Vol. 148, No. 8 — April 9, 2014
Registration
SOR/2014-68 March 28, 2014
TERRITORIAL LANDS ACT
FINANCIAL ADMINISTRATION ACT
Northwest Territories Mining Regulations
P.C. 2014-306 March 27, 2014
Whereas, pursuant to paragraph 24(b) of the Territorial Lands Act (see footnote a), the proposed Northwest Territories Mining Regulations were published in the Canada Gazette, Part I, on June 29, 2013, substantially in the annexed form, and a reasonable opportunity was afforded to interested persons to make representations to the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development with respect to the proposed Regulations;
Therefore, His Excellency the Governor General in Council, on the recommendation of the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development and the Treasury Board, pursuant to sections 8, 12 and 23 (see footnote b) of the Territorial Lands Act (see footnote c) and paragraphs 19(1)(a) (see footnote d) and 19.1(a) (see footnote e) and, considering that it is in the public interest to do so, subsection 23(2.1) (see footnote f) of the Financial Administration Act (see footnote g), makes the annexed Northwest Territories Mining Regulations.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
(This table is not part of the Regulations.)
NORTHWEST TERRITORIES MINING REGULATIONS
INTERPRETATION
1. Definitions
APPLICATION
2. Northwest Territories Mining District
LICENCE TO PROSPECT
3. Issuance of licence
4. Licence authorization — licensee or agent
PROHIBITIONS RESPECTING PROSPECTING, STAKING AND MINING
5. Lands not open for prospecting or staking
6. Surface rights — prohibition respecting entry
7. Prohibition on removing minerals
PROSPECTING PERMITS
8. Prospecting permit zones
9. Application for prospecting permit
10. Zones excluded
11. Priority
12. Duration of prospecting permits
13. Notice respecting prospecting permits
14. Charges for prospecting permit
15. Report on work to obtain remission
16. Request for deferral of charge and extension of permit
17. Grouping of prospecting permits
18. Application to record claim in prospecting permit zone
19. Remission of charge
20. Cancellation of permit on request
21. Cancellation of permit for non-payment
22. Effect of expiration or cancellation of permit
CLAIMS
SIZE, BOUNDARIES AND MARKING OF A CLAIM
23. Area of claim — excluded lands
24. Identification tags
25. Marking of boundaries
LEGAL POSTS
26. Requirements for legal post
27. Boundary post
28. Corner post
29. Witness post
STAKED CLAIM
30. Requirements to complete staking
31. Verification of staking
MOVING LEGAL POSTS AND MODIFYING INFORMATION
32. Prohibition
RECORDING OF A CLAIM
33. Application
34. Conflicting applications
35. Claim recorded under the law of another province
36. Claim lying partly in another province
DISPUTE RESPECTING RECORDING OF A CLAIM
37. Notice of protest
38. Inquiry by Supervising Mining Recorder
WORK REQUIREMENTS
39. Work required
40. Report of work or request for extension
WORK REPORTS AND APPLICATIONS FOR EXTENSION
41. Report on work
42. Application for extension of time
CHARGES TO HOLD RECORDED CLAIM AND ASSESS MINERAL POTENTIAL
43. Charge
EVALUATION OF REPORT AND COST OF WORK
44. Evaluation of report
45. Allocation of excess cost of work
46. Grouping of recorded claims
47. Issuance of certificate of work
48. Remission of charge
49. Insufficient work
50. Period of application of requirements
SUSPENSION
51. Suspension of payment and work requirements
REDUCED AREA
52. Application for reduced-area claim
CANCELLATION OF RECORDING OF CLAIMS
53. Notice of cancellation
54. Request for cancellation of recording
55. Date of cancellation
56. Reopening of lands
LEASE OF A RECORDED CLAIM
PLAN OF SURVEY
57. Survey required for lease
58. Extra charge for additional area — one claim
59. Recording of plan of survey
REQUIREMENTS RESPECTING LEASES
60. Application for lease
61. Annual rent for lease
62. Request for renewal of lease
63. Notice of overdue rent
64. Cancellation of lease by lessee
TRANSFER OF A PROSPECTING PERMIT, CLAIM OR LEASE
65. Transfer of permit
66. Requirements for transfer of recorded claim or lease
67. Cancellation of recorded claim or lease
ROYALTIES
68. Commencement of production of mine
69. Royalties on value of output of mine
70. Deductions
71. Change of owner or operator has no effect
72. Statement respecting minerals whose gross value exceeds $100,000
73. Contents of royalty return
74. Royalty returns for certain joint ventures
75. Notice of assessment of royalties
76. Record keeping
77. Condition on removal of minerals
GENERAL PROVISIONS
78. Recorded claim and lease subject to public works
79. Suspension — death or incompetency of claim holder
80. Extension on account of strike
81. When written notice is considered to be received
82. Recording of documents
83. Consultation of records
REVIEW BY THE MINISTER
84. Request for ministerial review
85. Prohibition respecting staking
TRANSITIONAL PROVISIONS
86. Definition of “former Regulations”
87. Recording of located claim
88. Certificates of extension
89. Report on work — former Regulations
90. Deduction from lease payment
91. Application for common anniversary date
92. Honorary licence
93. Applications for leases and renewals
REPEAL
94.
COMING INTO FORCE
95. March 31, 2014
SCHEDULE 1
SCHEDULE 2
INTERPRETATION
1. Definitions
PART 1
GENERAL REQUIREMENTS
2. Paper or electronic format
3. Identifying information
4. Details of contents
5. Maps or sections
GEOGRAPHIC LOCATION AND COORDINATES
6. Sample sites — coordinate systems
7. Method for determination of location
8. Elevation coordinates
MAPS, SECTIONS AND SAMPLES
9. Coordinates for geographic locations
10. Location of data collection sites
11. Cross-referencing of sample identifiers
INFORMATION ABOUT TYPES OF WORK
12. Excavation
13. Drilling
14. Geological mapping
15. Sampling and geochemistry
16. Geophysics or remote sensing work
PART 2
SIMPLIFIED REPORT
17. Simplified report
NORTHWEST TERRITORIES MINING REGULATIONS
INTERPRETATION
Definitions
1. (1) The following definitions apply in these Regulations.
“Act”
« Loi »
“Act” means the Territorial Lands Act.
“boundary post”
« borne de délimitation »
“boundary post” means a legal post, excluding a corner post and a witness post, marking the boundary of a claim or a plot of land that is being staked for the purpose of making it a claim.
“business day”
« jour ouvrable »
“business day” means a day other than a Saturday or a holiday.
“Chief”
« chef »
“Chief” means the Chief of Financial Analysis and Royalties Administration Section of the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development.
“contiguous”
« contigus »
“contiguous”, with reference to two or more claims, includes claims that were staked in a manner to be contiguous.
“corner post”
« borne d’angle »
“corner post” means a legal post marking the northeast, southeast, southwest or northwest corner of a claim or a plot of land that is being staked for the purpose of making it a claim.
“cost of work”
« coût des travaux »
“cost of work” means expenses incurred in performing work, but excludes all of the following:
- (a) transportation costs outside Canada for persons who performed work or for equipment used in work;
- (b) taxes and fees paid to any level of government or any institution of public government;
- (c) costs of staking and recording a claim;
- (d) legal fees;
- (e) administrative costs.
“depreciable assets”
« actif amortissable »
“depreciable assets” means buildings, plant, machinery and equipment.
“environmental baseline studies”
« études environnementales de base »
“environmental baseline studies” means a description of selected environmental attributes that existed before mineral exploration or mining development and that are used to establish a benchmark from which to measure changes to the environment. Selected environmental attributes include meteorologic, hydrologic and hydro-geologic attributes, surface water and groundwater quality, aquatic resources, soil profiling, ecosystems, wildlife and wildlife habitat, cultural heritage and archaeology.
“exploration cost”
« frais d’exploration »
“exploration cost” means an expense incurred for the purpose of determining the existence, location, extent, quality or economic potential of a mineral deposit in the Northwest Territories, but does not include an expense incurred for the purpose of bringing a mine into production.
“fiscal year”
« exercice »
“fiscal year”, in respect of a mine, means the fiscal period of the mine’s operator as that period is defined in section 249.1 of the Income Tax Act.
“holder of the surface rights”
« titulaire des droits de surface »
“holder of the surface rights” means the lessee or registered holder of the surface rights to the land.
“legal post”
« borne légale »
“legal post” means a post, tree or mound of stones set up in accordance with section 26 to serve as a boundary post, corner post or witness post.
“licence”
« licence »
“licence” means a licence to prospect referred to in section 3.
“mine”
« mine »
“mine” means an undertaking that produces or has produced minerals or processed minerals from lands within the Northwest Territories Mining District, and includes the depreciable assets that are located in the Northwest Territories and used in connection with the undertaking.
“mineral”
« minéral »
“mineral” means any naturally occurring inorganic substance found in the Northwest Territories Mining District, including frac sand, but excluding material the taking of which is regulated under the Territorial Quarrying Regulations.
“mining property”
« propriété minière »
“mining property” means
- (a) a recorded claim or a leased claim within the boundaries of which a mine or part of a mine is situated; or
- (b) a group of contiguous recorded or leased claims within the boundaries of which a mine or part of a mine is situated and
- (i) that belong to the same owner, or
- (ii) if the mine is operated as a joint venture, that are owned exclusively by the members of the joint venture or parties related to the members of the joint venture, regardless of the degree of ownership of each recorded claim or leased claim.
“mining reclamation trust”
« fiducie de restauration minière »
“mining reclamation trust” means a trust that is established for a mine and that is created
- (a) for the purposes of subsection 72.11(1) of the Mackenzie Valley Resource Management Act; or
- (b) as a condition of
- (i) a lease issued under the Territorial Lands Regulations,
- (ii) a contract with the Minister relating to the reclamation or environmental management of a mining property, or
- (iii) a permit issued under Part 3 or 4 of the Mackenzie Valley Resource Management Act or under the Territorial Land Use Regulations.
“Mining Recorder”
« registraire minier »
“Mining Recorder” means the person designated by the Minister as the Mining Recorder.
“mining royalty valuer”
« évaluateur des redevances minières »
“mining royalty valuer” means a person acting on the Minister’s behalf for the purpose of ascertaining the value of minerals or processed minerals produced from a mine.
“owner”
« propriétaire »
“owner”, in respect of a recorded claim, leased claim, mine or mining property, means any person with a legal or beneficial interest in the recorded claim, leased claim, mine or mining property.
“precious stone”
« pierre précieuse »
“precious stone” means a diamond, a sapphire, an emerald or a ruby.
“prescribed form”
« formule prescrite »
“prescribed form” means a form prescribed by the Minister under section 28 of the Act.
“processing”
« traitement »
“processing” means crushing, grinding, flotation, beneficiation, concentrating, milling, roasting, smelting, leaching, recrystallization or refining performed on minerals, and if the output of a mine is precious stones, cleaning and sorting that output.
“processing assets”
« biens utilisés pour le traitement »
“processing assets” means tailings disposal facilities and depreciable assets that are located in the Northwest Territories and that are used directly and exclusively in processing.
“related”
« liées »
“related”, in respect of two or more persons, means that the persons are
- (a) related persons within the meaning of section 251 of the Income Tax Act, read without reference to paragraph 251(5)(b) of that Act;
- (b) associated corporations within the meaning of section 256 of the Income Tax Act, read without reference to subsection 256(1.4) of that Act;
- (c) affiliated persons within the meaning of section 251.1 of the Income Tax Act; or
- (d) other than for the purpose of subsection 74(1), owners or operators of the same mine.
“Supervising Mining Recorder”
« registraire minier en chef »
“Supervising Mining Recorder” means the person designated by the Minister as the Supervising Mining Recorder.
“undeducted balance”
« fraction non amortie »
“undeducted balance” means
- (a) in respect of a depreciation allowance, the original cost of the depreciable assets in respect of which the depreciation allowance is claimed, less any depreciation allowances previously claimed in respect of those assets;
- (b) in respect of a development allowance, the undeducted balance of costs eligible for a development allowance under paragraph 70(1)(i); and
- (c) in respect of a mining reclamation trust contribution allowance, the total of all contributions made to the mining reclamation trust, less any allowances previously claimed.
“witness post”
« borne témoin »
“witness post” means a legal post set up in accordance with section 29 to provide reference to the corner of a claim or a plot of land that is being staked for the purpose of making it a claim.
“work”
« travaux »
“work” means
- (a) any of the following undertakings that are performed in respect of a recorded claim — including, for the purposes of subsection 39(2), before the recorded claim existed — or within the zone of a prospecting permit, for the purpose of assessing its mineral potential:
- (i) examination of outcrops and surficial deposits,
- (ii) excavation,
- (iii) sampling,
- (iv) geochemical study or analysis,
- (v) drilling,
- (vi) geological mapping,
- (vii) geophysical study or analysis,
- (viii) remote sensing, if one or more undertakings set out in subparagraphs (i) to (vii) have been performed to evaluate the results of the remote sensing and are reported on, together with the remote sensing, in accordance with subsection 15(2) or 41(1),
- (ix) the placing of grid lines in the field for the purpose of performing any of the undertakings referred to in subparagraphs (i) to (vii),
- (x) petrography,
- (xi) data analysis, map generation and preparation of reports that are submitted under these Regulations in respect of undertakings referred to in subparagraphs (i) to (viii) and (x);
- (b) any of the following undertakings that are performed in respect of a recorded claim:
- (i) the preparation of a plan of survey under paragraph 57(1)(a),
- (ii) the building of roads, airstrips or docks for the purpose of performing any of the undertakings referred to in paragraph (a); and
- (c) environmental baseline studies that are conducted in conjunction with undertakings referred to in subparagraphs (a)(i) to (vii) and (ix) or subparagraph (b)(ii), as well as analysis of the data resulting from the studies, map generation and the preparation of an appendix as required in paragraph 4(t) of Schedule 2.
Related person
(2) For the purposes of these Regulations, a person who is related to another person is considered to be also related to any person to whom the other person is related.
APPLICATION
Northwest Territories Mining District
2. These Regulations apply in respect of the Northwest Territories Mining District, the area of which is described in Schedule 1 to the Northwest Territories Mining District and Nunavut Mining District Order.
LICENCE TO PROSPECT
Issuance of licence
3. (1) The Mining Recorder must issue a licence to prospect to a person who has applied for one and paid the applicable fee set out in Schedule 1 if the person is
- (a) an individual who is 18 years of age or older; or
- (b) a company that is incorporated or registered under the Business Corporations Act, S.N.W.T. 1996, c. 19, or that is incorporated under the Canada Business Corporations Act.
Licence not transferable
(2) A licence is not transferable.
Licence valid for one year
(3) A licence is valid from the date of its issue until March 31 following the date of its issue or, if renewed before March 31, for a period of one year beginning on April 1 following the date of its renewal.
Copy of licence
(4) A licensee may, on request and payment of the applicable fee set out in Schedule 1, obtain from the Mining Recorder a copy of their licence.
Licence authorization — licensee or agent
4. (1) Only a licensee or a person authorized to act on behalf of a licensee may
- (a) prospect for the purpose of staking a claim; or
- (b) undertake the staking of a claim.
Licence authorization — licensee
(2) Only a licensee may
- (a) make an application to record a claim;
- (b) make an application for a prospecting permit;
- (c) be issued a written confirmation under subsection 15(11), a certificate of extension under subsection 42(2) or a certificate of work under subsection 47(1);
- (d) be issued a lease of a recorded claim or a renewal of such a lease; and
- (e) acquire, by themself or with another licensee, a prospecting permit, recorded claim or lease of a recorded claim.
PROHIBITIONS RESPECTING PROSPECTING, STAKING AND MINING
Lands not open for prospecting or staking
5. It is prohibited to prospect or stake a claim on any of the following lands:
- (a) lands used as a cemetery;
- (b) lands covered by a prospecting permit, a recorded claim or a lease of a recorded claim, unless the prospecting or staking is done by the permittee, claim holder or lessee;
- (c) lands for which the minerals have been granted by the Crown;
- (d) lands subject to a prohibition on prospecting or staking a claim under a land use plan that has been approved under federal legislation or under a land claims agreement;
- (e) lands that have been withdrawn from disposal or set apart and appropriated by the Governor in Council under paragraphs 23(a) to (e) of the Act;
- (f) lands that are mentioned in subsections 22(1) and 52(5), section 56, subsection 67(2) and section 85 that are not open for prospecting or staking.
Surface rights — prohibition respecting entry
6. If the surface rights to lands have been granted or leased by the Crown, it is prohibited to go on the surface of those lands to prospect or stake a claim unless
- (a) the holder of the surface rights has consented to entry for the prospecting or staking; or
- (b) a tribunal competent to deal with surface rights in the Northwest Territories has made an order that authorizes entry on those lands and that sets the compensation, if any, to the surface holder.
Prohibition on removing minerals
7. (1) It is prohibited to remove minerals or processed minerals from, or develop a mine within, the area of a recorded claim or a leased claim, except in the case of the holder of the recorded claim or the lessee.
Limitation respecting holder of a recorded claim
(2) It is prohibited to remove minerals or processed minerals whose gross value exceeds $100,000 from a recorded claim that is not subject to a lease issued under subsection 60(5) or a renewal issued under subsection 62(4), except if the removal is for the purposes of assay and testing to determine the existence, location, extent, quality or economic potential of a mineral deposit within the claim.
Prohibition on construction and disposal
(3) It is prohibited to erect on a recorded claim any building to be used as a dwelling or any mill, concentrator or other mine building, or to create any tailings or waste disposal area for the purpose of the commencement of production from a mine, unless the claim holder has been issued a lease of the surface rights to, or a grant of, the land covered by the claim.
PROSPECTING PERMITS
Prospecting permit zones
8. (1) The mining district is divided into prospecting permit zones based on the National Topographic System of Canada. Each zone consists of one quarter of the area shown on a claim staking sheet and is designated as the northeast, southeast, southwest or northwest quarter.
Definition of “claim staking sheet”
(2) In this section, “claim staking sheet” means
- (a) south of 68° north latitude, a map of zones bounded on the north and south by 15-minute intervals of latitude and on the east and west by 30-minute intervals of longitude; and
- (b) north of 68° north latitude, a map of zones bounded on the north and south by 15-minute intervals of latitude and on the east and west by one-degree intervals of longitude.
Application for prospecting permit
9. (1) A licensee may apply to the Mining Recorder for a prospecting permit for the exclusive right to prospect and stake claims in a prospecting permit zone specified in the application.
Requirements for application
(2) An application for a prospecting permit must
- (a) be in the prescribed form;
- (b) be received by the Mining Recorder between February 1 and close of business on the last business day of November before the year in which it is to commence;
- (c) be accompanied by payment of the applicable fee set out in Schedule 1; and
- (d) include a description of the work proposed to be carried out.
Payment of charge
(3) In addition, the licensee must pay to the Mining Recorder the charge referred to in subparagraph 14(a)(i) or (b)(i), as the case may be.
Remission
(4) If a charge has been paid under subsection (3) but no prospecting permit is issued with respect to the application, the charge is remitted.
Repayment
(5) Any charge referred to in subparagraph 14(a)(i) or (b)(i) that has been paid to the Mining Recorder and that is remitted under this section must be repaid by the Minister to the person entitled to it.
