Northwest Territories Mining Regulations (SOR/2014-68)

Work Requirements

Marginal note: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.

• Marginal note: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).

Marginal note: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

Marginal note: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.

• Marginal note: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.

• Marginal note: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.

• Marginal note: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.

• Marginal note: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).

• Marginal note:Work reported once

  (6) Work reported in one report must not be reported in any other report.

Marginal note: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).

• Marginal note: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

Marginal note: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.

• Marginal note: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

Marginal note: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).

• Marginal note: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.

• Marginal note: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.

Marginal note: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).

• Marginal note: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.

• Marginal note: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.

• Marginal note: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.

• Marginal note: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.

Marginal note: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.

• Marginal note: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.

• Marginal note: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.

• Marginal note: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.

• Marginal note: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).

• Marginal note: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.

• Marginal note: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.

Marginal note: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.

• Marginal note: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.

Marginal note: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.

• Marginal note: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).

• Marginal note: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.

Marginal note: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.

• Marginal note:Payment of charge

  (2) The claim holder must pay the charge within 60 days after the day on which the certificate is issued.

• Marginal note: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.

Marginal note: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.

• Marginal note: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

Marginal note: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).

• Marginal note: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.

• Marginal note: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.

• Marginal note: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.

• Marginal note: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.

• Marginal note:Effect of suspension

  (6) A suspension extends the duration of the claim by the duration of the suspension.

Reduced Area

Marginal note: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).

• Marginal note: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).

• Marginal note: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.

• Marginal note: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.

• Marginal note: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.

• Marginal note: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.