revoked and the following substituted:

(e) recutting claim boundary lines.

(3) Subsection 10 (2) of the Regulation is amended by striking out the portion before clause (a) and substituting the following:

(2) Physical exploration work as described in subsection (1) that is submitted for assessment work credit must be supported by, 

. . . . .

(4) Subclause 10 (2) (a) (vii) of the Regulation is revoked and the following substituted:

(vii) if there is any recutting of claim boundary lines, identifying which of those lines were recut;

(5) Clause 10 (2) (b) of the Regulation is amended by striking out the portion before subclause (i) and substituting the following:

(b) a legible plan of the mining claim at a scale between 1:100 and 1:5,000 showing,

. . . . .

(6) Subclause 10 (2) (b) (vi) of the Regulation is revoked and the following substituted:

(vi) if there is any recutting of claim boundary lines, identifying which of those lines were recut, claim posts and topographic features; and

(7) Clause 10 (2) (c) of the Regulation is amended by striking out the portion before subclause (i) and substituting the following:

(c) a legible detailed plan of each of the workings at a scale between 1:100 and 1:5,000,

. . . . .

(8) The French version of subsection 10 (3) of the Regulation is amended by striking out “de jours”.

(9) The French version of subsection 10 (4) of the Regulation is amended by striking out “de jours”.

13. (1) Subsection 11 (1) of the Regulation is revoked and the following substituted:

(1) A geotechnical survey relating to geological, geochemical, geophysical, airborne geophysical or regional survey work is eligible for assessment work credit if a legible survey report is submitted as part of the technical report.

(2) Subsection 11 (3) of the Regulation is amended by striking out the portion before clause (a) and substituting the following:

(3) Any survey report submitted for assessment work credit must be accompanied by a legible map or plan that uses a scale between 1:10 and 1:5,000 or, in the case of a regional survey, between 1:5,000 and 1:250,000 and shows,

. . . . .

14. The French version of subsection 12 (1) of the Regulation is amended by striking out “de jours” in the portion before clause (a).

15. (1) The French version of subsection 13 (1) of the Regulation is amended by striking out “de jours” in the portion before clause (a).

(2) The French version of subsection 13 (3) of the Regulation is amended by striking out “de jours”. 

16. The French version of subsection 14 (1) of the Regulation is amended by striking out “de jours” in the portion before clause (a).

17. The French version of subsection 15 (1) of the Regulation is amended by striking out “de jours” in the portion before clause (a).

18. (1) Subsection 16 (1) of the Regulation is revoked and the following substituted:

(1) Exploratory drilling by core or non-core method, including diamond or core drilling, and other drilling such as percussion, reverse circulation and auger drilling, is eligible for assessment work credit if the holder of the mining land submits a legible technical report on the drilling, the drill hole logs, the drilling plan and a drill hole section.

(2) Subsection 16 (2) of the Regulation is amended by striking out the portion before clause (a) and substituting the following:

(2) The report on drilling must,

. . . . .

(3) Subsection 16 (3) of the Regulation is amended by striking out the portion before clause (a) and substituting the following:

(3) The drill hole logs must,

. . . . .

(4) Subsection 16 (3.1) of the Regulation is amended by striking out the portion before clause (a) and substituting the following:

(3.1) The drilling plan must,

. . . . .

(5) Subsection 16 (4) of the Regulation is amended by striking out the portion before clause (a) and substituting the following:

(4) The drill hole section must,

. . . . .

(6) The French version of subsection 16 (9) of the Regulation is amended by striking out “de jours” wherever it appears in the portion before clause (a).

(7) Paragraph 8 of subsection 16 (10) of the Regulation is revoked and the following substituted:

8. Assessment work credit will be given for all costs for materials and rental services and labour costs associated with drill core submission under this subsection, including the costs of palletising and placing the palletised drill core in the drill core storage facilities in accordance with the instructions of the resident geologist, if details of the costs are submitted along with the technical report on the drilling.

(8) Subsections 16 (13) and (14) of the Regulation are revoked.

19. Section 17 of the Regulation is revoked and the following substituted:

17. Beneficiation, geochemical testing or other special studies of assaying and analyses are eligible for assessment work credit if a technical report is submitted, which includes,

(a) a summary listing of all types of work performed, the cost of the work and the mining claim, lease, patent or parcel numbers of the land on which the work was carried out;

(b) where assays or analyses are reported, the assay certificates and a plan at a scale of between 1:10 and 1:5,000 clearly identifying the location of each sample by number, letter or grid coordinate designation and showing the assay results; and

(c) where assays or analyses are reported for core or non-core drilling, the intervals, in metres, at which the samples were taken.

20. (1) Subsection 18 (1) of the Regulation is amended by striking out the portion before paragraph 1 and substituting the following:

(1) The following are eligible for assessment work credit if accompanied by a technical report substantially in the form outlined in section 11 and adequate technical support data:

. . . . .

(2) Paragraph 8 of subsection 18 (1) of the Regulation is revoked.

(3) Subsection 18 (3) of the Regulation is revoked.

(4) Subsection 18 (5) of the Regulation is amended by striking out the portion before clause (a) and substituting the following:

(5) Information to be provided under paragraph 9 of subsection (1) must,

. . . . .

21. The French version of subsection 18.1 (1) of the Regulation is amended by striking out “de jours” in the portion before clause (a).

22. (1) The French version of subsection 19 (1) of the Regulation is amended by striking out “de jours”.

(2) The French version of subsection 19 (2) of the Regulation is amended by striking out “de jours”.

23. (1) The French version of the heading immediately before section 21 of the Regulation is amended by striking out “de jours”.

(2) Subsection 21 (1) of the Regulation is revoked and the following substituted:

(1) All documents that must be submitted for assessment work credit under this Regulation may be submitted through the Electronic Assessment System on the Ministry’s website in the formats described in subsection (2).

(3) The French version of subsection 21 (2) of the Regulation is amended by striking out “système informatisé d’enregistrement des travaux d’évaluation” and substituting “Système d’évaluation électronique”.

(4) Subsections 21 (3), (4) and (5) of the Regulation are revoked.

(5) Subsection 21 (6) of the Regulation is amended by striking out the portion before paragraph 1 and substituting the following:

(6) All documents submitted through the Electronic Assessment System on the Ministry’s website must satisfy the requirements contained in this Regulation, except that the requirement for a signature referred to in the following provisions of this Regulation does not apply:

. . . . .

(6) Subsection 21 (7) of the Regulation is revoked and the following substituted:

(7) All documents submitted through the Electronic Assessment System on the Ministry’s website must be received at the office designated by the Minister no later than 4:30 p.m. on the anniversary date.

24. Sections 22 and 23 of the Regulation are revoked and the following substituted:

22. If documents are submitted through the Electronic Assessment System on the Ministry’s website, revisions to those documents may be made by email or through the Electronic Assessment System. 

23. If documents are submitted through the Electronic Assessment System on the Ministry’s website and the submission cannot be received at the office designated by the Minister due to a failure of a Ministry server or other government computer equipment, the person submitting the documents must submit them no later than 4:30 p.m. on the anniversary date, in accordance with,

(a) the requirements for paper submissions contained in this Regulation; or

(b) the requirements for submissions by fax or other electronic means as set out in Ontario Regulation 45/11 (General) made under the Act.

Commencement

25. (1) Subject to subsection (2), this Regulation comes into force on the later of November 1, 2012 and the day it is filed. 

(2) Sections 3 and 4 come into force on the latest of the following:

1. November 1, 2012.

2. The day this Regulation is filed.

3. The day subsection 81 (5) of the Mining Amendment Act, 2009 comes into force.

 

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