Zones excluded
10. A prospecting permit must not be issued in respect of a prospecting permit zone if, at close of business on the last business day of January in the year the permit is to be issued, either of the following situations exists:
- (a) there are recorded claims or leased claims or applications to record claims in that zone and the total area covered by those claims exceeds 1250 hectares;
- (b) there are recorded claims or leased claims in that zone and the total area covered by those claims is 1250 hectares or less and, in the five years preceding that day, either of the following has happened with respect to any of those recorded claims or leased claims:
- (i) work has been done with respect to any of the recorded claims and has been reported on under section 41 of these Regulations or under section 41 of the Northwest Territories and Nunavut Mining Regulations,
- (ii) there has been a transfer recorded under section 66 of a majority of the interest in the recorded claim or lease to a person who was not, immediately before the transfer, recorded as a holder of the claim or lease and who is not related to anyone who was, immediately before the transfer, a holder of the claim or lease.
Priority
11. (1) If two or more applications for a prospecting permit are made in respect of a prospecting permit zone, the Mining Recorder must, in issuing a prospecting permit, give priority to
- (a) firstly, applications presented in person at the office of the Mining Recorder on the first business day of November, in the order of their receipt;
- (b) secondly, applications — other than those dealt with in paragraph (a) — received by the Mining Recorder before the second business day of November, in the order of their drawing from a lottery of those applications; and
- (c) lastly, all other applications received after the first business day of November, in the order of their receipt by the Mining Recorder, or, if the order of receipt of applications cannot be determined, then in the order of their drawing from a lottery of those applications.
Issuance
(2) The Mining Recorder must issue the prospecting permit as soon as possible after January 31 in the year following the receipt of the application.
Identification number
(3) The Mining Recorder must assign an identification number to each prospecting permit.
Exclusion of claim from permit zone
(4) The area covered by a prospecting permit must be modified by removing the area covered by a recorded claim within that zone if
- (a) the claim was staked within the zone before the permit was issued; and
- (b) the application to record the claim was made after the permit was issued.
Duration of prospecting permits
12. A prospecting permit takes effect on the first day of February in the year it is issued and expires at the end of January
- (a) three years later, in the case of a permit in respect of a zone located south of 68° north latitude; or
- (b) five years later, in the case of a permit in respect of a zone located north of 68° north latitude.
Notice respecting prospecting permits
13. On or before the fifth business day in February, a notice must be posted in the Mining Recorder’s office identifying the zones in respect of which prospecting permits were issued that year in the mining district.
Charges for prospecting permit
14. The following charges must be paid for a prospecting permit:
- (a) for a prospecting permit zone located south of 68° north latitude,
- (i) before the close of business on the last business day of November in the year in which the application for the permit is made, an amount equal to the number of hectares in the permit zone multiplied by $0.25,
- (ii) before the start of the second year of the permit, an amount equal to the number of hectares in the permit zone multiplied by $0.50, and
- (iii) before the start of the third year of the permit, an amount equal to the number of hectares in the permit zone multiplied by $1.00; and
- (b) for a prospecting permit zone north of 68° north latitude,
- (i) before the close of business on the last business day of November of the year in which the application for the permit is made, an amount equal to the number of hectares in the permit zone multiplied by $0.25,
- (ii) before the start of the third year of the permit, an amount equal to the number of hectares in the permit zone multiplied by $0.50, and
- (iii) before the start of the fifth year of the permit, an amount equal to the number of hectares in the permit zone multiplied by $1.00.
Report on work to obtain remission
15. (1) A permittee who has done work in respect of a zone for which they have a prospecting permit may request remission of the charges the permittee has paid or is obligated to pay for that permit under section 14 by submitting a report on the work to the Mining Recorder no later than 60 days after the expiry of the permit.
Preparation of report
(2) The report must be prepared in accordance with Part 1 of Schedule 2, but if the report deals only with excavation, sampling or the examination of outcrops and surficial deposits — or any combination of them — and the cost of work is less than $10,000, the report may be a simplified report prepared in accordance with Part 2 of Schedule 2.
Signature of report
(3) The report must be prepared and signed
- (a) in the case of a simplified report, by the individual who performed or supervised the work; or
- (b) in all other cases, by a professional geoscientist or a professional engineer as those terms are defined in subsection 1(1) of the Engineering and Geoscience Professions Act, S.N.W.T. 2006, c. 16.
Associated documents
(4) The following must be submitted with the report:
- (a) a statement of work in the prescribed form;
- (b) a table setting out the cost of work by type of work, together with, for each type of work, details of the costs sufficient to enable evaluation of the report in accordance with subsection (8); and
- (c) a table setting out the cost of work that is attributable to each permit.
Details of costs
(5) In respect of the details of the costs,
- (a) if a permittee uses their own equipment to perform work, the cost claimed in relation to that equipment must not be more than the cost of leasing similar equipment for the period that the equipment was used in performing the work; and
- (b) if a permittee personally performs work, the cost claimed in relation to that work must not be more than an amount equal to the cost of engaging another person to do that work.
Record keeping
(6) The permittee must keep all supporting documents used to justify the cost of work and make them available on request by the Mining Recorder until the permittee has received a confirmation under subsection (11).
Work reported once
(7) Work reported in one report must not be reported in any other report.
Evaluation of report
(8) The Mining Recorder must evaluate the report to determine its compliance with Schedule 2 and the cost of work to be entered in a written confirmation of the cost of work under subsection (11).
Supporting documents
(9) If the Mining Recorder requests supporting documents that justify the cost of work reported, the Mining Recorder must notify the permittee in writing and must specify the cost of work for which such documents are requested.
Lack of justification
(10) If the permittee does not, within four months after the day the notification is sent, provide the supporting documents requested, the cost of work to which they relate must be considered to be unjustified.
Justified cost of work and allocation
(11) After completing the evaluation of a report, the Mining Recorder must provide to the permittee a written confirmation of the cost of work that has been justified in the report and, if a request for allocation of the cost has been made under subsection 17(5), of the amounts allocated in accordance with the request.
Request for deferral of charge and extension of permit
16. (1) If a permittee is unable to do work with respect to a prospecting permit zone because the permittee is, for reasons beyond the permittee’s control, waiting for a public authority to give an authorization or decision without which the work cannot proceed, the permittee may request an extension of one year for the payment of the charge under section 14 and the duration of the permit.
Requirements respecting request
(2) The request must be made in writing to the Supervising Mining Recorder before the next charge under section 14 is payable and must be accompanied by documents showing that the permittee is waiting for the authorization or decision.
Recording of extension
(3) If the requirements of subsection (2) have been met, the Supervising Mining Recorder must record the extension.
Grouping of prospecting permits
17. (1) Prospecting permits may be grouped for the purpose of allocating the cost of work done with respect to them if
- (a) there are no more than four permits in the group; and
- (b) the zones of the grouped permits are wholly or partly within a circle having a radius of 32 kilometres.
Requirements respecting request
(2) A request to group prospecting permits must be submitted in writing to the Mining Recorder. It must be signed by each of the permittees and be accompanied by the applicable fee set out in Schedule 1.
Grouping certificate
(3) If the requirements of subsections (1) and (2) are met, the Mining Recorder must issue a grouping certificate to each of the permittees.
Duration of grouping certificate
(4) A grouping certificate takes effect on the day on which the fee is submitted under subsection (2) and ceases to have effect on the earlier of
- (a) the 120th day after the day that any permit in the group expires or is cancelled, and
- (b) the day on which a new grouping certificate in respect of any permit in the group takes effect.
Allocation of cost of work within group
(5) On request by any of the permittees referred to in a grouping certificate, the Mining Recorder must allocate, in accordance with the request, the cost of work that has been justified in a report in respect of any of the prospecting permits referred to in the grouping certificate to those permits.
Limit on reallocation
(6) The cost of work allocated under subsection (5) must not be reallocated to any prospecting permit referred to in another grouping certificate.
Allocation not permitted
(7) The cost of work set out in a confirmation under subsection 15(11) with respect to a prospecting permit that was not, when the confirmation was provided, referred to in a grouping certificate must not be allocated to any other prospecting permit.
Application to record claim in prospecting permit zone
18. (1) A permittee may apply to record a claim wholly or partially within the permittee’s prospecting permit zone only if a confirmation under subsection 15(11) respecting that zone has been provided setting out a cost of work equal to or greater than the number of hectares in the permit zone multiplied by $0.25.
Exclusion of claim from permit zone
(2) When a claim referred to in subsection (1) has been recorded, the area covered by the claim no longer forms part of the permit zone.
Excess cost of work transferrable to claim
(3) If the cost of work that has been justified in a report with respect to a prospecting permit exceeds the charges remitted under subsection 19(2), the permittee may request the Mining Recorder to allocate the excess cost of work to work required under subsection 39(1) on a claim referred to in subsection (1). The request must be in the prescribed form and be accompanied by the fee for a certificate of work set out in Schedule 1.
Remission of charge
19. (1) If a confirmation in respect of a prospecting permit is provided under subsection 15(11), the portion of the charges paid or payable under section 14 that does not exceed the cost of work set out in the confirmation is remitted.
To whom remission is payable
(2) Any charge referred to under section 14 that has been paid to the Mining Recorder and that is remitted under this section must be repaid by the Minister to the person entitled to it.
Cancellation of permit on request
20. A permittee may submit to the Mining Recorder a written request for cancellation of their prospecting permit. The cancellation takes effect at the end of January after it is requested.
Cancellation of permit for non-payment
21. If any charge payable under section 14 is not paid when due, the prospecting permit is cancelled.
Effect of expiration or cancellation of permit
22. (1) The lands that were covered by a prospecting permit that has expired or has been cancelled are open for prospecting and staking at noon on the day following the first business day after the day on which the permit expired or was cancelled.
Temporary prohibition relating to former permittee
(2) For one year after a prospecting permit expires or is cancelled, the former permittee and any person related to the former permittee are not permitted to
- (a) apply for a prospecting permit for a zone, or apply to record a claim, that covers any part of the area that was covered by the expired or cancelled permit; or
- (b) acquire a legal or beneficial interest in a prospecting permit or claim referred to in paragraph (a).
CLAIMS
SIZE, BOUNDARIES AND MARKING OF A CLAIM
Area of claim — excluded lands
23. (1) The area of a claim must not exceed 1250 hectares and must not include any lands referred to in section 5.
Shape and boundaries of claim
(2) Every claim must, as nearly as possible, meet all of the following specifications:
- (a) it is rectangular in shape;
- (b) its boundaries run north, south, east and west astronomically;
- (c) the length of each boundary is 500 metres or a multiple of 500 metres;
- (d) the length of the longest boundary is not more than five times the length of the shortest.
Identification tags
24. (1) On payment of the applicable fee set out in Schedule 1, the Mining Recorder must issue a set of four identification tags, with the following inscriptions, for use in identifying the corners of a claim — “NE 1” for the northeast corner, “SE 2” for the southeast corner, “SW 3” for the southwest corner and “NW 4” for the northwest corner.
Reduced-area tags
(2) On payment of the applicable fee set out in Schedule 1, the Mining Recorder must issue a set of four reduced-area tags for use in marking the corners of a reduced-area claim referred to in section 52.
Identification number
(3) Each identification tag in a set must contain a unique identification number for the set.
Marking of boundaries
25. (1) The boundaries and corners of a claim must be marked by legal posts in accordance with sections 26 to 30.
Marking in treed area
(2) In a treed area, the boundaries of a claim must be marked along as much of the length as it is possible to mark by cutting underbrush and flagging or blazing trees.
LEGAL POSTS
Requirements for legal post
26. (1) A legal post must be one of the following:
- (a) in a treed area,
- (i) a post of sound wood planted firmly in an upright position and standing not less than one metre above the ground, with at least the upper 30 centimetres squared off so that each face of the squared portion is not less than four centimetres in width, or
- (ii) a tree found in position and cut off not less than one metre above the ground, with at least the upper 30 centimetres squared off so that each face of the squared portion is not less than four centimetres in width;
- (b) in a treeless area, a post described in subparagraph (a)(i) or a mound of stones that is not less than one metre in diameter at the base and not less than 50 centimetres in height.
Requirements when mounds of stones are used
(2) If a legal post is a mound of stones, then
- (a) a reference to a tag being secured to that post is to be read as a reference to a tag being inserted in a shatterproof and waterproof container secured in the apex of the mound; and
- (b) a reference to information being inscribed on that post is to be read as a reference to information being clearly and indelibly written on paper or inscribed on durable material and inserted in a shatterproof and waterproof container secured in the apex of the mound.
Boundary post
27. (1) Subject to subsection (2), boundary posts must be erected at intervals of not more than 500 metres along the boundaries of a claim.
Obstructions in boundary line
(2) If, because of the presence of a body of water or other natural obstruction or lands on which entry for staking has not been authorized by the holder of the surface rights, it is not practicable to erect a boundary post on the boundary line of the claim, a boundary post must be erected on the boundary line on each side of the body of water or natural obstruction or lands.
Common boundary post
(3) When two or more claims are staked at the same time by or on behalf of the same licensee and have a common boundary, a single boundary post may be erected to mark any common interval along the boundary.
Numbering of boundary posts
(4) Boundary posts must be numbered consecutively in a clockwise direction, commencing at “1” after the northeast corner post, and recommencing at “1” after each subsequent corner post.
Information on boundary posts
(5) The name of the claim, the number referred to in subsection (4) and the following information must be inscribed on each boundary post:
- (a) on the northern boundary, the letters “NBP” or “BLN”;
- (b) on the eastern boundary, the letters “EBP” or “BLE”;
- (c) on the southern boundary, the letters “SBP” or “BLS”; and
- (d) on the western boundary, the letters “WBP” or “BLO”.
Corner post
28. (1) Subject to section 29, corner posts must be erected at the four corners of a claim, and an identification tag marked with the required inscription must be secured to each corner post.
Common corner post
(2) When two or more claims are staked at the same time by or on behalf of the same licensee and have a common corner, a single corner post may be used to mark the common corner. The identification tag for each claim, marked with the required inscription, must be secured to the common corner post.
Information on corner posts
(3) The following information is to be clearly and indelibly inscribed on the identification tag of each corner post or, if there is insufficient room on the tag, on the post itself:
- (a) the name of the licensee for whom the claim is staked;
- (b) the name of the person who erected that post, if that person is not the licensee;
- (c) the name of the claim; and
- (d) the date and time that the post was erected.
Witness post
29. (1) If, because of the presence of a body of water or other natural obstruction or lands on which entry for staking has not been authorized by the holder of the surface rights, it is not practicable to erect a corner post, a witness post must be erected at one of the following locations:
- (a) on a boundary or an extension of a boundary of the claim and as near as practicable to the corner;
- (b) if it is not practicable to erect it at a location specified in paragraph (a), at a location as near as practicable to the corner.
Corner post tag on witness post
(2) The identification tag for the corner post must be attached to the witness post.
Additional information on witness post
(3) In addition to the information referred to in subsection 28(3), the following information must be inscribed on the identification tag after the letters “WP”: the compass bearing and distance in metres, measured in a straight line, from the witness post to the location where the corner post would have been erected had it been practicable to do so.
STAKED CLAIM
Requirements to complete staking
30. When the boundaries and corners of a claim have been marked in accordance with sections 23 to 29, the date and time of completion of the requirements of those sections and the licence number of the licensee referred to in paragraph 28(3)(a) must be inscribed on the identification tag of the northeast corner post or of the witness post designating the northeast corner, as the case may be. The claim is then staked.
Verification of staking
31. Compliance with the requirements set out in sections 23 to 30 may be verified by a person authorized by the Minister to perform any function related to the administration and enforcement of these Regulations.
MOVING LEGAL POSTS AND MODIFYING INFORMATION
Prohibition
32. (1) Except as provided in subsections (2) and (3), it is prohibited
- (a) to remove, displace or destroy a legal post; and
- (b) to remove, deface or alter an identification tag secured to a legal post or an inscription on a legal post.
Exception
(2) The claim holder, the holder of the surface rights or a public authority may remove a legal post if the post is interfering with their use of the lands.
Notification
(3) If the holder of the surface rights or a public authority removes a legal post, they must, within 30 days after the removal, notify the claim holder and the Mining Recorder of the removal.
RECORDING OF A CLAIM
Application
33. (1) Only the licensee for whom a claim has been staked may submit an application to the Mining Recorder to record the claim.
Prescribed form and time limit
(2) The application must be made in the prescribed form within 60 days after the date on which the staking of the claim is completed.
Fee and map
(3) The application must be accompanied by the applicable fee set out in Schedule 1 and a map or sketch at the scale of 1:50 000 showing all of the following:
- (a) the location of the claim in relation to permanent topographical features in the vicinity of the claim;
- (b) any nearby prospecting permit zones, recorded claims and leased claims;
- (c) the positions of the corner posts;
- (d) the positions and numbers of the boundary posts;
- (e) the positions of any witness posts.
Recording of claim
(4) If the requirements of subsections (1) to (3) are met, the Mining Recorder must record the claim as soon as practicable after the 60th day following the day on which the staking is completed. The recording date is considered to be the date that the application is received at the Mining Recorder’s office.
Duration of claim
(5) Unless a recorded claim is leased under subsection 60(5) or its recording is cancelled under subsection 50(2) or 53(3) or section 54 or 55, the duration of a recorded claim is 10 years, beginning on its recording date, plus any suspensions recorded under section 51 and any extension under subsection 60(4).
Conflicting applications
34. If applications have been submitted to record two or more claims that overlap, the claim that is staked first in compliance with the staking requirements is the one that must be recorded.
Claim recorded under the law of another province
35. (1) If it is determined that lands covered by a mining claim that is recorded or otherwise recognized under the law regulating the disposition of mining interests in another province are wholly or partly in the Northwest Territories Mining District, and if the portion in the Northwest Territories does not contain lands referred to in section 5, the claim holder may, within 90 days after the determination, apply to the Mining Recorder to have the portion of the claim within the Northwest Territories recorded as a separate claim.
Limitation
(2) If an application to record the claim is not made within the period set out in subsection (1), the lands that were covered by the claim and that are within the Northwest Territories are considered to never have been covered by a claim.
Recording date and time
(3) On receipt of an application made under subsection (1) and the applicable fee set out in Schedule 1, the Mining Recorder must record the claim as soon as practicable, using the date and time when the claim was recorded or otherwise recognized under the law regulating the disposition of mining interests in the other province.
Claim lying partly in another province
36. If a plan of survey recorded under section 59 and prepared with respect to a recorded claim shows that part of the claim is in another province, the Mining Recorder must reduce the boundaries of the claim in accordance with the plan, and must, as soon as practicable, notify the claim holder of the reduction.
DISPUTE RESPECTING RECORDING OF A CLAIM
Notice of protest
37. (1) If a person wants to dispute the recording of a claim, they must
- (a) within one year after the day the disputed claim was recorded, file with the Supervising Mining Recorder a notice of protest in the prescribed form; and
- (b) attest that they believe that they have, before the staking of the disputed claim, staked a claim on all or part of the area covered by the disputed claim.
Priority based on time of staking
(2) When the recording of a claim is disputed, the recording of the area of the claim in dispute must be accorded to the person who first staked the claim in accordance with these Regulations.
