Mines Group

Who We Are

The Mines Group is a section within the provincial government that:

• Promotes the sustainable development of Ontario's mineral resources - metals, industrial minerals and dimension stone.
• Implements government public policy by educating development proponents, aboriginal people and the general public about the proper development of mineral resources.
• Helps ensure the environmental integrity of Ontario's minerals industry.
• Ensures that operating mines are properly rehabilitated by mine owners in accordance with the legislative standards of the province.
• Monitors exploration programs to assist operators to understand when their work may trigger regulatory requirements.

Our specialists administer and enforce Ontario's Mining Act by:

• Co-ordinating the regulatory process for mineral development projects, involving numerous provincial and federal regulatory departments/agencies.
• Inspecting operating and past-producing mine sites to ensure compliance with regulatory standards.
• Investigating occurrences of non-compliance of the Mining Act.
• Managing financial assurance provided by mine developers and operators so as to minimizethe cost of rehabilitation to Ontario's taxpayers.

Our specialists also:

• Manage data and associated material on all known abandoned mines sites within Ontario.
• Manage the rehabilitation of high risk mine sites that have become the property of Ontario/the Crown through the Abandoned Mines Rehabilitation Program, which has received funding of $118 million over a thirteen-year period.

Who We Serve

• Any person or company who needs to understand the process for permitting new and operating mines in Ontario.
• Any person or company who needs to understand the process for rehabilitating a mine site in Ontario.
• The mineral exploration and mining companies that seek to bring mines into production in Ontario.
• Aboriginal communities who are seeking to understand the impacts of mine development on their Constitutionally protected rights.
• The Ontario government, which develops policies to best serve the public interest and which promotes Ontario's mineral resources to investors.

What We Provide

We provide information and knowledge about how mines are regulated and by whom.

• Site visits: Our staff visit potential development sites to acquire first-hand knowledge of potential issues.
• Regulatory information: We provide extensive material (through our publications and websites) to help you understand the scope of activities that may trigger regulation.
• Distribution: We provide our documents free-of-charge through the Internet and, to a lesser extent, as printed documents.

We provide advice and services so mineral development proponents can makeinformed decisions about project planning, to:

• Understand the risks of various development options.
• Minimize the environmental impact of a project.
• Assist with the development of comprehensive project description documents for environmental assessment agencies.
• Enable the setting of realistic timelines for project completion.
• Prioritize applications for permits to ensure a project is not subject to unnecessary delay.
• Engage and consult with aboriginal people who may be affected by your project.

We will co-ordinate the regulatory process and associated communications for the Ontario ministries with a regulatory role in your project; we can extend this toinclude federal regulators, should they choose to participate.

Through our marketing efforts, we inform exploration companies and prospectors about Ontario's regulatory regime for mineral development.