Program covers the mining sequence, claim staking, early exploration and aboriginal consultation
Until now, anyone 18 years of age or older with a photo ID and $25.50 could obtain an Ontario prospector’s licence. Now, applicants also have to complete an online educational program to ensure that they aware of the Mining Act and Mining Act regulations.
The Mining Act Awareness Program must be completed by anyone applying for or renewing a prospector’s licence and has been in effect since November 1st.
The program provides basic information on the mining sequence, staking claims, early exploration and aboriginal consultation requirements. It’s free of charge, delivered online in English or French and takes between 45 minutes and an hour to complete, said John Laporte, a lands technician with the Ministry of Northern Development and Mines.
“It’s not a pass-or-fail test,” explained Laporte. “You just read through it and answer some multiple choice questions at the end of each section. The program tells you if you make a mistake and allows you to go back and correct it. When all the questions are answered correctly, you move on to the next section.”
Upon successful completion, the program generates a confirmation number that will have to be supplied by the applicant when applying for or renewing a licence.
Anyone applying for or renewing a prospector’s licence must complete the program first, but all existing licence holders have to complete it by November 1, 2014. Failure to comply will invalidate a licence, preventing the individual from staking or recording mining claims. However, since there is no requirement to have a valid prospector’s licence to hold a mining claim, recorded claims already held will remain in good standing.
Licence holders will be required to complete the awareness program every five years prior to renewal as it will be updated to reflect changes to the Mining Act and its regulations over time.
Lifetime prospectors who have held a licence for 25 years and aren’t required to renew will also have to complete the awareness program by November 1, 2014.
To accommodate prospectors who don’t have Internet access or aren’t comfortable completing the program online, classroom sessions have been offered at geoscience symposiums and prospector association conferences across Northern Ontario, said Laporte.
In addition to prospectors, so-called “qualified supervisors,” who are required to sign off on exploration plans and exploration permit applications, also have to successfully complete the program.
There are also new rules affecting assessment work credits and the requirement for supplying GPS data.
Effective November 1, 2012, all applications to record a mining claim on unsurveyed lands must be accompanied by GPS co-ordinate data for all corner posts, witness posts and line posts used to indicate a change in boundary direction. The GPS data will eventually be used to delineate the location of a claim when the Ministry transitions to online map staking sometime in 2014.
Assessment work credits are now granted for aboriginal consultation expenses and the supply of GPS data for unpatented mining claims registered prior to November 1, 2012.
For the first unit of assessment work on a new claim, aboriginal consultation expenses may be submitted without geoscience assessment work. For subsequent units of assessment, aboriginal consultation expenses may only be submitted if geoscience assessment work has also been performed and is reported at the same time.
A $400 credit is allowed for supplying GPS data for claims registered prior to November 1, 2012.
Also new is a provision permitting cash payments in lieu of assessment work, with the exception of the first unit of required assessment and in consecutive assessment years.
.jpg;w=120;h=80;mode=crop)