Inquiry by Supervising Mining Recorder
38. (1) When a notice of protest is filed, the Supervising Mining Recorder must
- (a) send a copy of the notice by registered mail to the holder of the disputed claim; and
- (b) inquire into the allegations contained in the notice of protest.
Powers related to the inquiry
(2) For the purposes of the inquiry, the Supervising Mining Recorder may
- (a) summon and examine under oath any person whose attendance is considered necessary to the inquiry;
- (b) compel the production of documents by witnesses; and
- (c) do all things necessary to provide a full and proper inquiry.
Determination and reasons
(3) After making the inquiry, the Supervising Mining Recorder must determine which claim was staked first and must provide the parties and the Mining Recorder with written reasons for the determination.
WORK REQUIREMENTS
Work required
39. (1) The holder of a recorded claim must do work that incurs a cost of work that is equal to or greater than
- (a) $10 per full or partial hectare in the claim during the two-year period following the day on which the claim is recorded; and
- (b) $5 per full or partial hectare in the claim during each subsequent one-year period.
Work before recording of claim
(2) Work that was done during the two years before the claim was recorded is considered to be work done on the claim during the period referred to in paragraph (1)(a).
Report of work or request for extension
40. The claim holder must, no later than 90 days after the end of the period during which the work referred to in subsection 39(1) must be done, submit to the Mining Recorder
- (a) a report of the work that has been done in respect of the claim; or
- (b) an application for a one-year extension to do the work.
WORK REPORTS AND APPLICATIONS FOR EXTENSION
Report on work
41. (1) A report of the work that has been done in respect of a claim must be prepared in accordance with Part 1 of Schedule 2, but if the report deals only with excavation, sampling or the examination of outcrops and surficial deposits — or any combination of them — and the cost of work is less than $10,000, the report may be a simplified report prepared in accordance with Part 2 of Schedule 2.
Signature of report
(2) The report must be prepared and signed
- (a) in the case of a simplified report, by the individual who performed or supervised the work; or
- (b) in all other cases, by a professional geoscientist or a professional engineer as those terms are defined in subsection 1(1) of the Engineering and Geoscience Professions Act, S.N.W.T. 2006, c. 16.
Associated documents
(3) The report must be accompanied by the fee for a certificate of work set out in Schedule 1 and the following documents:
- (a) a statement of work in the prescribed form;
- (b) a table setting out the cost of work by type of work, together with, for each type of work, details of the costs sufficient to enable evaluation of the report in accordance with subsection 44(1); and
- (c) a table setting out the cost of work that is attributable to each claim.
Claim holder’s equipment or work
(4) If a holder of a recorded claim uses their own equipment to perform work or personally performs work,
- (a) the cost claimed in relation to that equipment must not be more than the cost of leasing similar equipment for the period that the equipment is used in performing the work; and
- (b) the cost claimed in relation to that work must not be more than an amount equal to the cost of engaging another person to do that work.
Record keeping
(5) The holder of a recorded claim must keep all supporting documents used to justify the cost of work and make them available on request by the Mining Recorder until the holder has received a certificate of work under paragraph 47(1)(a).
Work reported once
(6) Work reported in one report must not be reported in any other report.
Application for extension of time
42. (1) The application for a one-year extension referred to in paragraph 40(b) must be in the prescribed form and be accompanied by the applicable fee set out in Schedule 1 and the charge payable for that period under subsection 43(1).
Certificate of extension
(2) If the requirements of subsection (1) are met, the Mining Recorder must issue to the claim holder a certificate of extension for a one-year period to do the work, except that not more than three certificates of extension are to be issued with respect to a claim.
CHARGES TO HOLD RECORDED CLAIM AND ASSESS MINERAL POTENTIAL
Charge
43. (1) The following charges apply to the right to hold a recorded claim and assess its mineral potential:
- (a) $10 per full or partial hectare in the claim during the two-year period following the day on which the claim is recorded; and
- (b) $5 per full or partial hectare in the claim for each subsequent one-year period.
Payment
(2) The claim holder must pay the charges in accordance with subsection 42(1) or 49(1), as the case may be.
EVALUATION OF REPORT AND COST OF WORK
Evaluation of report
44. (1) The Mining Recorder must evaluate the report of work that is referred to in paragraph 40(a) to determine its compliance with Schedule 2 and the cost of work to be entered in a certificate of work under subsection 47(2).
Supporting documents
(2) If the Mining Recorder requests supporting documents that justify the cost of work reported, the Mining Recorder must notify the holder of the recorded claim in writing and must specify the cost of work for which the documents are requested.
Lack of justification
(3) If the holder of the recorded claim does not, within four months after the day the notification is sent, provide the supporting documents requested, the cost of work to which they relate must be considered to be unjustified.
Allocation of excess cost of work
45. (1) Subject to subsection (2), if a recorded claim is not grouped under section 46 and the cost of work that has been justified in a report in respect of that claim exceeds the cost of work required to be done on it under subsection 39(1) at the time the certificate of work respecting the report is ready to be issued, the Mining Recorder must allocate the excess cost of work to the next period or periods for which work is still required to be done on the claim under subsection 39(1).
Unallocated excess cost of work
(2) At any time before the evaluation of the report has been completed, the claim holder may submit a written request to the Mining Recorder to not allocate the excess cost of work or to allocate it to fewer periods than would be required under subsection (1) and the Mining Recorder must comply with the request.
Previous payment of charges
(3) A claim holder who has paid a charge in respect of a period under subsection 43(1) or 49(1) may submit a written request to the Mining Recorder that remission be granted of the charge in an amount equal to the excess cost of work.
Request re unallocated excess cost of work
(4) If an unallocated excess cost of work is recorded with respect to a recorded claim, the claim holder may submit a request to the Mining Recorder to allocate that cost as specified in the request. The request must be in the prescribed form and be accompanied by the fee for a certificate of work set out in Schedule 1.
Allocation of unallocated excess cost of work
(5) If the unallocated excess cost of work is sufficient to comply with the request, the Mining Recorder must allocate it in accordance with the request.
Grouping of recorded claims
46. (1) Recorded claims may be grouped for the purpose of allocating the cost of work done with respect to them if
- (a) the claims are contiguous;
- (b) the total area of the group does not exceed 5000 hectares; and
- (c) none of the claims is leased.
Request for grouping
(2) A request to group recorded claims must be submitted in the prescribed form to the Mining Recorder. It must be signed by each of the claim holders and be accompanied by the applicable fee set out in Schedule 1.
Grouping certificate
(3) If the requirements of subsections (1) and (2) are met, the Mining Recorder must issue a grouping certificate respecting the claims to each of the claim holders.
Duration of certificate
(4) A grouping certificate takes effect on the day on which the fee under subsection (2) is received and ceases to have effect on the earliest of
- (a) the day on which the recording of any claim in the group is cancelled,
- (b) the day on which a lease of any claim in the group takes effect, and
- (c) the day on which a new grouping certificate in respect of any claim in the group takes effect.
Request for allocation re grouped claims
(5) On request by a holder of a recorded claim listed in a grouping certificate, the Mining Recorder must allocate, in accordance with the request, the cost of work that has been justified in a report in respect of any of the claims listed in the grouping certificate to any of the other claims listed in the certificate, for any of the periods referred to in subsection 39(1).
Presentation of request
(6) A request must be in the prescribed form and, if it is not submitted with the report referred to in section 41, it must be accompanied by the fee for a certificate of work set out in Schedule 1.
Limit on reallocation
(7) The cost of work allocated to a recorded claim referred to in a grouping certificate must not be reallocated to any recorded claim referred to in another grouping certificate.
Issuance of certificate of work
47. (1) The Mining Recorder must issue a certificate of work in the following circumstances:
- (a) when evaluation of a report respecting a recorded claim has been completed; and
- (b) when allocation of the cost of work under subsection 18(3), 45(1), (2) or (4) or 46(5) has been done.
Certificate of work respecting claim
(2) A certificate of work respecting a claim must set out
- (a) the cost of work; and
- (b) the allocation of the cost of work.
Remission of charge
48. (1) Remission is granted of the charges paid or payable in respect of a period referred to in section 43 in an amount equal to the cost of work allocated to the recorded claim during that period in the certificate of work.
Remission in subsequent periods
(2) If a holder of a recorded claim pays a charge in respect of a period under subsection 43(1) or 49(1), remission is granted of the portion of the charge that is equal to the cost of work allocated to the claim during any subsequent period that exceeds the cost of work required to be done under subsection 39(1).
Repayment
(3) Any charge referred to in section 43 that has been paid to the Mining Recorder and that is remitted under this section must be repaid by the Minister to the person entitled to it.
Insufficient work
49. (1) Subject to subsection (3), if a certificate of work indicates that the cost of work is less than the amount required by subsection 39(1), the holder of the recorded claim must pay a charge that is equal to the difference between the charge referred to in subsection 43(1) and the cost of work indicated in the certificate.
Payment of charge
(2) The claim holder must pay the charge within 60 days after the day on which the certificate is issued.
Cancellation of recording of claim
(3) If three certificates of work are issued in respect of a claim that indicate that the cost of work is less than the amount required by subsection 39(1), the recording of the claim is cancelled on the day that the third certificate of work is issued.
Period of application of requirements
50. (1) The requirements set out in section 39 and subsection 43(1) apply for the duration of a recorded claim.
Cancellation of recording
(2) The recording of a claim is cancelled on one of the following days, as the case may be:
- (a) the day after the last day on which a report must be submitted under section 40, if a report with respect to that claim has not been submitted in accordance with section 41 and
- (i) the claim holder has not been issued a certificate of extension with respect to that claim under section 42, and
- (ii) a suspension with respect to that claim has not been granted under section 51;
- (b) subject to section 84, the day that is 61 days after the day on which a certificate of work with respect to that claim is issued under section 47, if the cost of work allocated to that claim in the certificate of work is less than the cost of work required to be done under subsection 39(1) and the claim holder has not paid the difference between the charge referred to in subsection 43(1) and the cost of work indicated in the certificate.
SUSPENSION
Suspension of payment and work requirements
51. (1) If a holder of a recorded claim is unable to do work as required under subsection 39(1) because the claim holder is, for reasons beyond the claim holder’s control, waiting for a public authority to give an authorization or decision without which the work cannot proceed, the claim holder may request a suspension of one year — beginning on the anniversary date of the recording of the claim — of the work requirements under section 39 and the charges under subsection 43(1).
Time limit for request
(2) The request must be made in writing to the Supervising Mining Recorder no later than 90 days after the end of the applicable period under section 39 and subsection 43(1) for which the suspension is requested, and must be accompanied by documents showing that the claim holder is waiting for the authorization or decision.
Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act
(3) If an order under section 11.02 of the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act has been made with respect to a claim holder, the holder of a recorded claim may request a suspension of the payment and work requirements under section 39 and subsection 43(1) until the anniversary date of the recording of the claim that is at least 12 months after the day on which the order has ceased to have effect with respect to the claim holder.
Time limit for request
(4) The request must be made in writing to the Supervising Mining Recorder no later than 90 days after the day on which the order was made, and must be accompanied by a certified copy of the order.
Recording of suspension
(5) If the requirements of subsections (1) and (2) or (3) and (4) are met, the Supervising Mining Recorder must record the suspension with respect to the claim.
Effect of suspension
(6) A suspension extends the duration of the claim by the duration of the suspension.
REDUCED AREA
Application for reduced-area claim
52. (1) The holder of a recorded claim (the original claim) may make an application to the Mining Recorder to record, within the area of the original claim, a reduced-area claim if
- (a) the cost of work set out in a certificate of work with respect to the original claim is at least $10 per full or partial hectare; and
- (b) the reduced-area claim has been staked in accordance with sections 23 to 30, using reduced-area tags issued under subsection 24(2).
Presentation of application
(2) The application must be made in the prescribed form no later than 60 days after the staking of the reduced-area claim, and must be accompanied by the applicable fee set out in Schedule 1 and the map or sketch referred to in subsection 33(3).
Recording of reduced-area claim
(3) If the requirements set out in this section are met, the Mining Recorder must record the reduced-area claim, effective on the next anniversary date of the recording of the original claim.
Effect of recording
(4) When the recording of a reduced-area claim takes effect,
- (a) the recording date for it is considered to be the recording date of the original claim;
- (b) the information recorded by the Mining Recorder, including the requests and the documents filed with respect to the original claim, are considered to have been recorded or presented with respect to the reduced-area claim; and
- (c) the recording of the original claim is cancelled.
Reopening of lands for prospecting and staking
(5) Subject to subsection 56(3), the lands in the original claim that are not within the reduced-area claim are open for prospecting and staking at noon on the day following the first business day after the day on which the recording of the original claim was cancelled.
Notice
(6) On the day the recording of the reduced-area claim takes effect — or if that day is not a business day, on the first business day that follows — the Mining Recorder must post a notice in the Mining Recorder’s office specifying when the lands in the original claim that are not within the reduced-area claim are open for prospecting and staking, and setting out the boundaries of the reduced-area claim.
CANCELLATION OF RECORDING OF CLAIMS
Notice of cancellation
53. (1) If the Mining Recorder has information that either of the following circumstances apply in respect of a recorded claim, the Mining Recorder must immediately send the claim holder a notice that the recording of the claim will be cancelled unless, within 60 days, the holder can show that the information is not correct:
- (a) the claim holder knowingly made a false or misleading statement on the application to record the claim;
- (b) the claim holder has contravened subsection 7(2).
Notice to claim holder
(2) The notice must set out the reason for the impending cancellation and a summary of the evidence to support the cancellation.
Default
(3) If the claim holder has not shown the Mining Recorder that the information is not correct within 60 days after the day on which the notice was sent, the recording of the claim is cancelled.
Cancellation of recording or exclusion of lands
(4) If it is determined that a recorded claim includes any of the following lands, the Mining Recorder must cancel the recording of the claim or, if it is possible to exclude those lands from the claim, must amend the boundaries of the recorded claim to do so and must notify the claim holder accordingly:
- (a) lands referred to in section 5;
- (b) lands that were staked in contravention of section 6;
- (c) lands to which these Regulations do not apply.
Request for cancellation of recording
54. The holder of a recorded claim may request the cancellation of the recording of the claim by submitting to the Mining Recorder a written request for cancellation accompanied by the applicable fee set out in Schedule 1.
Date of cancellation
55. (1) The recording of a claim is cancelled on the day that
- (a) the Mining Recorder receives the request for its cancellation and payment of the fee under section 54;
- (b) the time specified in paragraph 60(2)(b) has ended and no application for a lease on the claim has been received; or
- (c) a lease on the claim has terminated without being renewed or was cancelled under subsection 63(2) or section 64.
Prohibition
(2) For one year after the recording of a claim is cancelled, the former claim holder and any person related to the former claim holder are not permitted to
- (a) apply for a prospecting permit for a zone, or apply to record a claim, that covers any part of the area that was covered by the claim the recording of which has been cancelled; or
- (b) acquire a legal or beneficial interest in a prospecting permit or claim referred to in paragraph (a).
Reopening of lands
56. (1) The lands that were covered by a claim the recording of which has been cancelled under subsection 50(2), section 55 or subsection 62(3) are open for prospecting and staking at noon on the day following the first business day after the day on which the recording of the claim was cancelled.
Reopening of lands — 30-day delay
(2) Subject to section 84, the lands that were covered by a claim the recording of which has been cancelled under subsection 49(3) or 53(3) or paragraph 53(4)(b) are open for prospecting and staking at noon on the day that is 30 days after the day on which the recording of the claim was cancelled.
Delay in reopening lands
(3) If the Minister has reasonable grounds to believe that there is unremedied environmental damage to the lands that were covered by a claim the recording of which has been cancelled under a provision set out in subsection (1) or (2), or the lands referred to in subsection 52(5), the Minister may delay the opening of the lands for prospecting and staking.
LEASE OF A RECORDED CLAIM
PLAN OF SURVEY
Survey required for lease
57. (1) A holder of a recorded claim who wants to obtain a lease of a recorded claim must
- (a) obtain a plan of survey of the claim prepared in accordance with the Canada Lands Surveys Act;
- (b) provide a report of any overlap with a boundary of any other claim;
- (c) send a copy of the plan of survey, the report and a notice in the prescribed form, by registered mail or courier, to the holders of adjacent recorded claims and leased claims at their addresses on record with the Mining Recorder; and
- (d) send to the Mining Recorder a copy of the plan of survey, the report, the notice and evidence that the holders of the adjacent claims have received copies of those documents.
Perimeter survey
(2) If two or more contiguous recorded claims are to be included in one lease and their aggregate area, as stated in the applications to record them, does not exceed 1250 hectares, one plan of survey may be prepared that shows only the perimeter of the collection of contiguous claims.
Posting of notice
(3) On receipt of the documents referred to in paragraph (1)(d), the Mining Recorder must post a copy of the notice in the office of the Mining Recorder for a period of 21 days.
Extra charge for additional area — one claim
58. (1) If the surveyed area of one claim exceeds the area stated in the application to record that claim, the claim holder must pay to the Mining Recorder the charge determined by the formula
A × C × D
- where
- A is the excess area in hectares of the claim;
- C is $5; and
- D is the number of years from the date of recording of the claim.
Extra charge for additional area — collection of claims
(2) If the surveyed area of contiguous recorded claims that are shown in a plan of survey of their perimeter prepared in accordance with subsection 57(2) exceeds their aggregate area as stated in the applications to record those claims, the claim holder must pay to the Mining Recorder for each claim the charge determined by the formula
(A / B) × C × D
- where
- A is the total excess area in hectares of all of the claims;
- B is the number of claims in the survey;
- C is $5; and
- D is the number of years from the recording date of the claim.
Remission
(3) Remission is granted of the portion of the charge paid or payable under subsection (1) or (2), as the case may be, that does not exceed the cost of work set out in certificates of work issued with respect to the claim or contiguous claims and that has not been remitted under these Regulations.
Recording of plan of survey
59. The Mining Recorder must record the plan of survey if
- (a) 30 days have elapsed after the end of the period for posting of a notice under subsection 57(3) and the Mining Recorder has not received any protest with respect to the survey;
- (b) the plan of survey has been made by the Surveyor General under section 31 of the Canada Lands Surveys Act;
- (c) the applicable fee set out in Schedule 1 has been paid;
- (d) the requirements of section 57 have been met; and
- (e) any charge payable under subsection 58(1) or (2) has been paid.
REQUIREMENTS RESPECTING LEASES
Application for lease
60. (1) A holder of a recorded claim who wants to obtain a lease of a recorded claim or a collection of contiguous recorded claims must apply for the lease in the prescribed form.
Application fee and limitation period
(2) The application must
- (a) be accompanied by the applicable fee set out in Schedule 1; and
- (b) be received by the Mining Recorder at least one year before the end of the duration of the claim or of the claim that has the earliest recording date of any of the claims in the collection of contiguous claims.
Other requirements for lease
(3) Before a lease is issued,
- (a) an official plan of survey of the claim, or the collection of contiguous claims, must have been recorded under section 59;
- (b) certificates of work must have been recorded with respect to the claim, or with respect to each claim in the collection of contiguous recorded claims, that allocate to the claim, or to each claim, a cost of work of at least $25 per hectare, of which the total of the costs of the official plan of survey and of the construction of any roads, airstrips or docks does not exceed $5 per hectare; and
- (c) the rent for the first year of the lease must have been paid to the Mining Recorder.
