PDAC welcomes changes to exploration in Ontario

Ontario’s mining community is welcoming further moves by the province’s newly elected government to cut red tape and make positive changes to exploration regulations.

Northern Development and Mines Minister Chris Hodgson recently announced that steps will be taken to clarify a liability issue that has been a thorn in the side of explorationists working in the province. The amended legislation, brought forward by Premier Michael Harris’s government, will make clear that a holder of an unpatented mining claim does not assume liability for any mine hazards already in existence on the claim.

The legislation will also provide a one-time, 12-month opportunity for holders of certain leased land who were caught in the transition from the old to the new Ontario Mining Act to take their leases back to claims status. This measure will allow these lease-holders to return liability for pre-existing mine hazards to the Crown.

John Hansuld, president of the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada, welcomes the minister’s announcement, saying it is “gratifying” that the government is responding to concerns that have been expressed by prospectors for some time.

“The legislation, as it stood, was unclear and provided no assurance that someone staking a claim would not get hit with a massive cleanup bill for the existing conditions,” he says. “Clarification of the regulations is what we were pushing for, and I am happy to say that clarification is what we got — and in a very timely manner — from the new provincial government.” He adds that the changes will also send a positive signal that the Ontario government wishes to encourage mineral exploration in the province.