Policy:
A Provincial Mining Recorder or the Mining and Lands Commissioner may exclude time for reasons specified under subsections 67(1) and (2) of the Mining Act. The Minister has authority to exclude time under subsection 67(5) for special circumstances.
Blanket provincial or mining division exclusion orders will not be
granted by either a Provincial Mining Recorder or the Minister under subsection 67(5).
Each application will be judged on its own merits.
Recorder or Commissioner Can Grant:
SPECIFIC CRITERIA - Upon satisfactory evidence, a Provincial
Mining Recorder or the Mining and Lands Commissioner, may grant an exclusion of
time under subsection 67(1) of the Act for a refusal, prohibition, deferral or
delay.
"67(1) If the holder provides the recorder or the Commissioner with
satisfactory evidence of a refusal, prohibition, deferral or delay
referred to in this section, the following periods of time may be
excluded in computing the time within which work on a mining claim
must be performed or reported, or both, or within which application
and payment for a lease may be made:
- The time during which a permit under the Forest Fires Prevention Act or
the Public Lands Act that is necessary for the beginning or carrying
on of work under this Act is refused.
- The time during which the performance of work under this Act
is prohibited under the Acts referred to in
paragraph 1 or any other Act.
- The time during which the holder defers the start of work under
this Act or is delayed in performing it at the Crown's request or by
the Crown's actions.
Examples of delays in carrying out assessment work due to the
Crown's request or actions that are the reviews of:
- the bulk sample permit process under section 52 of the Act
- advanced exploration under Part VII of the Act
- programs impacted by the Federal Fisheries Act
Under subsection 67(2) of the Mining Act, a Provincial Mining
Recorder or the Mining and Lands Commissioner may grant an
exclusion of time where a proceeding affecting the claim(s) is
pending before the Recorder, Commissioner, or Superior
Court of Justice.
" 67 (2) The time during which a proceeding in respect of a mining
claim is pending before the recorder, the Commissioner or the
Superior Court of Justice may be excluded in computing the time within which
work on a mining claim must be performed or reported, or both, or within
which an application and payment for a lease may be made, if the recorder
or Commissioner is satisfied that any delay in settling the proceeding is
not the holder's fault. "
EFFECT ON THE ANNIVERSARY DATE - Under subsection 67(3) a
Provincial Mining Recorder or the Commissioner may set the due date for
the filing of the next unit(s) of assessment work or lease application, without
changing the anniversary date.
" 67(3) In computing time under subsection (1) or (2), the recorder
or Commissioner may make an order fixing the date or dates by which the
next or any prescribed units of work must be performed or reported,
or both, or by which an application and payment for lease may be made."
Under subsection 67(4), the Recorder, Commissioner or Minister may
reset the anniversary date.
" (4) Where the time for doing something under this Act is excluded,
the next anniversary date after the exclusion in respect of the
mining claim involved may be a date that falls after the anniversary
date that would have occurred, except for this provision, by up to
the number of days that equals the number of days of the exclusion,
and all subsequent anniversary dates shall be adjusted accordingly. "
Example 1: The recording date is September 15, 2004. A dispute is
filed on September 1, 2005. There is no assessment work filed.
Exclusion under subsection 67(2) - The dispute, pending
before a Provincial Mining Recorder, is resolved on May 1, 2006.
If the dispute is resolved in favour of the recorded holder, the
Recorder may decide not to issue an order excluding time. The recorded
holder still has 4 months before assessment work is due. Or, if
circumstances warrant an exclusion of time, the Recorder might decide
to reset the due date under subsection 67(3) or reset the anniversary
date under subsection 67(4), to a date considered reasonable by the
Recorder.
If the dispute is resolved in favour of the disputant, the Recorder
has the option of setting the recording date of the new claim, as
of the date of the Recorder's decision order [May 1, 2006], or the
Recorder might exclude the 8 months and set the anniversary date to
May 1, 2006, eight months after the filed only date. The actions have
the same result.
Example 2: Anniversary date is September 15, 2005
Exclusion under subsection 67(1) - The area was closed under the Forest Fire
Prevention Act from July 17th to August 31st, a total of 45 days.
Under subsection 67(4), the anniversary date is reset to October
30th for 2005 and subsequent years.
Minister Can Grant:
SPECIAL CONSIDERATION SUBSECTION 67(5) - Under subsection 67(5) of the Mining Act , despite anything in the Act, the Minister may grant an exclusion of time where, in the Minister's opinion, special circumstances exist.
" 67(5) 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; and
(b) fix the anniversary date or dates by which
the next or any subsequent periods of work must be performed or
reported, or both, or by which application and payment for lease may be
made. "
RIGOROUS CRITERIA - The reasons or rationale, for a
request from a client for an exclusion of time under subsection 67(5),
will have to undergo a rigorous review.
Forfeiture Imminent - The anniversary or due date must be imminent.
The Minister will not consider a request for an exclusion of time, if
the claim holder has sufficient time before the anniversary or due date
to perform and file the required assessment work or assign credits from
contiguous mining land.
An application under subsection 67(5) will only be accepted
within the preceding 90 day period prior to the claim's anniversary date.
Exhaust All Options - All available options to keep the claim in good standing
must be exhausted, before granting or invoking an order for an exclusion of time.
An exclusion of time will not be considered if there are sufficient assessment
work credits in either the bank or reserve on the claim to keep that claim
in good standing. The Ministry will review assessment work credits (either
banked or being performed) on contiguous land held by the same claim holder.
Those credits could possibly be assigned to the claim(s) for which an
exclusion of time is being requested.
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 in any assessment year is $24,000 per claim unit up to
a maximum of $96,000. The Minister, under subsection 67(5) will not grant an exclusion of time because a claim holder is unable to assign
assessment work credits from another mining claim, which has reached the
maximum assignable credits.
Examples - Some examples of situations where exclusions of time might be
granted under subsection 67(5) are:
- issues where there are serious conflict/opposition or threats
of confrontation or violence;
- the Crown has initiated the delay (denied or prolonged review of
work permit application);
- extreme prolonged weather conditions (poor/no winter ice for diamond
drilling over water)
- individual medical problems that have serious ramifications on land
tenure
- could not physically do the work, or
- incapable of making decisions regarding work programs, etcetera
NOTE: Hardship due to financial conditions/reasons, caused
by the marketplace or the claim holder, will not be considered as a
valid rationale for excluding time.
Client's Responsibility:
The client must substantiate the request in writing to a Provincial Mining
Recorder under subsection 67(1) or (2) or, if applicable, to the Senior Manager,
Mining Lands Section under subsection 67(5). 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 exclusion of time is not granted
- options available to the claim holder (example - amending option
agreements, filing 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 exclusion
Refer To:
For extensions of time refer to policy G.A. 901-1 " Extension of Time: For Performing and/or Filing Work ".