Extension of duration of claim
(4) If a claim holder who has applied for a lease advises the Mining Recorder in writing that they cannot, for reasons beyond their control, obtain an official plan of survey and record it before the end of the duration of the claim to be leased,
- (a) the duration of the recorded claim is extended for one year;
- (b) the requirements under section 39 and subsection 43(1) do not apply for that year; and
- (c) the application for a lease on the claim remains valid for that year.
Issuance of lease
(5) If, before the end of the duration of the recorded claim or of the claim that has the earliest recording date of any of the claims in the collection of contiguous recorded claims, the requirements of subsections (1) to (3) are met, the Minister must issue the lease to the claim holder for a term of 21 years.
Annual rent for lease
61. (1) The annual rent for a lease is $2.50 per hectare during the first term and $5.00 per hectare during each renewed term.
When rent is due
(2) The rent must be paid to the Mining Recorder before the anniversary date of the lease.
Request for renewal of lease
62. (1) To obtain renewal of a lease, the lessee must, at least six months before the end of the existing lease, submit to the Mining Recorder a written request for renewal accompanied by the applicable fee set out in Schedule 1.
Reduction in area of leased claim
(2) At the time of renewal, the Mining Recorder must reduce the area specified in the lease if, at least 90 days before the end of the existing lease,
- (a) the lessee requests it and
- (i) if the lease covers only one recorded claim, that claim has been reduced in area in accordance with section 52, or
- (ii) otherwise, one or more recorded claims have been removed from the lease; and
- (b) an official plan of survey of the reduced area has been prepared in accordance with Canada Lands Surveys Act and has been submitted to the Mining Recorder for recording.
Cancellation of recording of claim
(3) The recording of a claim that has been removed from a lease under subparagraph (2)(a)(ii) is cancelled at the time that the renewal of the lease takes effect.
Issuance of renewal
(4) If, before the existing lease ends, the lessee pays the rent for the first year of the renewal, the Minister must issue the renewal for a term of 21 years.
Notice of overdue rent
63. (1) If rent is not paid within 30 days after the day it is due, the Mining Recorder must send the lessee a notice stating the amount of rent due and the rate of interest payable on that amount.
Cancellation of lease for non-payment of rent
(2) If the rent due, together with interest from the date on which the rent was due, is not paid within 60 days after the day the notice was sent, the lease is cancelled on the 61st day after the notice was sent.
Cancellation of lease by lessee
64. (1) A lease is cancelled if the lessee submits to the Mining Recorder a written notice of cancellation. The cancellation takes effect on the day the notice is received by the Mining Recorder or, if a later day for cancellation is set out in the notice, on that day.
Temporary prohibition relating to former lessee
(2) For one year after a lease is cancelled, the former lessee and any person related to the former lessee are not permitted to
- (a) apply for a prospecting permit for a zone, or apply to record a claim, that covers any part of the area that was covered by the cancelled lease; or
- (b) acquire a legal or beneficial interest in a prospecting permit or claim referred to in paragraph (a).
TRANSFER OF A PROSPECTING PERMIT, CLAIM OR LEASE
Transfer of permit
65. The transfer of a prospecting permit or an interest in it may be recorded only if
- (a) the transfer is made to a licensee;
- (b) a request for recording of the transfer is made by the permittee in writing to the Mining Recorder and is signed by the permittee and by the transferee; and
- (c) the applicable fee set out in Schedule 1 is paid to the Mining Recorder.
Requirements for transfer of recorded claim or lease
66. (1) The transfer of a recorded claim or a lease of a recorded claim or an interest in either of them may be recorded only if
- (a) the transfer is made to a licensee;
- (b) if the transfer is of a recorded claim, a request for recording of the transfer is made by the claim holder in the prescribed form to the Mining Recorder and is signed by the claim holder and the transferee;
- (c) if the transfer is of a lease,
- (i) a request for recording of the transfer is made by the lessee in writing to the Mining Recorder and is signed by the lessee and the transferee, and
- (ii) the rent and any interest on it is paid;
- (d) the applicable fee set out in Schedule 1 is paid to the Mining Recorder.
Transfer of lease includes claims
(2) The transfer of a lease includes the transfer of the recorded claims to which the lease applies.
Condition on transfer within mining property
(3) The transfer of a lease or a recorded claim either of which is part of a mining property may be recorded only if security in the amount of any unpaid royalties in relation to the mining property has been deposited with the Minister.
Cancellation of recorded claim or lease
67. (1) The recording of a claim is cancelled, or a lease and the recording of the claims covered by the lease are cancelled, on the day that any of the following events occur:
- (a) the Minister has realized on a charge or security over the real property of the claim holder or the lessee for the costs of remedying any environmental condition or environmental damage under subsection 11.8(8) of the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act or subsection 14.06(7) of the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act;
- (b) the interests in territorial lands represented by the claim or lease have reverted to the Crown as a result of a court order made under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act or the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act;
- (c) the Minister has accepted the claim or lease as a security in respect of a debt or other obligation owed to the Crown and the Minister has realized on the security under section 156 of the Financial Administration Act.
Delay in opening lands
(2) The lands that were covered by a claim or a lease the recording of which has been cancelled under subsection (1), are not open for prospecting and staking until the Minister opens them.
Disposition of interests in lands
(3) Subject to subsection (7), at any time after the recording of a claim (the original claim) was cancelled under subsection (1), the Minister may, with respect to the lands that were covered by the original claim, instruct the Mining Recorder to record, in the name of a specified person, a new claim that covers those lands.
New claim considered as transfer
(4) When a new claim is recorded under subsection (3),
- (a) the new claim need not be staked;
- (b) the recording date for the new claim is considered to be the recording date of the original claim;
- (c) the information recorded by the Mining Recorder, including the requests and the documents filed with respect to the original claim, are considered to have been recorded or presented with respect to the new claim;
- (d) despite subsection 33(5), the duration of the new claim extends for a period beginning on the day on which the Minister instructs that the new claim be recorded (the start day) to the next anniversary date of the recording of the original claim that is at least “x” days after the start day, where “x” is equal to the number of days that were left in the duration of the original claim immediately before it was cancelled; and
- (e) the requirements of paragraphs 39(1)(b) and 43(1)(b) apply with respect to the new claim.
Minister may issue new lease
(5) Subject to subsection (7), at any time after a lease is cancelled under subsection (1), the Minister may issue a new lease that covers the same lands as were covered by the cancelled lease.
New lease considered as transfer
(6) A new lease issued under subsection (5) is considered to be a transfer of the previous lease on the same lands, with the same duration as was left on the previous lease at the time it was cancelled.
Conditions
(7) The Minister may only act under subsection (3) or (5) if
- (a) the lands covered by the new claim or lease have not been opened for prospecting and staking; and
- (b) it is in the financial interest of the Crown or will aid in remedying environmental damage on territorial lands.
ROYALTIES
Commencement of production of mine
68. (1) For the purposes of these Regulations, the date on which a mine commences production is
- (a) if the mine includes a mill or concentrator, the first day of the first 90-day period during which the mill or concentrator operates at an average of at least 60% of its rated capacity; or
- (b) otherwise, the day the mine begins to produce minerals in reasonable commercial quantities.
Presumptions respecting mineral or processed mineral
(2) For the purposes of these Regulations, a mineral or processed mineral is considered to
- (a) be produced and be part of the output of a mine if the mineral or processed mineral is in a saleable form or has been removed from the mine; and
- (b) form part of the output of the mine if it is produced from the reprocessing of tailings from a mine.
Presumptions respecting related persons
(3) For the purposes of these Regulations,
- (a) if minerals or processed minerals that have been sold by an operator to a person not related to the operator are later sold to a person related to the operator, those minerals or processed minerals are considered to have been sold by the operator to a related person; and
- (b) if minerals or processed minerals that have been sold by an operator to a person related to the operator are later sold to a person not related to the operator and proof of that sale is provided, those minerals or processed minerals are considered to have been sold by the operator to a person not related to the operator.
Royalties on value of output of mine
69. (1) Each fiscal year, the owner or operator of a mine must pay to the Crown royalties on the value of the mine’s output during that fiscal year in an amount equal to the lesser of
- (a) 13% of the value of the output of the mine, and
- (b) the sum of the royalties payable set out in Column 2 of the table to this paragraph for the dollar value of the output set out in Column 1.
TABLE
| Item |
Column 1 |
Column 2 |
|---|---|---|
1. |
10,000 or less |
0 |
2. |
greater than 10,000 but not greater than 5 million |
5% |
3. |
greater than 5 million but not greater than 10 million |
6% |
4. |
greater than 10 million but not greater than 15 million |
7% |
5. |
greater than 15 million but not greater than 20 million |
8% |
6. |
greater than 20 million but not greater than 25 million |
9% |
7. |
greater than 25 million but not greater than 30 million |
10% |
8. |
greater than 30 million but not greater than 35 million |
11% |
9. |
greater than 35 million but not greater than 40 million |
12% |
10. |
greater than 40 million but not greater than 45 million |
13% |
11. |
greater than 45 million |
14% |
Royalties payable to Receiver General
(2) The royalties payable to the Receiver General of Canada under subsection (1) in respect of a mine accrue during a fiscal year as the output of a mine is produced and must be remitted to the Chief not later than the last day of the fourth month after the end of that fiscal year.
Joint and several liability
(3) Subject to paragraph 74(1)(b), any person who was an owner or operator of a mine during the fiscal year in respect of which the royalties were payable is jointly and severally liable for the entire amount of the royalties payable in respect of the period during which that person was an owner or operator.
Calculation of value of output
(4) For the purposes of this section, the value of the output of a mine for a fiscal year must be calculated in accordance with the formula
A + B – C + D + E + F + G + H – I + J
- where
- A is the total of
- (a) the proceeds from sales, during the fiscal year, of minerals or processed minerals produced from the mine to persons not related to the operator, if proof of those sales is provided,
- (b) the market value of any minerals or processed minerals produced from the mine that were sold or transferred to a person related to the operator, or to any other person if the proof of that disposition is not provided, and
- (c) if the minerals or processed minerals produced from the mine are precious stones that have been cut or polished before their sale or transfer, the market value of those precious stones before they were cut or polished;
- B is the market value of any inventories of minerals and processed minerals produced from the mine, as at the end of the fiscal year, determined under subsection (9);
- C is the market value of any inventories of minerals and processed minerals produced from the mine, as at the beginning of the fiscal year, determined under subsection (9);
- D is the lesser of
- (a) the amount of any payment received during the fiscal year that is related to a cost that has been claimed as a deduction or allowance under this section, and
- (b) that cost;
- E is any excess amount referred to in paragraph 70(5)(b);
- F is any amount withdrawn, during the fiscal year, from a mining reclamation trust established in respect of lands to which these Regulations apply, up to the maximum of the total of the amounts contributed to the trust;
- G is the amount of any proceeds received, during the fiscal year, from insurance on minerals or processed minerals produced from the mine;
- H is the amount of any grants in respect of the mine that were made to the operator, or of any loans to the operator in respect of the mine that were forgiven, by the federal government during the fiscal year;
- I is the total of the deductions and allowances claimed under subsection 70(1); and
- J is the total of
- (a) the amount by which the sum of the amounts referred to in paragraphs 70(8)(d) and (9)(e) exceeds the undeducted balance of the depreciable assets eligible for a depreciation allowance at the end of the fiscal year, and
- (b) the amount by which the sum of the amounts referred to in paragraphs 70(9)(c) and (d) exceeds the undeducted balance of the development allowance at the end of the fiscal year.
Joint venture — determination of value of A
(5) For the purpose of determining the value of A in subsection (4), if a mine is operated as a joint venture whose members deliver separate mining royalty returns under subsection 74(1),
- (a) a diversion of any or all of the production of the mine from one member of the joint venture to another does not constitute a sale or transfer for the purposes of subsection 77(2), even if consideration is paid for the diversion; and
- (b) any consideration paid to the member from whom the production was diverted must be included by that member as proceeds of sale of minerals or processed minerals produced from the mine.
Certain costs and values excluded
(6) Costs related to the production of or value for minerals or processed minerals from lands other than lands to which these Regulations apply must not be taken into account for the purposes of determining the values of A to D, G and I in subsection (4).
Last year of production — option for calculation
(7) In the case of a mining royalty return for the last fiscal year of production of a mine, the operator may, for the purpose of determining the value of B in subsection (4), elect to use the actual proceeds from the sale to a party not related to the operator of minerals or processed minerals in inventory at the end of the fiscal year, if proof of that sale is provided, rather than the market value of the inventory of minerals or processed minerals at the end of that fiscal year as required under subsection (4).
Election is irrevocable
(8) An election made under subsection (7) is irrevocable.
Market value of precious stones
(9) If the minerals or processed minerals referred to in paragraphs (b) and (c) of the description of A, and in the descriptions of B and C, in subsection (4) are precious stones, the market value of the precious stones is as follows:
- (a) if the mining royalty valuer and the operator agree on a value for the stones, that value; or
- (b) if the mining royalty valuer and the operator cannot agree on a value for the stones, the maximum amount that could be realized from the sale of the stones on the open market after they are sorted into market assortments.
Timing of market value of precious stones
(10) For the purpose of subsection (9), the market value must be determined
- (a) when the value is calculated for inventory purposes, at the beginning or end of the fiscal year; and
- (b) when the value is calculated for any other purpose, as of the last time the precious stones were valued by the mining royalty valuer.
Market value of other minerals
(11) If the minerals or processed minerals referred to in paragraphs (b) and (c) of the description of A, and in the descriptions of B and C, in subsection (4) are not precious stones, their market value is the price that could be obtained from their sale to a person who is not related to the operator.
Timing of market value of other minerals
(12) For the purpose of subsection (11), the market value must be determined
- (a) when the value is calculated for inventory purposes, at the beginning or end of the fiscal year; and
- (b) when the value is calculated for any other purpose, at the time the minerals or processed minerals are shipped from the mine.
Exclusion respecting hedging transactions
(13) Gains and losses from hedging transactions must not be included in calculating the value of the mine’s output.
Exchange rate
(14) For the purpose of these Regulations, the Bank of Canada’s noon exchange rate must be used to convert foreign currencies into Canadian dollars
- (a) as of the date of that transaction if a transaction is carried out in a foreign currency; and
- (b) as of the last day of the fiscal year if inventories have been valued in a foreign currency.
Operating costs for operations outside Canada
(15) When operating costs are incurred for operations outside of Canada, the operator may convert foreign currency transactions for those costs into Canadian dollars using the Bank of Canada’s average noon exchange rate for the month in which those costs were incurred.
Deductions
70. (1) In calculating the value of the output of a mine for a fiscal year, only the following deductions and allowances may be claimed:
- (a) the costs, incurred during the fiscal year, of sorting, valuing, marketing and selling the minerals or processed minerals produced from the mine;
- (b) the costs, incurred during the fiscal year, of insurance, storage, handling and transportation to the processing plant or market, in respect of the minerals or processed minerals produced from the mine;
- (c) the costs, incurred during the fiscal year, of mining and processing minerals or processed minerals from the mine;
- (d) the costs, incurred during the fiscal year, of repair, maintenance or reclamation at the mine;
- (e) the consideration paid by a member of a joint venture for minerals or processed minerals diverted from another member of the joint venture, when each member is delivering a separate mining royalty return in accordance with section 74;
- (f) general and administrative costs incurred during the fiscal year for property, employees or operations at the mine that are not otherwise allocated to operating costs;
- (g) exploration costs incurred during the fiscal year by an owner of the mine, other than on the mining property, if those costs have not been otherwise claimed as an allowance or deduction under these Regulations, in an amount not greater than 10% of the value of the output of the mine multiplied by the owner’s share of that output, calculated
- (i) after deduction of the costs referred to in paragraphs (a) to (f), and
- (ii) before the deduction of any depreciation allowance, mining reclamation trust contribution allowance, development allowance or processing allowance;
- (h) subject to subsection (5), paragraphs (8)(d) and (9)(e) and subsection (10), a depreciation allowance for the depreciable assets of the mine, and for the depreciable assets of any facilities located outside the Northwest Territories that are used for the processing of minerals or processed minerals produced from the mine in an amount not exceeding the undeducted balance of the cost of those depreciable assets at the end of the fiscal year of the mine;
- (i) a development allowance, not exceeding the undeducted balance at the end of the fiscal year of the mine of
- (i) exploration costs incurred, before the date of commencement of production, on the mining property as constituted on the date of commencement of production and not deducted under paragraph (g) in respect of any other mine,
- (ii) all costs incurred before the date of the commencement of production for the purposes of bringing the mine into production less the total of
- (A) the value of any minerals or processed minerals produced from the mining property that were sold or transferred before the date of commencement of production, calculated in accordance with section 69, and
- (B) the market value of any minerals or processed minerals produced from the mining property that are in inventory on the date of commencement of production, calculated in accordance with section 69,
- (iii) exploration costs incurred on the mining property after the date of commencement of production,
- (iv) costs incurred after the date of commencement of production for workings designed for continuing use, including the clearing, removing or stripping of overburden from a new deposit at the mine, the sinking, excavation or extension of a mine shaft, main haulage way or similar underground workings, the construction of an adit or other underground entry and the construction of a road or of tailings disposal structures at the mine, and
- (v) if minerals or processed minerals are being produced in commercial quantities from a recorded claim or leased claim that was incorporated into the mining property after the date of the commencement of production of the mine, or from another mining property that was incorporated into the mining property on which the mine is located after the date of the commencement of production,
- (A) if the claim or lease was purchased, the purchase price of the claim or lease or the amount referred to in clause (B), whichever is the lesser, or
- (B) in any other case, the costs referred to in subparagraphs (i) and (ii) that were incurred on the incorporated claim or lease and that have not been previously claimed as a deduction or allowance under these Regulations;
- (j) a mining reclamation trust contribution allowance, determined by the operator, not exceeding the undeducted balance at the end of the fiscal year of amounts contributed to the mining reclamation trust with respect to any environmental impact resulting from the mining of minerals from lands to which these Regulations apply;
- (k) if minerals or processed minerals are processed by the operator of the mine before their sale or transfer, an annual processing allowance equal to the lesser of
- (i) subject to subsection (2), 8% of the original cost of the processing assets used by the operator in the processing of the output of the mine during the fiscal year, and
- (ii) 65% of the value of the output of the mine, after deduction of the amounts referred to in paragraphs (a) to (j); and
- (l) if minerals or processed minerals from the mine are processed at another mine, or at any facilities located outside the Northwest Territories that are used for the processing of minerals or processed minerals produced from another mine that is owned by the operator or by a person related to the operator, the total of
- (i) the amount of the costs of the other mine that are not deductible under paragraph (8)(b),
- (ii) the amount by which the processing allowance for the other mine is reduced under paragraph (8)(c), and
- (iii) the amount by which the undeducted balance of the original cost of the other mine’s depreciable assets is adjusted under paragraph (8)(d).
