Extension of Time: For Performing and/or Filing Work

Policy:

GENERAL POLICY - An extension of time can be granted by a Mining Recorder if the conditions of section 5 of Assessment Work Regulation 6/96 have been met.

Under subsection 67(5) of the Mining Act, the Minister can grant an extension of time under special circumstances.

SECOND ANNIVERSARY DATE - A Mining Recorder cannot grant an extension of time for performing and filing assessment work until the assessment work requirements for the second anniversary of the claim are filed and approved.

ASSESSMENT WORK PERFORMED FOR FIRST TIME ON PRIVATELY HELD SURFACE RIGHTS - There is no extension of time for filing a Certificate Confirming Notice of Intention to Perform Assessment Work, or written consent from the surface rights holder to perform assessment work after it has been performed. The certificate or written consent must be filed no later than the due date of the assessment work.

Minister's  Determination - A claim holder (or authorized agent) can request that the Minister's delegate determine, under clause 78(3)(b), that it is not feasible in the circumstances to give notice to the owner of the surface rights. This request must be filed with the Minister's delegate no later than the due date of the assessment work.

Mining Act:

Subsection 67(5) of the Mining Act states:

" Despite anything in this Act, if the Minister is of the opinion that special circumstances exist, the Minister may by order

(a) exclude the time or extend the time within which work on a mining claim must be performed or reported, or both, or within which application and payment for lease may be made; "

Subsection 73(1) of the Mining Act states:

" A recorder may order an extension of time for performing assessment work or filing a report on such work if an application for the extension is made within 30 days before the time for filing the report expires and the prescribed conditions for an extension are met."

Section 78 states:

1. " A holder of a mining claim who first proposes to do ground assessment work on all or part of the land comprising a mining claim shall give notice of that intention in the prescribed form to the owner, if any, of the surface rights of the part of the land to be affected by the work.
2. A person who has given notice under this section may enter on the land and perform the work at any time immediately following the day the notice is given
3. The Minister shall not record ground assessment work referred to in subsection (1) unless,
   1. the holder files with the Minister a certificate in the prescribed form and all further evidence that the Minister may require as evidence that the holder gave the required notice;
   2. the Minister determines that it is not feasible in the circumstances to give notice to the owner of the surface rights; or
   3. the owner of the surface rights gives written consent to the performance of the work after it has been performed.

Assessment Work Regulation:

Section 5 of Regulation 6/96 states the conditions under which an extension of time for assessment work can be granted:

" Upon application, an extension of time under subsection 73(1) of the Act may be granted for a period of not more than one year on the following conditions:

1. Assessment work requirements are filed and approved for the second assessment year of the claim.
2. There is no deficiency of assessment work to be performed and filed under any previous extension of time granted for performing and filing assessment work. "

Extensions of Time for Performing and Reporting Work:

CRITERIA - for granting extensions of time are:

• the fees are paid.
• medical... only if the medical condition of the claim holder directly interferes with performing the work. For example a medical condition would not prevent the holder from performing an airborne survey unless he/she was performing the survey in person.
• weather... tornadoes, bad ice or no ice for drilling on water, etc. A Mining Recorder might have to contact the Ministry of Natural Resources district offices or Department of Transport Canada, etc. to confirm the weather conditions at the time that the work should have been performed.
• physical... equipment break down, example
  • the drill goes through the ice
  • helicopter is struck by lightning,
  • the drill in a remote area (example Big Trout Lake) breaks down and there is no way to get a replacement part to the drill site.
• circumstantial...  example
  • no drills available,
  • forest fires,
  • contracted company goes into receivership one week before work was to commence,
  • operator of the equipment dies.
• In all circumstantial cases the work should have been planned or proposed.
• resources... whether or not the holder has the resources to perform the necessary work. There is no point in granting an extension of time for a claim holder where the total accumulated work commitment is in excess of $100,000.00 and it is apparent that there are no resources (financial, available labour, available drill rigs etc.) to fulfill the extension. If there should be such a request the holder may be asked to produce a signed work contract that the work will be performed.
• extension of time for filing work... If the holder is applying only to " file " work, the extension should be granted as an extension of time to file work. The extension should not exceed 60 days without serious extenuating circumstances. Such an extension can't be granted if an active extension is already on record.
• Director's order - The Director of Mine Rehabilitation can refuse a partial abandonment of a claim because the claim holder has created a hazard during exploration. The Director will place a copy of the order on the claim record. 
• Explanation - After being refused a partial abandonment, the client might not have enough assessment credits to keep the whole claim in good standing. Mining Lands Section does not want to force a claim into forfeiture (by refusing an extension) when the Mines Group wants the claim kept in good standing.

