PDAC e-News and Activities, June 4, 2002 - No. 2

Page Index
Calls for national securities regulator gain momentum
PDAC comments on South Africa's new mineral legislation
Global Mining Initiative
Environmental Excellence in Exploration (e3) forges ahead
Canadian Council of Professional Geoscientists
Association maps out future strategy
Publications available

Calls for national securities regulator gain momentum
The PDAC is encouraged by the groundswell of support for a national securities regulatory body in Canada. Members will recall that this was one of the PDAC’s chief recommendations in its brief to the 2001 Mines Ministers Conference. Since then, calls for a single regulator have been made by TSE president Barbara Stymiest, the Canadian Bankers Association, and by the five-year review committee appointed to review securities legislation in Ontario, which states: "We add our voice to countless others raised in support of the urgent need for a single Canadian securities regulator. This is the most pressing securities regulation issue in Ontario and across Canada."

The PDAC has written to premiers across the country urging them to have the matter of securities regulation reform placed on the agenda for the upcoming First Ministers’ Conference in Halifax in August. The letter states that “the regulatory requirements across Canada differ from jurisdiction to jurisdiction and in some cases, despite similarities due to prior attempts at harmonization, are interpreted differently. Compliance costs to junior companies have increased 100% in the past five years, which is stifling wealth and job creation.”

The association has also communicated Canada’s need for a single regulatory body to former federal Finance Minister Paul Martin following his recent public endorsement of a system of harmonized securities regulations.

PDAC comments on South Africa's new mineral legislation
The South African government released its Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Bill on April 19, 2002. The bill, which is a revision of the Mineral Development draft bill issued by the government in December 2000, will fundamentally change mining rights in South Africa. The PDAC submitted an extensive commentary on the draft legislation in March 2001 and has now developed a second commentary on the new bill. The commentary consists of an overview of the bill’s new framework and a critical analysis of its contents. Public hearings on the new legislation begin on June 5. Click here to reach the bill and the PDAC’s commentary.

Global Mining Initiative
The Global Mining Initiative conference was held in Toronto in May. The conference marked the third and final component of the GMI, which is now coming to a conclusion. The initiative was set up four years ago by nine mining companies; its objective was to re-define the role of the mining industry in relation to sustainable development. The two other components of the GMI were: a) the Mining, Minerals and Sustainable Development project (MMSD), a two-year process of consultation and research on how to maximize the contribution of the mining and minerals sector to sustainable development; and b) the creation of the International Council on Mining and Metals, a new global leadership body for the industry focusing on sustainable development issues. The new organization's guiding principles are contained in the ICMM Toronto Declaration, which was adopted at the conclusion of the GMI Conference.

The PDAC has represented the exploration sector’s interests in the GMI as follows: a) director Ian Thomson was a member of the MMSD North American team; b) executive director Tony Andrews represented the PDAC at an MMSD global workshop on biodiversity and protected areas; c) an ad hoc committee was set up to analyze and review the almost 600-page draft final MMSD report. The committee, chaired by director Bob Parsons, included president Bill Mercer, past president Gerald Harper, directors Mary-Claire Ward and Bob Schafer, Geoscience Committee member Richard Sutcliffe, and executive director Tony Andrews. The final MMSD report, entitled Breaking New Ground has now been released and includes most of the PDAC’s comments. The report can be downloaded chapter by chapter in PDF format from http://www.iied.org/mmsd/finalreport/; b) a group of PDAC directors, including most of those listed above, attended the recent GMI conference in Toronto to represent the views of the exploration sector.

Environmental Excellence in Exploration (e3) forges ahead
Dave Orava, chairman of the e3 Steering Committee, reports that the project is moving ahead well. A beta version (prototype) of the e-manual is scheduled for release at the end of 2002, and the final version is due to be released at PDAC Convention 2003. The first chapter of the e-manual covering soil conservation and erosion controls will be released on a public website on June 24. Work is also in progress to develop a community engagement component in partnership with the B.C. and Yukon Chamber of Mines. A full report on e3’s progress will be published in the next issue of PDAC in Brief, which you will be receiving at the beginning of July. Project manager Neil Westoll made presentations on e3 recently to the CIM’s annual convention in Vancouver and to the NUNA Research Conference on Sustainability.

Canadian Council of Professional Geoscientists
Mary-Claire Ward, chair of the Geosciences Committee, represented the PDAC at a meeting of the Canadian Council of Professional Geoscientists in Edmonton on April 27. The PDAC participates in these meetings because issues related to incidental practice and mobility often come up (incidental practice means the ability to work in a jurisdiction other than the one you are registered in without paying fees; mobility is the ability to transfer membership from one jurisdiction to another with the minimum of fuss). For more information, contact Mary-Claire Ward at mcward@wgm.on.ca.

Association maps out future strategy
The PDAC board of directors held a weekend retreat in mid-April as the first step towards developing a new strategic plan for the association. Attending the retreat were 22 directors, 3 past presidents, and 4 staff members. Nine principal objectives were identified, and these are now being worked on by five committees which will be developing priorities, strategies, and operational plans for each objective. Once these have been developed and approved by the board of directors, we shall post them on our website.

Publications available
Exploration & Development Highlights is an annual PDAC publication containing reports of mining related developments and activities in each of Canada’s provinces and territories over the past year. Members attending this year’s convention will have received a copy in their registration kits. If you would like a copy (or extra copies), please contact us.