Production or fiscal year less than 12 months
(2) When a mine is in production for less than 12 months in a fiscal year or a fiscal year of a mine is less than 12 months,
- (a) the deduction for processing allowance calculated under subparagraph (1)(k)(i) must be multiplied by one-twelfth times the number of months in the fiscal year that the mine was in production or the number of months in the shortened fiscal year, as the case may be; and
- (b) each dollar amount in column 1 of the table to subsection 69(1) must be multiplied by one-twelfth times the number of months in the fiscal year that the mine was in production or the number of months in the shortened fiscal year, as the case may be.
Deduction respecting related person
(3) When the operator of a mine claims a deduction for costs incurred in a transaction with a related person, the costs allowed as a deduction under this section must be the amount of the actual costs incurred by the related person, exclusive of any profit, gain or commission to the related person or to any other related person.
Depreciation allowance
(4) A depreciation allowance may be claimed in respect of a depreciable asset in the fiscal year in which it is first used in the operations of the mine.
Reduction in depreciation allowance
(5) When an operator disposes of, or receives insurance proceeds in respect of, assets for which a depreciation allowance has been claimed,
- (a) the undeducted balance of depreciable assets must be reduced by the lesser of
- (i) the proceeds of disposition or insurance proceeds, as the case may be, and
- (ii) the original cost of the asset; and
- (b) when the lesser of the amounts referred to in subparagraphs (a)(i) and (ii) exceeds the undeducted balance of depreciable assets in the fiscal year in which the assets were disposed of, the excess must be included in the value of the output of the mine for that fiscal year.
Depreciation allowance — proceeds of disposition
(6) For the purposes of subsection (5), when the operator of a mine sells to a related person an asset for which a depreciation allowance has been claimed or removes the asset from the mine, the proceeds of disposition of the asset are the amount that could be expected to be realized from the sale of the asset to a person not related to the operator.
Depreciation allowance — purchase cost
(7) When the operator of a mine purchases from a related person an asset that is eligible for a depreciation allowance or transfers to the mine an asset from another mine owned by the operator, the cost of the asset for the purposes of calculating a depreciation allowance is the amount that the operator could be expected to pay to purchase that asset from a person not related to the operator.
Rules respecting processing minerals not produced at the mine
(8) When, in a particular fiscal year, a mine’s operator uses the mine’s depreciable assets, or any facilities located outside the Northwest Territories that are used for the processing of minerals or processed minerals produced from the mine, to process minerals or processed minerals other than those produced from the mine,
- (a) the revenue earned from the sale or processing of those minerals or processed minerals must not be included in the value of the output of the mine;
- (b) the deduction for the costs incurred during the fiscal year under paragraphs (1)(a) to (f) must be reduced by any costs incurred for the processing of minerals or processed minerals not produced from the mine;
- (c) the original cost of the processing assets used to calculate the processing allowance amount under subparagraph (1)(k)(i) must be reduced by an amount equal to the original cost of the processing assets multiplied by the ratio of the costs incurred during the fiscal year under paragraphs (1)(a) to (f) for the processing of minerals or processed minerals not produced from the mine to the total costs incurred during the fiscal year, under those paragraphs, for the processing of all minerals or processed minerals at the mine; and
- (d) the undeducted balance of the original cost of the mine’s depreciable assets at the end of the fiscal year must be adjusted to exclude an amount equal to the original cost of the depreciable assets used to process minerals or processed minerals not produced from the mine multiplied by the ratio of the costs incurred under paragraphs (1)(a) to (f) during that fiscal year and all prior fiscal years for the processing through those assets of minerals or processed minerals not produced from the mine to the total costs incurred under those paragraphs during that fiscal year and all prior fiscal years for the processing through those assets of all minerals and processed minerals at the mine.
Rules respecting adjustment of calculations
(9) When a mine produces minerals or processed minerals from lands to which these Regulations apply and any other lands,
- (a) the deduction for the costs incurred during the fiscal year under paragraphs (1)(a) to (f) must be reduced by any costs incurred for the production of minerals or processed minerals from lands other than lands to which these Regulations apply;
- (b) the original cost of the processing assets used to calculate the processing allowance under subparagraph (1)(k)(i) must be reduced by an amount equal to the original cost of the processing assets multiplied by the ratio of the costs incurred during the fiscal year under paragraphs (1)(a) to (f) for the processing of minerals or processed minerals produced from lands other than lands to which these Regulations apply to the total costs incurred during the fiscal year, under those paragraphs, for the processing of all minerals or processed minerals at the mine;
- (c) the undeducted balance of costs eligible for the mine’s development allowance at the end of the fiscal year must be adjusted to exclude an amount equal to the costs referred to in subparagraph (1)(i)(ii) multiplied by the ratio of the costs incurred under paragraphs (1)(a) to (f) during that fiscal year and all prior fiscal years for the production of minerals or processed minerals from lands other than lands to which these Regulations apply to the total costs incurred under those paragraphs during that fiscal year and all prior fiscal years for the production of all minerals or processed minerals at the mine;
- (d) the undeducted balance of costs eligible for the mine’s development allowance at the end of the fiscal year must be adjusted to exclude an amount equal to the costs of the workings referred to in subparagraph (1)(i)(iv) used in the production of minerals or processed minerals from lands other than lands to which these Regulations apply multiplied by the ratio of the costs incurred under paragraphs (1)(c) to (f) during that fiscal year and all prior fiscal years for the use of those workings in the production of minerals or processed minerals from lands other than lands to which these Regulations apply to the total costs incurred under those paragraphs during that fiscal year and all prior fiscal years for the use of those workings in the production of all minerals or processed minerals at the mine; and
- (e) the undeducted balance of the original cost of the mine’s depreciable assets at the end of the fiscal year must be adjusted to exclude an amount equal to the original cost of the depreciable assets used in the production or processing of minerals or processed minerals produced from lands other than lands to which these Regulations apply multiplied by the ratio of the costs incurred under paragraphs (1)(a) to (f) during that fiscal year and all prior fiscal years for the use of those assets for the production or processing of minerals or processed minerals produced from lands other than lands to which these Regulations apply to the total costs incurred under those paragraphs during that fiscal year and all prior fiscal years for the use of those assets for the production or processing of all minerals or processed minerals produced at the mine.
Timing and other requirements respecting adjustments
(10) The adjustments referred to in paragraphs (8)(d) and (9)(c) to (e) must each be calculated at the end of each fiscal year of the mine with the difference between the amount calculated for that fiscal year and the amount calculated for the previous fiscal year being added to or subtracted from the undeducted balance of the depreciable assets or the undeducted balance of the costs eligible for the development allowance, as the case may be.
Limitations on deductions and allowances
(11) Despite any other subsection of this section, no deduction or allowance can be made in respect of a mine in relation to
- (a) the capital cost of the depreciable assets, other than those subject to the depreciation allowance under paragraph (1)(h);
- (b) depletion in the value of the mine or mining property by reason of exhaustion of the minerals;
- (c) if an owner or the operator of the mine is a corporation,
- (i) remuneration and travel costs of directors,
- (ii) stock transfer agents’ fees,
- (iii) shareholders’ meetings or the preparation of shareholders’ reports, and
- (iv) legal, accounting and other costs incurred in connection with incorporations, reorganizations, financing or security or stock issues;
- (d) interest on any debt, including an overdraft, loan, mortgage, advance, debenture or bond, that is capitalized or expensed for accounting purposes;
- (e) remuneration of executive officers, administrative and consulting costs and costs in respect of offices not located at the mine site, unless that remuneration or those costs are directly related to operations of the mine or to the marketing and selling of minerals or processed minerals produced from the mine;
- (f) the taxes on profits, property or capital, or payments in lieu of those taxes, paid to any level of government and the cost of preparing returns in respect of those taxes, except for customs duties, sales and excise taxes not otherwise refundable to the operator, for any taxes related to the employment of employees, and for the cost of preparing a return in respect of those taxes;
- (g) the royalties paid for the use of mining property, the royalties calculated on revenue, production or profits of the mine, and the cost of calculating any royalties other than the royalties paid or payable under these Regulations;
- (h) payments made to an organization, community or corporation, including an Aboriginal organization, community or corporation, that are not attributable to the provision of goods and services directly related to the development and operation of the mine or to prospecting and exploration on lands to which these Regulations apply;
- (i) payments made for the use or lease of, or access to, the surface of the land on which the mine is located;
- (j) discounts on bonds, debentures, shares or sales of receivables;
- (k) increases in reserves or provisions for contingencies, other than in respect of a mining reclamation trust;
- (l) dues and memberships for persons, other than employees, involved in the operation of the mine;
- (m) insurance premiums other than those paid for minerals or processed minerals produced from the mine;
- (n) costs incurred during the fiscal year to produce revenue that does not form part of the value of the output of the mine;
- (o) subject to subparagraph (1)(i)(v), the purchase price of a recorded claim, a lease of a recorded claim or a mine;
- (p) the purchase price of any financial instrument;
- (q) charitable donations;
- (r) advertising costs not directly identified with the output of a particular mine;
- (s) any cost not evidenced in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards;
- (t) the cost of inventories of fuel, other consumables and spare parts that have not been consumed in the operation of the mine;
- (u) the costs of staking or recording a claim, or the cost of surveying the claim for the purpose of taking it to lease;
- (v) rent paid for the lease of a recorded claim under these Regulations;
- (w) the cost of preparing any financial information not required for the calculation of mining royalties;
- (x) any cost incurred after any precious stones have been last valued by the mining royalty valuer, if those stones were sold or transferred to a related party, or to any other person if proof of the disposition is not provided, or if the stones were cut and polished before their sale or transfer;
- (y) any costs related to public, community or government relations unless those costs were incurred for environmental assessments or other regulatory processes; and
- (z) any fines, penalties or bribes.
Change of owner or operator has no effect
71. (1) A change in the ownership or of the operator of a mine does not affect
- (a) the undeducted balance of the depreciable assets eligible for a depreciation allowance;
- (b) the undeducted balance of the costs eligible for a development allowance;
- (c) the undeducted balance of contributions to a mining reclamation trust; or
- (d) the original cost of the assets used for calculating a processing allowance.
Costs not eligible for development allowance
(2) Subject to paragraph 70(1)(i), when a recorded claim expires or its recording is cancelled, or a lease expires or is cancelled, any costs incurred in respect of that claim or lease that would otherwise be eligible for a development allowance are no longer eligible for a development allowance in respect of any mine.
Combining operations on two mining properties
(3) If a mining property is acquired by the operator of another mine and the operations on the two mining properties are combined to become a single operation, the undeducted balance of the costs eligible for the development allowance, the undeducted balance of the cost of the depreciable assets eligible for the depreciation allowance, the undeducted balance of the contributions to a mining reclamation trust and the original cost of the processing assets eligible for the processing allowance for each mine must be combined.
Valuations when mining property purchased from Crown
(4) For the purpose of subsection (3), if an operator purchases a mining property from the Crown, the value of the undeducted balance of the costs eligible for the development allowance, of the undeducted balance of the cost of the depreciable assets eligible for the depreciation allowance and of the original cost of the processing assets eligible for the processing allowance of the purchased mine is the lesser of the value established at the time the Crown acquired the mining property and the value established in the agreement of purchase and sale for that property.
Statement respecting minerals whose gross value exceeds $100,000
72. (1) If, in a particular year, minerals or processed minerals that are from a leased claim and whose gross value exceeds $100,000 are processed at a mine, removed from a mine, sold or otherwise disposed of, the lessee must, within one month after the end of that year, deliver to the Chief a statement setting out
- (a) the name and a description of the mine;
- (b) the names and addresses of all owners, operators and other lessees of the mine;
- (c) the name and address of a person to whom notices may be sent;
- (d) the weight and value of minerals or processed minerals processed at the mine, removed from the mine, sold or otherwise disposed of during the year and during each month of that year; and
- (e) the design capacity of any mill, concentrator or other processing plant at the mine.
Notice of changes
(2) A lessee who has delivered a statement under subsection (1) must promptly notify the Chief of
- (a) any change in the name and address of the person to whom notices may be sent; and
- (b) any change in the ownership or of the operator of the mine.
Contents of royalty return
73. (1) On or before the last day of the fourth month after the end of each fiscal year of a mine, including the fiscal year during which the mine commences production and all subsequent years for which there are any amounts that qualify for determining the values of A to H and J in subsection 69(4), the operator of the mine must deliver to the Chief a mining royalty return, in the prescribed form, setting out
- (a) the name and a description of the mine;
- (b) the name and address of the operator;
- (c) the names of processing plants to which minerals or processed minerals have been shipped from the mine for processing;
- (d) the weight of the minerals or processed minerals produced from the mine during the fiscal year;
- (e) the weight and value of the minerals or processed minerals produced from the mine that were
- (i) sold or transferred during the fiscal year of the mine to persons not related to the operator,
- (ii) sold or transferred during the fiscal year of the mine to persons related to the operator,
- (iii) in inventory at the beginning of the fiscal year of the mine, and
- (iv) in inventory at the end of the fiscal year of the mine;
- (f) any costs, deductions and allowances claimed under subsection 70(1);
- (g) if exploration costs are claimed as a deduction under paragraph 70(1)(g), or if costs are included in the costs eligible for a development allowance under paragraph 70(1)(i), the recorded claims or leases on which those costs were incurred;
- (h) in respect of depreciable assets,
- (i) the undeducted balance of depreciable assets at the beginning of the fiscal year,
- (ii) the cost of additions during the fiscal year to depreciable assets,
- (iii) the proceeds from the disposition during the fiscal year of depreciable assets,
- (iv) the undeducted balance of depreciable assets at the end of the fiscal year before deduction of a depreciation allowance,
- (v) the undeducted balance of depreciable assets at the end of the fiscal year after deduction of a depreciation allowance, and
- (vi) the original cost of depreciable assets disposed of during the fiscal year;
- (i) in respect of development allowances,
- (i) the undeducted balance at the beginning of the fiscal year of costs eligible for a development allowance,
- (ii) if the mining royalty return is delivered for the first fiscal year of the mine, the amount of the costs determined under subparagraphs 70(1)(i)(i) and (ii),
- (iii) the amounts of each of the costs identified in subparagraphs 70(1)(i)(iii) to (v) incurred during the fiscal year,
- (iv) the undeducted balance of costs eligible for a development allowance at the end of the fiscal year before deduction of a development allowance, and
- (v) the undeducted balance of costs eligible for a development allowance at the end of the fiscal year after deduction of a development allowance;
- (j) in respect of any mining reclamation trust established for lands to which these Regulations apply,
- (i) the total of all amounts contributed to the mining reclamation trust,
- (ii) the undeducted balance of contributions to the mining reclamation trust at the beginning of the fiscal year,
- (iii) the amounts contributed to the mining reclamation trust during the fiscal year,
- (iv) the undeducted balance of contributions to the mining reclamation trust at the end of the fiscal year before any deduction of a mining reclamation trust contribution allowance,
- (v) the undeducted balance of contributions to the mining reclamation trust at the end of the fiscal year after deduction of a mining reclamation trust contribution allowance, and
- (vi) the total of all amounts withdrawn from the mining reclamation trust during the fiscal year and in previous fiscal years;
- (k) in respect of processing assets,
- (i) the original cost of the processing assets at the beginning of the fiscal year,
- (ii) the original cost of any new processing assets added to the mine during the fiscal year,
- (iii) the original cost of any processing assets that were substituted for other processing assets of the mine during the fiscal year,
- (iv) the original cost of any processing assets for which other processing assets were substituted during the fiscal year,
- (v) the original cost of any processing assets not used, sold, discarded or otherwise disposed of during the fiscal year, and
- (vi) the original cost of the processing assets at the end of the fiscal year;
- (l) any payment received during the fiscal year that is related to a cost that has been claimed as a deduction or allowance; and
- (m) any amount by which the proceeds of disposition of assets for which a depreciation allowance has been claimed exceed the undeducted balance of depreciable assets at the end of the fiscal year in which the assets were disposed of.
Documents to accompany royalty return
(2) Every mining royalty return must be
- (a) accompanied by the financial statements for the mine or, if the mine has no financial statements, the financial statements of the operator of the mine, and a reconciliation of those financial statements to the mining royalty return; and
- (b) signed by the operator of the mine and include a statement under oath or solemn affirmation by the operator or, if the operator is a corporation, by an officer of the corporation, that the financial statements are to that person’s knowledge and belief complete and correct.
Royalty return — election under subsection 69(7)
(3) If a mine’s operator makes an election under subsection 69(7),
- (a) the operator must deliver the initial mining royalty return for the fiscal year using the market value of the inventories of minerals or processed minerals and then deliver an amended mining royalty return once those inventories have been sold; and
- (b) the operator must deliver a mining royalty return for the mine’s subsequent fiscal years if there are any amounts that qualify for determining the values of D to H in subsection 69(4), or if the mine recommences production.
Royalty returns for certain joint ventures
74. (1) If a mine is operated as a joint venture and each member of the joint venture takes its share of the output of the mine in kind and sells that share separately and independently from other members of the joint venture to purchasers who are not related to any of the members of the joint venture,- (a) each member may deliver to the Chief a separate mining royalty return for the royalty payable under subsection 69(1) on the value of its share of the output of the mine, in lieu of including that information in a mining royalty return delivered under subsection 73(1); and
- (b) each member, and any person related to that member, is liable to pay only those royalties attributable to that member’s share of the output of the mine.
Joint venture respecting single mine
(2) When, under subsection (1), more than one member of a joint venture delivers a mining royalty return to the Chief for a single mine,
- (a) each member of the joint venture is considered to be a separate operator for the purposes of these Regulations;
- (b) each member must indicate on the mining royalty return the percentage of the output of the mine represented by that mining royalty return;
- (c) the value of the output on the mining royalty return for each member must be calculated in accordance with section 69 using
- (i) in respect of costs eligible for deductions under paragraphs 70(1)(a) to (f),
- (A) a percentage of costs that have been jointly incurred, equal to the percentage of the output of the mine received by that member, and
- (B) the costs that have been incurred by that member alone,
- (ii) in determining a deduction for exploration costs under paragraph 70(1)(g), the exploration costs incurred by that member alone,
- (iii) a depreciation allowance based on
- (A) a percentage of the depreciable assets of the mine that are jointly held, equal to the percentage of the output of the mine received by that member, and
- (B) the depreciable assets of the mine that are held by the member alone,
- (iv) a development allowance based on
- (A) a percentage of the costs referred to in subparagraphs 70(1)(i)(i) to (v) that have been jointly incurred, equal to the percentage of the output of the mine received by that member, and
- (B) the costs referred to in subparagraphs 70(1)(i)(i) to (v) that have been incurred by that member alone,
- (v) a mining reclamation trust contribution allowance equal to the amount contributed to a mining reclamation trust in respect of lands to which these Regulations apply by that member, and
- (vi) a processing allowance based on
- (A) a percentage of the processing assets of the mine that are jointly held equal to the percentage of the output of the mine received by that member, and
- (B) the processing assets of the mine that are held by that member alone;
- (i) in respect of costs eligible for deductions under paragraphs 70(1)(a) to (f),
- (d) the amounts in column 1 of the table to subsection 69(1) must be adjusted by multiplying each amount by a percentage equal to the percentage of the output of the mine received by that member; and
- (e) each mining royalty return must be based on the same fiscal year.