The client must rehabilitate the land as ordered or be subject to a fine, if there is a Director's order, even if the client chooses to let the whole claim go into forfeiture

A Mining Recorder may give an extension of time for up to one year to perform and/or file assessment work. The conditions set out in section 5 of the Assessment Work Regulation must be met.

Minister's Extension of Time:

CLIENT'S RESPONSIBILITY - If requesting an extension of time from the Minister under subsection 67(5), the client must substantiate the "special circumstances" in writing to the Senior Manager, Mining Lands Section.  The request is to be accompanied by documentation such as:

• a copy of the claim map and claims abstracts
• particulars
• what caused the delay
• when the delay commenced
• length of the delay
• how the exploration program was impacted
• impact on the program if an extension of time is not granted
• options available to the claim holder (example - amending option agreements, filing or assigning assessment work credits, etcetera)
• equity in the ground
• proposed plan of exploration with schedules of future work
• documentation that will support/confirm that work cannot be performed (example - a  letter from optionee that the option agreement cancellation is due to the specified reasons)
• length of time the client requires an extension

No Extension:

Hardship due to financial conditions/reasons, caused by the marketplace or the claim holder, will not be considered as a valid rationale for extending time.

EQUITY - Extensions of time are not based solely on equity; however, a Mining Recorder can consider equity as part of the review process.

PRIVATELY OWNED SURFACE RIGHTS - Notification to or Written Consent from - Under section 78 of the Act, a claim holder must notify a surface rights holder the first time that the claim holder is going to perform assessment work on the surface rights part of the claim. An alternative is to get written consent from the surface rights owner after performing the work.

No later than the due date of the assessment work, the claim holder must file the Certificate Confirming Notice of Intention to Perform Assessment Work, or the written consent. There is no provision in the Mining Act to allow an extension of time for filing the certificate or consent.

Note: Not all mining claims are covered or partly covered by privately held surface rights.

REQUIRED TO APPLY EXISTING CREDITS - If the claim holder has a bank (reserve) of credits on the claim for which an application for extension of time is made, the claim holder must apply credits from that bank before a Mining Recorder considers an extension of time.

Note: A Mining Recorder can consider an extension of time, if the claim holder does not have banked [reserved] credits to apply or if the claim holder has less than $400 per claim unit in the bank. 

ASSIGNING CREDITS FROM ANOTHER MINING CLAIM - There will be no extension of time granted to a mining claim to keep it in good standing until credits can be assigned from another claim.  Credits must be assigned to the claim by its due date.  An  extension of time is for performance and filing of work on the mining claim.

Reached Maximum Credits Assignable -  Under subsection 7(4) of the Assessment Work Regulation,  the maximum amount of credits that can be assigned from an unpatented mining claim is $24,000 per claim unit up to a maximum of $96,000.  Neither the Minister, under subsection 67(5) nor a Provincial Mining Recorder under subsection 73(1) will grant an extension of time because a claim holder is unable to assign assessment work credits from another mining claim, which has reached the maximum assignable credits.

PARTIAL ABANDONMENT REFUSED BY RECORDER - If the claim holder does not comply with the Recorder's order(s) under subsection 70(4), then the Mining Recorder generally should not issue an extension of time for performing and filing assessment work. One exception is criteria #8.

Until the partial abandonment is approved, the claim holder still owes assessment work for the entire claim and must act accordingly.

PENDING PROCEEDINGS - A Mining Recorder is not to grant an extension of time before the decision is made on a proceeding pending before a Mining Recorder or the Mining and Lands Commissioner.

Note: Pending Proceedings are defined in policy G.A. 802-1 " Pending Proceedings ".

Assignment of Credits:

A client can assign credits from contiguous mining lands to claims under an extension of time, during the extension of time.

EXTENSION OF TIME REFUSED - If the extension of time is refused and the claim will forfeit, the client can assign credits to another contiguous claim:

• if the client has a bank [reserve] of credits less than $400 per claim unit, and
•  if there is enough time (i.e. before the claim forfeits). Otherwise the bank reverts to zero when the claim forfeits. The client should be informed of the option to assign the credits before the claim forfeits.

Extension of Time for Claim Group - Assigning Credits Within

When an extension of time is granted to more than one contiguous unpatented mining claim, the approved assessment credits from one claim can be assigned to others within the group to meet their assessment work requirements. The assignment must occur during the extension of time period.