Reform of the Mining Act | End of private land claims, BAPE mandatory for all mines

(Quebec) With its reform of the Mining Act, the Legault government wants to curb speculation in mining claims, and will prohibit them, with some exceptions, on private land. It will make it mandatory to hold a BAPE for all mining projects to promote “social acceptability”.

“We are coming to ensure that the projects that will see the light of day will be well received in our regions,” said Minister of Natural Resources Maïté Blanchette Vézina at a press conference on Tuesday.

With her bill, she first wants to make it compulsory to hold a consultation with the Office of Public Hearing on the Environment for all mining projects. The current law, dusted off by the Parti Québécois in 2013, excluded projects of less than 2,000 metric tons.

And to reassure the population, Quebec will, in practice, prevent mining exploration on private lands. Since the tabling of the bill, the Ministry of Natural Resources has come to a standstill, so to speak. However, claims already granted will still be valid. An MRC may, however, request that its private territory be the subject of claims if it so wishes.

Speculation

There are currently 351,000 active claims in Quebec, an absolute record. This represents 10% of the territory of Quebec, and 8% of private lands.

Quebec is also targeting speculators, people who buy mining claims in the hope of selling them at a higher price to mining companies. The Ministry of Natural Resources estimates that 20% of claims are in the hands of brokers, who only seek to sell for more.

It will now be prohibited to sell an exclusive exploration right without having started exploration work, and this right will disappear after three years if the obligatory work is not carried out.

For the moment, between 13 and 17% of mining claims are the subject of work. With the adoption of this law, Quebec estimates that 20 to 25% of mining claims will be abandoned.

The Legault government also wants to encourage mining companies to process more in Quebec. The law would force them, when holding a BAPE, to present a study on the economic viability of an ore project that would be extracted from the mine.