Notice of assessment of royalties
75. (1) Within six years after the end of a particular fiscal year of a mine, the Chief must send to the operator of the mine a notice of assessment for the amount of the royalty payable for that fiscal year.
Notice of reassessment
(2) If, during or after the period referred to in subsection (1), there are reasonable grounds to believe that the operator of a mine or any other person who delivers a mining royalty return has made a fraudulent or negligent misrepresentation in completing the mining royalty return or in supplying any other information under section 73 or 74, the Chief may send a notice of reassessment for the amount of the royalty payable for a fiscal year in respect of the mine.
When royalties are considered payable
(3) If the Chief sends an operator a notice of assessment or reassessment for the amount of royalty payable for a fiscal year, the amount of royalty assessed or reassessed for the fiscal year is considered to be payable on the last day of the fourth month after the end of that fiscal year.
Royalty returns when ownership of mine changes
(4) If the ownership of a mine changes, the operator may file a separate mining royalty return for the portion of the fiscal year before the change of ownership and the portion of the fiscal year after the change of ownership, and each such portion is considered to be a fiscal year of less than 12 months for the purposes of subsection 70(2).
Record keeping
76. (1) Every operator of a mine must keep at an office in Canada and make available to the Chief, to substantiate information required on mining royalty returns,
- (a) records, books of account and other documents evidencing
- (i) the weight of all minerals extracted from the mine and of all minerals or processed minerals processed at the mine, whether or not they are produced from the mine,
- (ii) the weight and value of all minerals or processed minerals produced from the mine, sold, transferred or removed from the mine by the mine’s operator,
- (iii) any amounts received from a processing plant and any other amounts received from the sale of minerals or processed minerals, and
- (iv) the costs, payments, allowances and other deductions referred to in section 70;
- (b) the financial statements of the mine and the operator;
- (c) a reconciliation between the documents referred to in paragraphs (a) and (b) and the mining royalty return;
- (d) if the financial statements of an owner or the operator of the mine are audited by an external auditor,
- (i) the audited financial statements and the accompanying signed audit opinion of the external auditor, and
- (ii) any working papers and documentation prepared by the external auditor that are in the possession of an owner or the operator;
- (e) any documents filed by an owner or the operator with a stock exchange or securities commission;
- (f) any documents related to any internal audits of a company that is an owner or the operator; and
- (g) any other documents that contain information necessary for ascertaining the amount of royalty payable under section 69.
Non-disclosure of confidential information
(2) It is prohibited to disclose information of a confidential nature acquired for the purposes of sections 69 to 77, except
- (a) to the extent necessary to determine the amount of royalties payable under section 69;
- (b) when required under a land claims agreement referred to in section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982; or
- (c) under an agreement entered into by the Minister for the purpose of the administration of section 69 with the government of a country, province or state, or with an Aboriginal organization owning mineral rights, under which the officers of that government or Aboriginal organization are provided with the information and the Chief is provided with information from the government or Aboriginal organization.
Condition on removal of minerals
77. (1) Subject to subsection (2), it is prohibited to remove minerals or processed minerals produced from a mine, other than for the purposes of assay and testing to determine the existence, location, extent, quality or economic potential of a mineral deposit in the lands constituting the mining property, until the weight and any other information necessary to establish the value of those minerals or processed minerals has been ascertained and entered in the books of account referred to in subsection 76(1).
Condition on removal of precious stones
(2) Precious stones must not be removed from a mine — other than in a bulk sample or in a concentrate for the purposes of establishing the grade and the value of the stones in a mineral deposit — or cut, polished, sold or transferred, until they have been valued by a mining royalty valuer.
Facilities required for valuation
(3) The operator of a mine must provide, in the Northwest Territories, any facilities and equipment, other than computer equipment, necessary for a mining royalty valuer to value any precious stones produced from the mine.
Facilities considered part of mine
(4) For the purposes of these Regulations, facilities referred to in subsection (3) are considered to be part of the mine and any transfer of the precious stones from one part of the mine to another is not considered to be a removal of the stones from the mine.
Cleaning of precious stones
(5) Precious stones must not be presented to the mining royalty valuer until the operator of the mine has cleaned the stones so as to remove all substances from the stones that are not part of them.
Presentation of precious stones to royalty valuer
(6) As soon as any precious stones have been processed into a saleable form, they must be presented to a mining royalty valuer for valuation.
Separate valuation of precious stones
(7) An operator who produces precious stones and sells or transfers them to persons who are related to the operator must present to a mining royalty valuer
- (a) all stones that are to be sold or transferred to a person related to the operator, for separate valuation before their sale or transfer; and
- (b) all stones that are to be cut or polished by the operator or any related party, for separate valuation before their being cut or polished.
Presentation of diamonds to royalty valuer
(8) For the purposes of subsections (6) and (7), unless otherwise agreed on by the operator and the mining royalty valuer, an operator must present to the mining royalty valuer
- (a) diamonds with a weight of 10.8 carats or more, separately, together with the weight of each diamond;
- (b) diamonds with a weight from 2.8 carats to 10.79 carats, in lots separated according to weight in carats, together with the number of diamonds per lot;
- (c) diamonds with a weight from 0.66 carats to 2.79 carats, in lots separated according to weight in grainers, from which randomly selected samples, accurately representing the composition of each lot, have been separated; and
- (d) diamonds with a weight of less than 0.66 carats, in lots separated according to industry standard DTC sieve sizes, from which randomly selected samples, accurately representing the composition of each lot, have been separated.
Estimate of market value of diamonds
(9) Before diamonds are presented to the mining royalty valuer under subsection (8), the operator must provide an estimate of the market value of each diamond or lot, as the case may be, to the Chief.
GENERAL PROVISIONS
Recorded claim and lease subject to public works
78. Every recorded claim, whether leased or not, is subject to the right of the Crown and of the Commissioner of the Northwest Territories to construct and maintain roads or other public works on or over the lands covered by the claim.
Suspension — death or incompetency of claim holder
79. If the holder of a recorded claim for which no lease has been issued dies or is declared by a court of competent jurisdiction to be incapable of managing their affairs and notice of the death or declaration is filed with the Mining Recorder within 180 days after the date of the death or declaration, and if the recording of the claim was not cancelled before the filing of the notice, the running of a time period within which anything is required to be done by a claim holder with respect to that claim under these Regulations is suspended until the anniversary date of the recording of the claim that is at least 12 months after the day on which the notice was filed.
Extension on account of strike
80. If, as a result of a strike within the meaning of subsection 2(1) of the Public Service Labour Relations Act, a holder of a prospecting permit, recorded claim or lease is unable, through no fault on their part, to do a thing within the time required by these Regulations, the deadline for doing that thing is extended for a period ending 15 days after the last day of the strike.
When written notice is considered to be received
81. For the purposes of these Regulations, written notice is considered to be given to the holder of a prospecting permit, recorded claim or lease when the notice is sent by registered mail to the holder at the holder’s address, or transmitted by fax or email to the holder at the holder’s fax number or email address, as shown in the records of the Mining Recorder.
Recording of documents
82. (1) The Mining Recorder must record
- (a) every judgment or order relating to the ownership of a recorded claim or a lease made by a court of competent jurisdiction, the Minister, the Supervising Mining Recorder or the Mining Recorder;
- (b) in respect of the recorded claims and leases that constitute a mining property or an interest in that property, a notice of any mining royalties payable that have not been paid within 30 days after
- (i) the delivery to the Chief of a mining royalty return in respect of that property or interest, or
- (ii) when a notice of assessment or reassessment has been sent under subsection 75(1) or (2), the date of the notice of assessment or reassessment, unless a request for review of the assessment or reassessment has been made under section 84; and
- (c) on the payment of the applicable fee set out in Schedule 1, every other document filed in relation to a recorded claim or a lease.
Recording considered to give notice
(2) All persons are considered to have received notice of every document recorded under subsection (1) as of the date of the recording of the document.
Transfer subject to encumbrances
(3) A transfer of a recorded claim or a lease, or any interest in either, is subject to all judgments, orders, liens and other encumbrances that were recorded against the claim or lease, or any interest in them, at the time of the recording of the transfer.
Consultation of records
83. (1) Subject to subsection (2), a person may
- (a) consult the record of a prospecting permit, recorded claim or leased claim, and any related documents filed with the Mining Recorder, free of charge; and
- (b) obtain a copy of a record on payment of the applicable fee set out in Schedule 1.
Limit on consultation
(2) A person is not permitted to consult or obtain a copy of a report submitted under subsection 15(1) or 41(1) until the earlier of
- (a) the day of the expiration or cancellation of the prospecting permit or recording of the claim, and
- (b) three years after the day on which the report was received by the Mining Recorder.
REVIEW BY THE MINISTER
Request for ministerial review
84. (1) Any person with a legal or beneficial interest in the subject matter of a decision made or an action taken or omitted to be taken under these Regulations may request that the Minister review any issue the person has with respect to the decision, action or omission.
Requirements for request
(2) A request for review must be made in writing within 30 days after the day on which the decision is made or the action is taken or, in the case of an omission to take action, within 30 days after the day on which action should have been taken and must specify
- (a) the name of the requester and their contact information;
- (b) the issue the requester wishes the Minister to review;
- (c) the date on which the decision, act or omission took place; and
- (d) the corrective relief requested.
Absence of or error in information
(3) A review may be undertaken despite a failure to specify, or an error in specifying, any information required under subsection (2).
Procedure for review
(4) After receipt of a request for review, the Minister must
- (a) provide the requester and all persons with an interest in the issue a reasonable opportunity to be heard;
- (b) review all information received respecting the issue; and
- (c) decide the corrective relief, if any, to be taken respecting the issue.
Additional information
(5) The Minister may request the requester or any other person to provide any document or other information that may be relevant to the review.
Decision and reasons
(6) A written statement of the Minister’s decision and the reasons for it must be sent to the requester and all persons with an interest in the issue.
Final decision
(7) The Minister’s decision under this section is not to be the subject of a request for review.
Prohibition respecting staking
85. If a request for review is with respect to the cancellation of the recording of a claim under subsection 53(3) or paragraph 53(4)(b) or the amendment of the boundaries of a claim under paragraph 53(4)(b), it is prohibited to stake a claim on the lands covered by the claim the recording of which was cancelled or the boundaries of which were amended. The prohibition is in effect from the start of the review until noon on the day following the first business day after the day on which the Minister’s decision was sent in accordance with subsection 84(6).
TRANSITIONAL PROVISIONS
Definition of “former Regulations”
86. In sections 87 to 93, “former Regulations” means the Northwest Territories and Nunavut Mining Regulations.
Recording of located claim
87. (1) If, within 59 days before these Regulations come into force, a claim is located in accordance with subsection 14(14) of the former Regulations, an application to record the claim that is made after these Regulations come into force may be made under section 24 of the former Regulations or under section 33 of these Regulations.
Located claim considered as staked claim
(2) For greater certainty, a claim that is located under the former Regulations is considered to be a claim that was staked under these Regulations.
Certificates of extension
88. A certificate of extension given under section 44 of the former Regulations is not counted as a certificate of extension under subsection 42(2) of these Regulations.
Report on work — former Regulations
89. A report prepared in accordance with the former Regulations respecting representation work that was done before the coming into force of these Regulations is considered to be in accordance with these Regulations if it is submitted within two years after the coming into force of these Regulations.
Deduction from lease payment
90. Subsection 60(2) of the former Regulations applies for one year after these Regulations come into force.
Application for common anniversary date
91. If an application for a certificate under subsection 39(1) of the former Regulations — giving a common anniversary date of recording for claims — was received by the Mining Recorder before the coming into force of these Regulations but was not dealt with before that time, it must be dealt with in accordance with the former Regulations.
Honorary licence
92. A person who, when these Regulations come into force, holds an honorary licence under section 77 of the former Regulations is entitled to renew the honorary licence each year in accordance with that section.
Applications for leases and renewals
93. (1) If an application for a lease or a request for a renewal of a lease is received before, or within six months after, the day on which these Regulations come into force, the application or request must be dealt with in accordance with the former Regulations.
Continuation of lease
(2) In the case of a request for renewal under subsection (1), if the request has not been dealt with before the lease is due to expire, the lease is considered to continue in effect until the request has been dealt with.
Timing of application for lease
(3) If the duration of a recorded claim ends within one year after the day on which these Regulations come into force, paragraph 60(2)(b) is to be read without reference to the words “at least one year”.
REPEAL
94. The Northwest Territories and Nunavut Mining Regulations (see footnote 1) are repealed.
COMING INTO FORCE
March 31, 2014
95. These Regulations come into force on March 31, 2014.
SCHEDULE 1
(Subsections 3(1) and (4), paragraph 9(2)(c), subsections 17(2), 18(3), 24(1) and (2), 33(3), 35(3), 41(3), 42(1), 45(4), 46(2) and (6) and 52(2), section 54, paragraphs 59(c) and 60(2)(a), subsection 62(1) and paragraphs 65(c), 66(1)(d), 82(1)(c) and 83(1)(b))
FEES
| Item |
Column 1 |
Column 2 |
|---|---|---|
1. |
Copy of a record, per page |
1.00 |
2. |
Licence issued to an individual |
5.00 |
3. |
Licence issued to a corporation |
50.00 |
4. |
Duplicate licence |
2.00 |
5. |
Identification tags or reduced-area tags, per set |
2.00 |
6. |
Application to record a claim or a reduced-area claim, per hectare in the claim |
0.25 |
7. |
Application for a prospecting permit |
25.00 |
8. |
Request to group prospecting permits |
10.00 |
9. |
Request to transfer a prospecting permit |
25.00 |
10. |
Certificate of work, per hectare in the claim |
0.25 |
11. |
Request to group recorded claims |
10.00 |
12. |
Application for extension to do work on a claim, per hectare in the claim |
0.25 |
13. |
Recording an official plan of survey of a claim, per claim in the survey |
2.00 |
14. |
Application for lease of a recorded claim or renewal of a lease, per claim in the lease |
25.00 |
15. |
Recording a transfer of a lease and any other document pertaining to a lease |
25.00 |
16. |
Recording any document pertaining to a claim, per entry |
2.00 |
17. |
Request to cancel the recording of a claim |
10.00 |
SCHEDULE 2
(Subsections 15(2) and (8), 41(1) and 44(1))
REPORTS
INTERPRETATION
Definitions
1. The following definitions apply in this Schedule.
“identifier”
« identificateur »
“identifier” means a set of alphabetic, numeric or alphanumeric characters used to uniquely identify a sample, a prospecting permit zone or an electronic storage medium.
“map”
« carte »
“map” includes a plan, graphical image or three-dimensional model in electronic or paper form.
“preparation”
« préparation »
“preparation” includes drying, fractioning, sieving and panning.
“sample”
« échantillon »
“sample” includes a sample fraction, processed sample, analyzed sample, duplicate sample, blank sample, quality control sample and each of multiple samples from one location.
“section”
« coupe »
“section”, except when used to refer to a legislative provision, includes a cross-section, inclined section and longitudinal section in electronic or paper form.
PART 1
GENERAL REQUIREMENTS
Paper or electronic format
2. (1) A report must be submitted in paper format, in electronic format or in a combination of paper and electronic formats.
Report submitted in electronic format
(2) The electronic format in which any part of a report — other than the raw data specified in paragraph 4(s) — is submitted must be such that the report can be read using the Mining Recorder’s computer systems.
Identifying information
3. (1) The following identifying information must be provided:
- (a) a statement of the types of work being reported on;
- (b) the name of the permittee or of the holder of the recorded claim, as the case may be;
- (c) a list of the prospecting permits or recorded claims in respect of which the work was done, and setting out for each one
- (i) if a prospecting permit, its identification number, and
- (ii) if a claim, its identification tag number and the name associated with it, if any;
- (d) the number of the National Topographic System of Canada 1:50 000 map sheet that shows the area covered by the permit or claim;
- (e) the four values representing either
- (i) the maximum and minimum latitude and longitude of the area covered by the permit or claim, or
- (ii) the maximum and minimum Northings and Eastings UTM coordinates of the area covered by the permit or claim;
- (f) the name of the individual who prepared and signed the report;
- (g) for each period that work was done in the field, the first date and last date that work in the field was done;
- (h) the date of the report;
- (i) for a report submitted in paper format in more than one volume, the volume number and total number of volumes in the report; and
- (j) for a report submitted on more than one electronic medium, the number of media submitted and the identifiers for each.
Where information is provided
(2) The information referred to in subsection (1) must appear
- (a) for the parts of a report submitted in paper format, on the front cover of each volume of the report; and
- (b) for the parts of a report submitted in electronic format,
- (i) on a label affixed to, or on a sheet of paper inserted into, each container submitted, or
- (ii) in a file named “Readme - Lisez-moi” stored on each electronic medium submitted.
Details of contents
4. A report must include the following:
- (a) a table of contents;
- (b) a list of the electronic media submitted and their identifiers;
- (c) a list of the tables, charts, diagrams, maps, sections and images presented in the report and the location of each in the report;
- (d) a list of the permits or claims in respect of which the work was done, setting out for each one
- (i) if a prospecting permit, its identification number and date of issue,
- (ii) if a claim, its identification tag number, recording date and the name, if any, associated with it,
- (iii) the area in hectares of the lands covered,
- (iv) the number of the National Topographic System of Canada 1:50 000 map sheet in which it is located, and
- (v) the name of the permittee or holder of the recorded claim;
- (e) a bibliography setting out the sources and references used in the report;
- (f) an alphabetized list of definitions for all abbreviations used in the report;
- (g) a brief description of the regional geology of the area in which the work was done;
- (h) a statement of the purpose of the work being reported on;
- (i) a summary of the previous work that was done in the lands covered by the prospecting permit or claim, and in the lands adjacent to those lands, that is relevant to the purpose of the work being reported on;
- (j) a summary and a detailed description of the work being reported on;
- (k) if sampling was performed, a description of the sampling methodology and a statement of the number of samples analyzed;
- (l) identification of quality control samples submitted to laboratories, along with the elemental concentration of each sample;
- (m) a description of the methods of preparation, processing and analysis applied to samples and the calculations used to arrive at the results of geochemical analyses;
- (n) specification of the cutoff grades used for the results of geochemical analyses shown on maps and sections;
- (o) a description of any geophysical or remote sensing anomalies and any anomalous results of geochemical analysis, with an explanation of the criteria used to define them;
- (p) interpretation of the data collected and of observations made during the work;
- (q) conclusions and recommendations resulting from the interpretation of the data and of observations made during the work;
- (r) if geochemical analyses were performed, copies of all resulting analytical certificates and laboratory reports;
- (s) an electronic copy of the raw data that was acquired in electronic format during the work; and
- (t) if environmental baseline studies were conducted, an appendix that sets out the results of the studies.
