Regulatory Provisions

Mining Rehabilitation Guide

The Rehabilitation of State-owned Mining Sites

	E-Sigeom
	GESTIM
	Mining Duties Return

Around twenty mineral substances are currently mined in Québec for use in the manufacture of a wide range of products that have become indispensable in our everyday lives. However, the extraction and processing of these substances also produces a substantial quantity of mine tailings that can affect the environment if the necessary precautions are not taken.

The requirements apply to the holders of mining rights who carry out advanced exploration work on land in the public or private domain. More specifically, the requirements cover:

• excavation that involves earth-moving work affecting 10,000 m³ or more of loose soil or an area of 10,000 m² or more;
• sampling work on 500 metric tonnes or more of mineral substances;
• work carried out on substances located in storage sites (especially mine tailings sites);
• underground exploration work, such as the driving of drifts, the pumping out of shafts, and the hoisting of mineral substances;
• the preparation of storage sites.
  

Extraction work

The law applies to all companies extracting substances from public or private land in Québec. The general obligations cover all mineral substances, except petroleum, natural gas, brine and surface mineral substances; they therefore apply to:

• all activities relating to ore extraction, especially the removal and transportation of ore, the sinking of shafts, the driving of drifts and ramps, ore crushing and dry storage;
• all activities relating to the processing or ore or tailings, especially preparation, enrichment (excluding refining and pelletization), and the separation of solids from liquids;
• all work relating to the preparation of storage zones;
• all work carried out on mine tailings.

Rehabilitation plan

Every company carrying out mining activities subject to the Mining Act must submit a rehabilitation plan to the MRNF which, after consulting the Ministère du Développement durable, de l'Environnement et des Parcs, may approve the plan and its implementation schedule. The MRNF may, where necessary, request that additional research or studies be completed before approving the plan.

The rehabilitation plan must be submitted to the Department before the beginning of the work subject to the provisions of the Act. In particular, the plan must contain the following information:

• a description of the site and of completed or projected mining activities;
• a description of the rehabilitation work scheduled to take place during the extraction process, where circumstances permit;
• a description of the rehabilitation and restoration work scheduled to take place once mining has ceased;
• a stage-by-stage implementation schedule;
• an assessment of the cost of the rehabilitation work;
• a description of the financial guarantee provided for the restoration of storage sites.
  

The rehabilitation plan must be revised every five years, but in certain cases the Department may require more frequent revisions or order a revision, in particular following a change in mining activities or the introduction of new technologies, or if the operator wishes to make changes to the plan. The revised plan must be submitted to the Department for approval.

For more information on the compulsory content of a rehabilitation plan, consult the document Rehabilitation guide of Québec's mining sites.

Financial guarantee

A company that expects to use or that is already using a storage area must provide the Department with a financial guarantee once its rehabilitation plan has been approved. The amount of the guarantee must cover 70% of the estimated cost of restoring the storage site. The number of annual payments depends on the type of activity (exploration or extraction) and the expected duration of the activity (maximum of 15 years). The guarantee must be provided in the form of:

• a cheque;
• securities issued or guaranteed by a government or a municipality;
• a guaranteed investment certificate;
• a letter of credit;
• a surety or guarantee policy naming the Government as beneficiary;
• an immovable hypothec granted by a third party;
• a trust.

A company that owns several properties to which the measures apply and that must make several separate payments in the same year may provide a single financial guarantee to cover the total amount of the guarantees on each of the properties.

The guarantee is repaid when the work provided for in the rehabilitation plan has been completed. It may, however, be repaid in part or increased following a reassessment of the cost of the work. The Department may also repay the guarantee if it authorizes a third party to take responsibility for rehabilitating the site.

Furthermore, following the amendment in 2003 to section 232.7 of the Mining Act, the Department may require payment of the total guarantee should the operator’s financial situation deteriorate or should the anticipated duration of the operator’s activities be reduced.

Certificate of release

Once the rehabilitation work has been completed in accordance with the approved plan and there is no further risk of acid mine drainage from the site, the Department will issue a certificate stating that the company is released from its obligations. The same certificate will be issued if a third party agrees to take responsibility for rehabilitation.

Retroactive measures applicable to storage areas

The provisions of the Act allow the Department to intervene when the storage areas of an abandoned mine site create a hazard. In such a case, the Department can require a person or company that produced mine tailings before March 9, 1995 to prepare a rehabilitation plan for the land affected by the mine tailings and the work defined in the plan to be carried out within the prescribed time.

Recognition of work to secure mine sites

The Mining Act requires the holders of mining rights to carry out statutory work on their mining sites in order to retain their rights. Work to rehabilitate or restore mine sites carried out in accordance with a rehabilitation plan is recognized as statutory work for the Lurposes of renewing a mining right.

The Government also recognizes measures taken to secure a mine site, as prescribed by regulation, and to prevent any damage that may result from a cessation of activities. This type of work includes filling in trenches, installing a concrete slab over a shaft or chute, and installing a fence around an open work site.