Maps or sections
5. A report must include the following maps or sections:
- (a) a regional geological map that is marked to indicate the area in which the work was done and that is published by the Geological Survey of Canada, the Northwest Territories Geoscience Office, the Canada-Nunavut Geoscience Office or other source of geoscientific publications;
- (b) a map that shows the area in which the work was done, the regional infrastructure (including roads, airfields, ports and mine sites) and, if the scale of the map permits, the communities and boundaries of Northwest Territories;
- (c) one or more maps on which the following elements are indicated:
- (i) the boundaries of the recorded claim or prospecting permit zone where the work was done and,
- (A) the type of work being reported on,
- (B) the location of the work with respect to the boundaries of the recorded claim or prospecting permit zone where the work was done,
- (C) the identification number of each prospecting permit, and
- (D) the identification tag number of each claim and, if available, the name of each claim or group of claims,
- (ii) the location and type of the previous work that was done in the lands covered by the prospecting permit or claim, and the lands adjacent to those lands, that is relevant to the purpose of the work being reported on,
- (iii) all surface and underground workings that are not part of the work being reported on,
- (iv) the boundaries of each prospecting permit zone or recorded claim, whether leased or not, that is adjacent to the boundaries of the prospecting permit zone or recorded claim on which the work was done, and
- (v) the infrastructure, hydrography and natural landmarks within the boundaries referred to in subparagraphs (i) and (iv);
- (i) the boundaries of the recorded claim or prospecting permit zone where the work was done and,
- (d) one or more maps or sections with a symbol indicating every site at which samples or data were collected, and a sample identifier for each sample; and
- (e) one or more maps or sections indicating any geochemical or geophysical anomalies.
GEOGRAPHIC LOCATION AND COORDINATES
Sample sites — coordinate systems
6. (1) All coordinates used in a report to locate the sites where samples or data were collected — including those in sections, maps, tables and lists — must be geographic coordinates or UTM coordinates.
Coordinate system specified on map
(2) The geodetic reference system — and, for UTM coordinates, the zone number — must be indicated for each map, section and table in which that coordinate system is used.
Geodetic coordinates
(3) The geodetic reference system must be one of the following:
- (a) North American Datum 1927 (NAD 27);
- (b) North American Datum 1983 (NAD 83);
- (c) Canadian Spatial Reference System (NAD 83 (CSRS));
- (d) World Geodetic System 1984 (WGS 84).
Method for determination of location
7. For each location where work was done, a report must specify how the location was determined for each type of work, using one or more of the following methods:
- (a) a satellite positioning system, indicating the geodetic reference system used and, if UTM coordinates are used, the zone number;
- (b) a map, indicating the scale, the geodetic reference system used and, if UTM coordinates are used, the zone number;
- (c) surveying, together with a description of the surveying equipment and method used.
Elevation coordinates
8. If elevation coordinates are used with respect to the work, those coordinates and their zero reference level must be specified in the report.
MAPS, SECTIONS AND SAMPLES
Coordinates for geographic locations
9. (1) Each map and section submitted with a report must have the location it represents indicated on it in geographical or UTM coordinates that are shown by means of a grid or by a specification of those coordinates that is sufficient to allow the location of any point on the map.
Requirements respecting grid lines
(2) If grid lines were used to perform the work, at least one map of each grid must be submitted showing the name of the grid, its geographic location and the coordinates established to identify each of the grid lines.
Requirements for maps and sections
(3) Each map and section must
- (a) be legible;
- (b) have its scale set out on it using a bar scale in metric units;
- (c) have a geographic north indicator;
- (d) have a legend; and
- (e) indicate the units of measure used on it.
Elevation coordinates
(4) Each map and section must show the relevant elevation coordinates.
Location of data collection sites
10. Every table or list that contains data with respect to a site (including sample data) must set out the location of the data collection site specified in geographic or UTM coordinates.
Cross-referencing of sample identifiers
11. (1) If an identifier used in a report to identify a sample, such as in an analytical certificate, is not the same as the corresponding sample identifier shown on the sample location maps or sections required under paragraph 5(1)(d), a table that makes a cross-reference between the two identifiers must be provided.
Sample identifiers
(2) Data about samples must set out one of the following identifiers for each sample:
- (a) the sample identifier shown on a map or section as required under paragraph 5(1)(d);
- (b) the identifier cross-referenced, in accordance with subsection (1), to the sample identifier mentioned in paragraph (a).
INFORMATION ABOUT TYPES OF WORK
Excavation
12. Reporting on excavation work must include the following:
- (a) maps and sections showing the location, dimensions and orientation of each of the workings, including stripped areas, trenches, open pits, shafts, adits, drifts and ramps;
- (b) maps or sections showing any anomalous results of geochemical analyses;
- (c) a description of
- (i) the excavation methods and the equipment used,
- (ii) the samples or groups of samples collected from each of the workings,
- (iii) the geological observations and any geotechnical observations,
- (iv) the results of any geophysical surveys, and
- (v) the results of geoscientific investigations; and
- (d) a copy of any log made respecting excavation of overburden or extraction of bedrock.
Drilling
13. Reporting on drilling work must include the following:
- (a) maps showing the locations of drill hole collars and traces;
- (b) sections showing
- (i) the overburden thickness,
- (ii) the geological units intersected,
- (iii) the locations where samples were taken, and
- (iv) all anomalous results of geochemical analyses;
- (c) a description of
- (i) the drilling methods and the equipment used,
- (ii) the samples and their down-hole intervals,
- (iii) the geological observations and any geotechnical observations,
- (iv) the results of any geophysical surveys, and
- (v) the results of geoscientific investigations; and
- (d) drill logs setting out for each drill hole
- (i) the hole number,
- (ii) the hole or core diameter,
- (iii) the date of drilling, the date logged, the geographic or UTM coordinates of the collar, initial azimuth and inclination, final hole length and the results of any down-hole tests, and
- (iv) the overburden thickness.
Geological mapping
14. Reporting on geological mapping work must include the following:
- (a) a table setting out the geological formations of the area mapped, if the information on those formations is published by the Geological Survey of Canada, the Northwest Territories Geoscience Office, the Canada-Nunavut Geoscience Office or other source of geoscientific publications;
- (b) maps or sections showing geological units, structural data, areas of mineralization, locations of rock outcrops and mineralized erratic blocks, anomalous results of geochemical analyses, locations of any trenches, stripped areas, drill holes and other workings referred to in the report, and, if applicable, indicators of the direction of ice movement;
- (c) a description of the features of geological interest, such as overburden, rock types, structures, veins, areas of mineralization, mineralized erratic blocks, altered zones, anomalous results of geochemical analyses, and, if applicable, indicators of the direction of ice movement; and
- (d) the results of geoscientific investigations, including the results of any petrographic studies, and any interpretation that has been made of the glacial history based on the geological mapping work.
Sampling and geochemistry
15. Reporting on sampling and geochemical analysis must include the following:
- (a) complete results of geochemical analyses;
- (b) a geological description of the samples or group of samples;
- (c) a description of the sampling methodologies, including any pattern of sample collection;
- (d) the dates the samples or group of samples were collected and the dates that any preparation or processing of the samples was done in the field or in a laboratory;
- (e) a description of any preparation or processing of samples or group of samples that was done in the field or in a laboratory;
- (f) a description of the methods of geochemical analysis used on each sample or group of samples, including a list of the elements and compounds for which the analysis was done and the limits for their detection;
- (g) a description of any statistical methods used and the results obtained;
- (h) the results of the geochemistry survey, represented on maps or sections; and
- (i) if any geoscientific investigation of surficial deposits was performed, an interpretation of the sources from which the indicator minerals came, a description of the methods used to determine the direction of movement of ice, water or other transport medium for those minerals and any interpretation of the glacial history revealed by the investigation.
Geophysics or remote sensing work
16. (1) Reporting on geophysical analysis or remote sensing work must be accompanied by the following information and documents:
- (a) the type of survey performed;
- (b) the dates that the survey started and ended;
- (c) if the work was done using a grid, the distance between the lines, the azimuth and the length of the lines surveyed and the total distance surveyed;
- (d) a copy of each report respecting geophysics or remote sensing made by a contractor, together with all maps and sections produced and data collected in connection with the report;
- (e) a description of the survey methods, including
- (i) the characteristics of the equipment used,
- (ii) the characteristics of the instruments and sensors used, including their precision,
- (iii) the positioning system used to record the location of data collection points, and
- (iv) a description of any methods used to make corrections to the data;
- (f) a description of the methods of analysis applied to the data;
- (g) a database or spreadsheet containing the geographic coordinates of each ground data collection site, the raw measurements, the measurements used to correct the raw measurements, the corrected measurements and calculated results used for interpretations; and
- (h) the results of the geophysical or remote sensing survey, represented on maps, sections, pseudo-sections or profiles.
Down-hole geophysical survey
(2) If a down-hole geophysical survey was performed, the section required under paragraph (1)(h) must show
- (a) the hole number;
- (b) the date the hole was drilled;
- (c) the location of the drill hole collar and trace;
- (d) the geographic or UTM collar coordinates;
- (e) the initial azimuth and inclination of the hole; and
- (f) the length of the hole.
Electromagnetic survey
(3) If an electromagnetic survey was performed, the map required under paragraph (1)(h) must show the projection of the surveyed drill hole to the surface and the location and configuration of the transmitter and receiver.
Geophysical survey grids
(4) If a ground-based, waterborne or airborne geophysical survey was performed, it must be presented in the report accompanied by a map showing the surveyed lines.
Underground geophysical survey
(5) If an underground geophysical survey was performed, it must be presented in the report accompanied by a map showing the location of the geophysical survey, the surveyed lines and the location, dimensions and orientation of the underground workings.
PART 2
SIMPLIFIED REPORT
Simplified report
17. A simplified report provided for under subsection 15(2) or 41(1) of these Regulations must be prepared in accordance with sections 2 to 11 of this Schedule, but without the requirements set out in paragraphs 4(g), (m), (o), (p) and (q) and 5(1)(a) and (e), and must contain the following information and documents:
- (a) a description of
- (i) each sample or group of samples collected,
- (ii) methods of preparation, processing and analysis applied to samples,
- (iii) the excavation methods and the equipment used for the excavation,
- (iv) the field observations, and
- (v) the results of the work performed and of geochemical analyses;
- (b) maps or sections showing
- (i) the area investigated and the traverses performed,
- (ii) the locations of rock outcrops investigated,
- (iii) the locations of the sampling sites, including the locations of any erratic blocks that were sampled,
- (iv) the locations of any stripped areas and trenches, and
- (v) features of interest such as significant results of geochemical analyses; and
- (c) comments respecting follow-up work for the purpose of assessing the mineral potential of the area investigated.
REGULATORY IMPACT ANALYSIS STATEMENT
(This statement is not part of the regulations.)
Issues
The Northwest Territories and Nunavut Mining Regulations were introduced in 1978 and are based on the former Canada Mining Regulations. Apart from amendments to the royalties sections completed in 2007 and a few specific updates thus far, the Regulations are for the most part out of date.
Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada has undertaken a project to modernize the mineral tenure provisions of the Northwest Territories and Nunavut Mining Regulations and to split this legislation into two distinct regulations, one applying to Crown lands in the Northwest Territories and the other applying to Crown lands in Nunavut.
With the modernization of the mineral tenure provisions of the Northwest Territories and Nunavut Mining Regulations, the new regulations will better meet current administrative, industry and legal standards. This initiative is needed to support the implementation of a new online map selection system in Nunavut and to prepare for the devolution of the responsibilities over lands and natural resources to the Government of the Northwest Territories.
Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada is currently developing a new online mineral tenure acquisition system to replace the current process of acquiring mineral claims by physical staking on the ground in Nunavut. This project is a departmental priority and is strongly desired by industry, as the current trend in Canada is toward automated and cost-effective systems of mineral rights acquisition and administration. The modernization and splitting of the Northwest Territories and Nunavut Mining Regulations is a prerequisite to the subsequent phase of regulatory amendments that will support the online system.
The devolution of the responsibilities over lands and natural resources to the Government of the Northwest Territories, to take effect on April 1, 2014, is a Government of Canada priority, as announced by the Prime Minister on March 11, 2013. The modernization and splitting of the Northwest Territories and Nunavut Mining Regulations are part of the response to the Government of Canada’s obligation to establish the necessary legislative foundation for the devolution.
Background
Crown lands in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut are managed pursuant to the Territorial Lands Act and its related regulations, including the Northwest Territories and Nunavut Mining Regulations. These regulations govern mineral tenure and provide a range of mechanisms by which the rights to prospect for and develop mineral deposits on Crown lands open for mineral exploration are allocated. Rules governing the collection and payment of royalties for mining on Crown lands (including rules for diamond valuation) are also included in the regulations.
The regulatory regime that applies to minerals on Crown lands under the Northwest Territories and Nunavut Mining Regulations includes one authorization and three types of tenure:
(1) Licences to prospect
A licence authorizes a physical person or a company to prospect for minerals and acquire mineral tenure.
(2) Prospecting permits
A prospecting permit allows the licensee the exclusive right to prospect a designated large area that varies in size from 8 319 to 22 900 ha. It also gives the holder the exclusive right to stake mineral claims within this area. An individual or company may apply for prospecting permits that may be issued by February 1 for a period of three or five years. A prescribed charge must accompany the application and is also required annually unless sufficient work is reported. The portion of the charge that corresponds to the cost of the work done in respect of the permit that is reported and approved can be remitted to the permittee.
(3) Mineral claims
A mineral claim, unlike a prospecting permit, must be staked on the ground by erecting legal posts to mark its boundaries. It grants the legal right to develop a mine and extract minerals. A mineral claim remains active if a prescribed amount of work is carried out on the claim during specific periods. Payment of a charge in lieu of work may be made, and the portion of the charge that corresponds to the cost of work done in respect of the claim that is reported and approved can be remitted to the claim holder. A mineral claim expires after 10 years if the claim holder does not apply for a mineral lease.
(4) Mineral leases
A licensee can apply for a lease of a mineral claim if a prescribed amount of work has been performed on the claim and if a legal survey of the claim, performed by a Canada Lands Surveyor, has been recorded with the Mining Recorder’s office. A mineral lease is required to sell or otherwise dispose of minerals or ore with a gross value of more than $100,000 per year. A mineral lease has a term of 21 years and is renewable. Annual rent must be paid to the Crown to keep the mineral lease in good standing.
Objectives
The objectives of the modernization and splitting of the Northwest Territories and Nunavut Mining Regulations are
- To establish a more predictable and effective overall process of mineral rights administration in the two territories;
- To create the necessary foundation to move forward with the development of a new online mineral tenure acquisition system in Nunavut; and
- To prepare for the devolution of the responsibilities over mineral resources to the Government of the Northwest Territories by having the two sets of modern federal regulations, one for the Northwest Territories and one for Nunavut, coming into effect on the date of devolution.
Description
The amendments will create separate mining regulations for each territory. The Northwest Territories and Nunavut Mining Regulations will be replaced by two sets of federal regulations, each applying to a territory: the Northwest Territories Mining Regulations and the Nunavut Mining Regulations. The splitting will not generate additional regulations, but rather create the administrative separation between the mining jurisdictions.
In addition to splitting the Northwest Territories and Nunavut Mining Regulations, there are updates to processes, such as licences to prospect, prospecting permits, staking and maintenance of mineral claims, and acquisition of mineral leases. The amendments will also achieve the modernization and metrification of the mineral tenure system, Schedule I (fees) and Schedule II (work reporting requirements). No substantive changes are introduced for the payment of royalties on mining production, as these provisions were updated in 2007. There is no increase of fees, deposits or amounts of work required to acquire or maintain a mineral right.
The changes are administrative in nature and provide further support to existing policy. They are summarized below:
- Achieving administrative simplification by deregulating forms, which are presently all part of the Northwest Territories and Nunavut Mining Regulations, to allow for more flexibility to make adjustments as needed.
- Achieving simplification through use of clear and modern regulatory language, clarification of the definitions and the wording of provisions, removal of internal administrative processes and repealing of obsolete provisions.
- Increasing clarity for business by replacing discretionary powers of departmental officials with specific criteria to ensure the predictability of the regulations.
- Bringing the regulations in step with modern legislation. Since there is no authority under the Territorial Lands Act to make regulations prescribing a payment and refund scheme to guarantee work being performed on a claim, a similar scheme is proposed using the Financial Administration Act as legal authority. This will ensure sound legal authority to support the regulations.
- Reducing duplication with other legislation
- by eliminating measures dealing with human security and safety issues; and
- by repealing sections on the dispute resolution process where the surface rights holder does not give access for prospecting and staking. In case of dispute, those issues will be dealt with under the Nunavut Waters and Nunavut Surface Rights Tribunal Act in Nunavut and under a tribunal competent to deal with surface rights in the Northwest Territories.
- Changing the annual application period for prospecting permits from December 1 to November 1 to allow more time for notification and technical review of the work that is planned in the permit area. The notification is sent by the Mining Recorder to all affected stakeholders, including Aboriginal groups and other federal departments and agencies. The comments received are communicated to the applicant, who is then better informed of the subject matters that may affect his work plan.
- Repealing measures that make the administration of the mining regime more complex without adding significant value to the regime, including restriction on grouping mineral claims only once a year, rent reduction for work on mineral leases, honorary licences to prospect and common anniversary dates for mineral claims.
- Ensuring continuity of the mineral tenure by changing the deadline to apply for a mineral lease from the 10th to the 9th anniversary of the claim, while the claim is still valid.
- Clarifying all situations of cancellations for mineral claims and leases and giving ability to the claim holder to surrender his mineral claims at any time. As well, the time frames and conditions for reopening lands for staking and prospecting after cancellation are defined.
- Clarifying the ability of the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development to delay the reopening of the lands for staking and prospecting in case of unremediated environmental damages. This measure will give the Crown the necessary time to remedy or to manage the remediation of the lands in the rare situations where the obligations of the owner of a mining property in regard to environmental protection were not met.
- Providing for the suspension of work requirements and payment of charges when a company has received a court order under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act.
- Clarifying the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development’s ability to dispose of lands in respect of a claim or a leased claim which has been cancelled through insolvency proceedings or through the realization of security.
- Converting administrative fees in Schedule I to reflect the conversion of all measurements in the regulations to metric units (no fee increase).
- Updating and clarifying work reporting requirements in Schedule II to ensure predictability and reflect actual cost, including report standardization, removal of prescribed flat rates and removal of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada officials’ discretion to determine value of work.
- Establishing a ceiling of $10,000 in the Northwest Territories and $20,000 in Nunavut for work to be reported by nonprofessionals in a simplified report to support entrepreneurs.
- Adding remote sensing and environmental baseline studies as accepted work.
The regulations will clarify the rules of prospecting permits, as the current provisions on this type of tenure are ambiguous. Additional changes to open more lands for prospecting permits acquisition are also introduced.
Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada is also proposing simple measures to encourage the mineral development of Crown lands. If the amount of work required to maintain a mineral claim in good standing cannot be carried out during a period, the claim holder may request an extension by making a payment of a charge in lieu of work. To ensure that a reasonable amount of work is done on the claim to find a deposit of economic value, paying in lieu of work is kept to five times during the 10-year lifetime of the mineral claim. The claim holder will continue to have the opportunity to be remitted the cash in lieu if work is performed later within the period of validity of the claim. The extension for sickness of a claim holder has been repealed. Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada does not anticipate that there will be any increase in administrative burden associated with the limitations of extensions.
“One-for-One” Rule
The regulations clarify or update existing rules and do not result in an increase in the number of rules. In addition, many requirements with respect to reporting and inspections have been removed. The “One-for-One” Rule applies and the regulations are considered an “OUT” (decrease of the administrative costs on business).
Most of the changes having an impact on the administrative costs are related to the reports on work. In order to monetize the impacts of the new regulations, consultations have been conducted with Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada’s Northwest Territories and Nunavut district geologists. Statistics on the numbers of reports submitted and costs of work reported to the Mining Recorder’s office by industry over the last 10 years have been used as empirical evidence of frequency and number of transactions. As a result, the financial impacts of the new regulations have been evaluated as follows:
- An increase in burden in the first year, estimated at a cost of $379,856. It is a one-time cost corresponding to the necessity for all holders of a licence to prospect to become familiar with the new regulations. It amounts to a cost of $422 per licensee.
- A decrease in burden of $729,137 per year, as the new regulations will allow reports in electronic format instead of paper and repeal some notification and inspection processes. Stakeholders will see a significant decrease in their current record-keeping and notification tasks. It is calculated that each of the 900 holders of a licence to prospect will save $810 per year with the introduction of the new regulations.
Expressed in 2012 dollars and after a discount at a 7% rate, these changes translate, over 10 years, into total annualized average administrative savings of $618,962. This is equal to annualized average savings of $688 per stakeholder.
The changes to the administrative costs as well as the related savings and increases are summarized below.
Administrative burden reduction
- The requirement to notify the engineer of mines about drilling into post-precambrian rock, and filing monthly drilling reports about the progress has been removed; therefore, no notices or monthly drilling reports will need to be filed. The anticipated savings have been projected to apply to 10% of stakeholders. The estimated time saved is 4 hours per year for notification and 30 hours per year for drilling reports. The average annualized savings to stakeholders have been projected to be approximately $207 for removing notification and $1,553 for removing monthly drilling reports.
- The requirement of the stakeholder to provide duplicate copies of a lease document as part of a transfer of ownership of a lease has been removed. The estimated time saved is seven and a half hours per year. The average annualized savings to stakeholders have been projected to be approximately $324 for removing the requirement to provide a duplicate lease.
- The requirement of the stakeholder to provide duplicate paper copies of a report of work has been changed to allow for electronic formats and/or paper copies to be accepted, thus reducing the cost and effort of producing paper copies. The estimated time saved is seven and a half hours per year. The average annualized savings to stakeholders have been projected to be approximately $324 for removing the requirement to provide work reports on paper.
- The requirement of the stakeholder to provide paper copies of raw data related to work has been changed to allow for electronic formats to be accepted, thus reducing the cost and effort of producing paper copies. The estimated time saved is seven and a half hours per year. The average annualized savings to stakeholders have been projected to be approximately $289 for removing the requirement to provide raw data on paper.
- The requirement of the stakeholder to provide identified, sample drill core in boxes to a core library, core locator maps, duplicate drill logs and assays has been changed to make sending drill core to a core library optional, and only require one copy of the drill logs and assays, thus reducing the cost and effort of producing identified core boxes and duplicate copies. The estimated time saved is seven and a half hours per year. The average annualized savings to stakeholders have been projected to be approximately $324 for removing the requirement to provide identified core boxes and duplicate drill logs and assays.
- The requirement of the stakeholder to provide duplicate maps, sections and sketches in a report has been removed, thus reducing the cost and effort of producing duplicate copies. The estimated time saved is seven and a half hours per year. The average annualized savings to stakeholders have been projected to be approximately $324 for removing the requirement to provide duplicate maps, sections and locations.
- The requirement of the stakeholder to provide all accounting records to verify the actual cost of work where it exceeds the rates published in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut Mining Regulations has been removed, thus reducing the cost and effort to gather and provide the accounting records. The estimated time saved is 22.5 hours per year. The average annualized savings to stakeholders have been projected to be approximately $971 for removing the requirement to provide all accounting records.
- The requirement of the stakeholder to provide all names and addresses of all people it employed on the work project has been removed, thus reducing the cost and effort to gather and provide these records. The estimated time saved is seven and a half hours per year. The average annualized savings to stakeholders have been projected to be approximately $181 for removing the requirement to provide the records.
- The requirement of the stakeholder to provide a simplified report of work if it falls below a certain threshold of value, has been added to streamline the writing of a report of work. The estimated time saved is 30 hours per year to produce the simplified reports of work. The average annualized savings to stakeholders have been projected to be approximately $1,294 for allowing the production of simplified reports of work.
- The requirement of the stakeholder to prepare to be inspected by the Engineer of Mines and produce records as part of the inspection has been removed. The estimated time saved is 15 hours per year. The average annualized savings to stakeholders have been projected to be approximately $844 for removing the preparation of inspection and production of records.
Administrative burden increase
- The stakeholder will be required to provide a regional geological map in digital or paper format that is marked with the area in which the work was done. The estimated time increase to stakeholders is half an hour per year to provide the regional geological map. The average annualized cost to stakeholders has been projected to be approximately $22 for adding the requirement to provide a regional geological map.
- The stakeholder will be required to provide a list of geographic coordinates to locate samples or data collection sites in a work report. The estimated time increase to stakeholders is three hours per year to provide the geographic coordinates. The average annualized cost to stakeholders has been projected to be approximately $155 for adding the requirement to provide geographic coordinates.
Small business lens
The small business lens does not apply as overall costs are less than $1 million. There are no net new costs to businesses.
Consultation
The amendments to the Northwest Territories and Nunavut Mining Regulations are administrative in nature and provide support to existing policies related to mineral development. The Mining Recorders and the Districts Geologists at the regional offices of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada in Yellowknife and Iqaluit were extensively consulted during the development of the regulations. Specialists from the Surveyor General Branch of Natural Resources Canada were consulted on the transboundary staking of mineral claims, the moving of legal posts and on the survey of the mineral claims provisions. Finally, representatives of the Government of the Northwest Territories were consulted on the initiative.
A summary of the amendments was presented to representatives from the Northwest Territories and Nunavut Chamber of Mines in Vancouver, in January 2013, and in Toronto, in March 2013. The measures supporting mineral development of Crown lands and those aimed at decreasing the administrative costs for businesses were positively received. Industry representatives offered some valuable comments. For example, a change to the draft, allowing for environmental baseline studies to be accepted as work also in the Northwest Territories, was made at the suggestion of a participant at the information session.
Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada formally sought comments from stakeholders through prepublication in Canada Gazette on June 29, 2013, for a consultation period of 60 days. Key representatives from the mining industry, including all holders of a licence to prospect, mineral claim owners, mineral lease owners, prospecting permit owners, affected Aboriginal groups and environmental groups received a letter informing them of the prepublication for a period of 60 days and invited them to provide their comments.
Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada posted updates about the regulations on its Web site as well as completed a Twitter campaign, 5 tweets in all over 60 days, to count down the Canada Gazette, Part I, consultation period. On July 29, 2013, a reminder was sent to Aboriginal groups on the consultation list. As outlined in the Deh Cho First Nations Interim Resource Development Agreement, a direct call was made to ensure the information was received and that there were no questions. Upon their request, an email was sent on July 29, 2013, with the detailed information of when and where comments should be sent.
Thirteen responses were received from various stakeholders, including the lands surveyor community, the mining sector, an environmental organization and a municipal association. The responses included 40 separate and diverse comments on the proposed changes. Each comment was reviewed and analyzed, and a final decision was made to determine if a change to the proposed regulatory package should be made. The comments are grouped into two categories: non-substantive and substantive.
Non-substantive issues are those that were questions of interpretation, rather than necessitating changes to the regulations. Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada acknowledges that by updating the language of the regulations, removing discretion, re-numbering and re-organizing the regulations, stakeholders who are very familiar with existing processes will have questions. Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada will provide plain language guidance documents for stakeholders that will clarify the new regulations and related processes. These documents will be produced and available for all stakeholder groups once the regulations are in force. A summary of the non-substantive comments received follows, along with a short explanation of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada’s response.
The lands surveyor community requests to clarify certain words in the regulations. The addition of the word “territory” to sections 35 and 36 and the definition of “business day” are addressed in the Interpretation Act definitions. The word “province” includes all territories. The word “holiday” that forms part of the definition of “business day” includes Sunday.
The lands surveyor community requests to clarify the section that requires the longest boundary of a claim to be not more than five times the length of the shortest and that representatives of a licensees can apply to record a claim on behalf of the licensee. Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada has retained the section requiring the longest boundary to not be more than five times the length of the shortest. As well, a representative of a licensee may submit applications on behalf of a licensee.
The lands surveyor community requests to clarify how plans of survey are created and confirmed. Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada has retained the requirement of the claim holder to send to the Mining Recorder a copy of the survey plan, a report of overlap with any other claim, and evidence that the claim holder provided the report of overlap to any adjacent claim or lease owners.
The lands surveyor community requests to clarify the meaning of geographic and projected coordinates and the type of map required in Schedule II. Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada has adjusted the usage of geographic coordinates to mean coordinates of longitude and latitude, and projected coordinates to mean Universal Transverse Mercator coordinates. Requirements related to the specifications of each type of coordinate are provided to ensure the data is useful to others in the future. Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada will be providing a guidance document to clarify what types of overview maps are preferred. Details about geodetic reference systems used, datum and zones are already specified in the regulations.
The mining sector requests to clarify the processes for application of a prospecting permit and confidential status of work reports. The goal of the amendments was to clarify existing processes, including the priority status of applying in person for a prospecting permit. Therefore, changing the way the applications were prioritized was not contemplated. The synchronization of timing of when a mineral claim and prospecting permit work report is released to the public provides consistency to the user of the regulations and makes the confidential period of all work reports the same.
The mining sector and the lands surveyor community requests to clarify the different thresholds for the use of the simplified report and to clarify what happened to section 81, used to grant relief from obligations not under the control of the claim or permit holder. The threshold to submit a simplified report in Nunavut is higher to reflect the generally higher cost of doing work in Nunavut. The relief from obligations not under the control of the claim or permit holder has been moved to the sections related to work obligations for claims and permits. The regulations will allow for a suspension of time to do work because of waiting for a decision or authorization without which the work could not proceed, or if there is an order under section 11.02 of the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act. For all other circumstances claim holders must apply for an extension of time.
Substantive comments that requested modifications to the regulations are organized by stakeholder group: municipal association, the lands surveyor community, an environmental organization, and the mining sector. Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada has responded to each comment below.
The municipal association requested that Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada include regulatory mechanisms to eliminate conflicts created by granting mineral rights within municipalities. Municipal lands are considered lands that have been granted by the Crown, and are therefore already protected under section 6 of the regulations. This section creates a prohibition of entry on lands where the surface has been granted or leased by the Crown, unless the holder of the surface rights has consented to entry. Furthermore, a link is also made to the respective surface rights tribunals in each territory, which provides an avenue to negotiate access and award compensation if consent to entry cannot be negotiated between parties. At this time Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada will not include a specific dispute resolution mechanism in the regulations, as there are many other dispute resolution mechanisms available to municipalities and claim holders, such as lawyers or other private negotiators.
The lands surveyor community did not agree with repealing section 17, which dealt with the failure on the part of the locator of a mineral claim to comply with the requirements to stake a mineral claim. Section 17 was removed because it contained unauthorized discretion not supported in legislation. Sections 23 to 30 and 33 to 36 dealing with staking and recording a claim tell a staker exactly how a claim is to be located and then recorded. These rules shall be complied with or the claim will not be recorded. If it is determined through the review process that there were mistakes made when staking the claim, the Mining Recorder can give an opportunity for mistakes to be corrected before refusal. This increases the clarity and certainty of the regulations.
The lands surveyor community did not agree with referencing section 29 of the Canada Lands Surveys Act. Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada, through discussions with the Surveyor General Branch of Natural Resources Canada, has determined that survey instructions and survey plans will be based on section 31 of the Canada Lands Surveys Act in order to provide an authoritative link to legislation and the regulatory requirement to make a boundary survey of a mineral claim.
An environmental organization requested that Aboriginal consultation processes be clearly laid out in the regulations, raised concerns that the process to reduce administrative burden on industry has resulted in reduced information available to the public on mining activity, and indicated that the length of time for consultation on the proposed regulations was too short.
Consultation processes are already defined in the land claims and related land use plans, in common law, in the procedures related to land use permitting in the territories, and, where applicable, in the regulations. Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada has determined that these processes meet the requirements of clearly laying out the consultation process for the general public, and for consultation obligations relating to section 35 of the Constitution of Canada.
Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada confirms that there is a reduction of duplicate information collected under the regulations. These reductions do not decrease the amount of information available to the public because data on drilling locations, drilling plans and inspections of exploration camps and mine sites are collected and administered through the land use permitting process.
The decision to double the period of consultation in the Canada Gazette, Part I, from the minimum 30 days to 60 days, ensures stakeholders have enough time to prepare and send in comments. Direct requests were sent to stakeholders, and follow-up phone calls, emails, faxes and tweets also reminded stakeholders of the comment period.
The mining sector requests to revise the work charge and extension of time sections, to include mandatory, full reporting of all work done on a claim or permit, to allow Aboriginal consultation the expenses as a valid work type, to include map staking in the Northwest Territories, and to include adjustments to the term “related party” in section 66 of the regulations.
Regarding the work charge, work reports and extension of time to file work, Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada has redrafted and reorganized the sections under requirements respecting recorded claims. The changes now make it clear that either a report of work or a request for extension must be submitted to keep a claim in good standing. Further, if a report of work is found to be deficient, the claim owner will have an opportunity to pay cash in lieu for the difference to avoid cancellation. The number of cash payments in lieu of work will be limited to a total of five. The charge payable to the Crown scheme is retained as it is required to link the regulations to the Financial Administration Act, which provides the legislative authority to refund or remit the cash back to the person who paid it. There is no double charging to keep claims in good standing, and the process by which a claim is kept, and when it will be cancelled, is now clearly stated.
The request to include mandatory, full reporting of all work done on a claim or permit will not be included in the regulations at this time as it is a significant departure from the current policy and presents verification challenges. The regulations have to provide a clear list of requirements that are verifiable in order to approve an amount of work that has to be done. As the verification of the full reporting of work presents significant challenges, such as enough resources to carry out detailed verification audits, Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada has decided to not move forward with this request.
Aboriginal consultation expenses as a valid work type will not be included in the regulations at this time due to pending Northwest Territories devolution. Given the complexity of the land claims in the Northwest Territories, Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada does not feel it is prudent to impose a scheme related to consultation expenses that will be inherited by the Government of the Northwest Territories. As well, by adding a scheme related to consultation expenses, another round of consultations would have to occur with the mining industry. Given that these regulations must be in force as of March 31, 2014, it has been determined that there is not enough time to complete the request. Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada expects consultations to occur as part of the land use permitting processes that are well established in both territories and acknowledges this is an important cost to the mining industry in the North.
In response to the request to implement map staking in the Northwest Territories, Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada and the Government of the Northwest Territories signed the Northwest Territories Lands and Resources Devolution Agreement on June 25, 2013, which has a targeted effective date of April 1, 2014. One of the goals of splitting the Regulations is to facilitate the devolution process and provide consistent regulations across the North, which would then allow each territory to pursue further changes to their mining regimes tailored to their specific needs. The state of unsettled land claims in the Northwest Territories caused Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada to give pause to implementing map staking in the Northwest Territories. With the added complication of devolution, it was clear that making the changes required for map staking in this proposal could not be made in the time remaining. As map staking is a substantive change to the way mineral rights are acquired, any new sections would require, at minimum, six months of consultation with industry and Aboriginal groups and then another 60-day prepublication period in the Canada Gazette.
Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada made a decision to not include any changes to the royalties sections in the amendment process and will not make adjustments to the term “related party” in section 66 of the regulations at this time because of the original decision to not include royalties in the amendments. Adding changes to section 66 would necessitate another round of consultations with the mining industry. Given that these regulations must be in force as of March 31, 2014, it has been determined that there is not enough time to complete the request. Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada is aware of the improvements that could be made to the royalties sections and will ensure that this comment is taken under advisement when the decision is made to update the royalties sections.
Rationale
With the creation of two sets of modern federal regulations — the Northwest Territories Mining Regulations and the Nunavut Mining Regulations — the overall process of mineral rights administration in the two territories will be improved by eliminating unnecessary administrative steps and by streamlining the remaining ones. Changes to support mineral development will be introduced, discretionary powers of the department officials will be removed to ensure predictability, and undue administrative burdens to industry will be eliminated.
March 31, 2014, is a critical time as it is the date planned for the Northwest Territories Mining Regulations and the Nunavut Mining Regulations to be in force. This lines up with the effective date for devolution of responsibilities over lands and natural resources to the Government of the Northwest Territories. The splitting of the Northwest Territories and Nunavut Mining Regulations will create the necessary legislative separation between the two jurisdictions. In addition, the territorial Government will have the opportunity to adopt a modern and streamlined set of mining regulations by mirroring the new federal Northwest Territories Mining Regulations. This will contribute to a post-devolution functional legislative framework, which will result in economic development opportunities for the two territories. The initiative will also establish a consistent federal legislative and regulatory framework for mineral rights administration in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut. The new Northwest Territories Mining Regulations will apply to lands where Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada has residual responsibilities in the Northwest Territories following devolution (e.g. Giant Mine).
Implementation, enforcement and service standards
The more streamlined regulations will make clear what is expected from various affected stakeholders and should reduce disputes and appeals. Current established practices are laid out in more detail and discretion is removed wherever possible. The rules state clearly what would happen as a result of actions or omissions from the holder of a mineral right. Offenders will be prosecuted under the Territorial Lands Act.
The regulations are planned to be in force on March 31, 2014. Prior to this date, Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada plans to issue several communications products such as guidelines, documents on how the changes to the regulations change your business and frequently asked questions. Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada will also provide updates at key mining industry conferences to update stakeholders on the regulation changes. The Northwest Territories and Nunavut Chamber of Mines has agreed to post related information on its Web site and circulate it to members. The “What’s New” section of the Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada Web site will also be updated.
After the coming into force of the new sets of federal regulations, Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada will monitor feedback from stakeholders through work that will be conducted to introduce online map selection of mineral claims in Nunavut. The new Northwest Territories Mining Regulations will still apply to federal Crown lands and will be monitored in conjunction with post-devolution activities to ensure a consistent application of mining regulations in the Northwest Territories until all remaining federal Crown lands are returned to the Government of the Northwest Territories.
The development of service standards is underway for the Prospecting Permit issuance process. As they are developed and approved, they will be posted on the Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada Web site in the section related to providing public updates on acts, bills and regulations. This is in accordance with the departmental plan to establish service standards and provide information related to new regulatory initiatives.
Contact
Anna North
Mineral Rights Specialist
Northern Petroleum and Mineral Resources Branch
Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada
25 Eddy Street
Gatineau, Quebec
K1A 0H4
Telephone: 819-956-0291
Fax: 819-934-6375
Email: Anna.North@aadnc-aandc.gc.ca
- Footnote a
R.S., c. T-7 - Footnote b
S.C. 2002, c. 7, s. 246 - Footnote c
R.S., c. T-7 - Footnote d
S.C. 1991, c. 24, s. 6 - Footnote e
S.C. 1991, c. 24, s. 6 - Footnote f
S.C. 1991, c. 24, s. 7(2) - Footnote g
R.S., c. F-11 - Footnote 1
C.R.C., c. 1516