First Session, 45th General Assembly

53 Elizabeth II, 2004

BILL 22

AN ACT TO AMEND THE MINERAL ACT

Received and Read the First Time

Second Reading

Committee

Third Reading

Royal Assent

HONOURABLE EDWARD J. BYRNE

Minister of Natural Resources

Ordered to be printed by the Honourable House of Assembly

EXPLANATORY NOTES

Clause 1 of the Bill would amend

section 11 of the Mineral Act to permit the minister to suspend a person's right to stake out claims where the person has not complied with the rule respecting payment in the proposed subsection 21(2.1) of the Act and provide for the reinstatement of that right upon compliance.

Clauses 2 and 6 of the Bill would enable applications for map staked licences under the Act to be made electronically and permit the priority of applications to be established in the same way.

Clause 2 of the Bill would also prohibit applicants for licences from attempting to withdraw payment for a licence fee or security deposit without the minister's approval.

Clause 3 of the Bill would amend

section 24 of the Act to allow the minister to withhold approval of a transaction by a licence holder where the licence holder is in breach of the payment rule in the proposed subsection 21(2.1) of the Act.

Clause 4 of the Bill would provide for the automatic conversion of existing ground staked licences to map staked licences.

Clause 4 of the Bill would also provide that fractional map staked claims within the boundaries of converted ground staked licences would be expanded to full claims except where there are competing contiguous licence holders.

Clause 5 of the Bill would amend

section 38 of the Act to give the Mineral Rights Adjudication Board the jurisdiction to deal with suspensions under

section 11 of the Act and approvals under

section 24 of the Act.

Clause 7 of the Bill would provide for the coming into force of clauses 2 and 6 at a future date and time.

A BILL

AN ACT TO AMEND THE MINERAL ACT

Analysis

1. S.11 Amdt.

Right to stake

2. S.21 Amdt.

Application for licence; acceptance

3. S.24 Amdt.

Assignment permitted

4. S.25.2 R&S

Conversion to map staked licence

5. S.38 Amdt.

Jurisdiction of board

6. S.41 Amdt.

Regulations

7. Commencement

Be it enacted by the Lieutenant-Governor and House of Assembly in Legislative Session convened, as follows:

RSNL1990 cM-12

as amended

Section 11 of the Mineral Act is amended by adding immediately after subsection (2) the following:

(3) The minister may suspend a person's right to stake out claims under this

section where the person has not complied with subsection 21(2.1) in respect of any application for a licence.

(4) Where a person referred to in subsection (3) satisfies the minister that he or she has complied with subsection 21(2.1), the minister shall reinstate the person's right to stake out claims under this section.

2. (1) Subsection 21(1) of the Act is amended by striking out the words "either in person or by mail".

(2) Subsection 21(2) of the Act is repealed and the following substituted:

(2) Upon acceptance of an application for a map staked licence, the recorder shall provide confirmation of acceptance to the applicant.

(3) Section 21 of the Act is amended by adding immediately after subsection (2) the following:

(2.1) An applicant for a licence shall not cancel, withdraw or in any way retract or reverse payment of a licence fee or security deposit without the approval of the recorder.

(4) Subsection 21(5) of the Act is repealed.

Section 24 of the Act is amended by renumbering it as subsection 24(1) and by adding immediately after that subsection the following:

(2) The minister may withhold his or her approval under subsection (1) where the holder of the licence has not complied with subsection 21(2.1) in respect of any application for a licence, until the minister is satisfied that those requirements have been met.

Section 25.2 of the Act is repealed and the following substituted:

Conversion to map staked licence

25.2

(1) All ground staked licences issued before the coming into force of this

section are converted to map staked licences.

(2) The recorder shall issue to the holder of a ground staked licence referred to in subsection (1) a map staked licence in respect of all full map staked claims within the area included in the ground staked licence being converted.

(3) Where the boundaries of the ground staked licence referred to in subsection (1) include a fraction of a map staked claim, the boundaries of the licence issued under this

section shall include the full map staked claim, unless another ground or map staked licence held by a different person also includes a fraction of the same map staked claim.

(4) Where the boundaries of 2 or more ground or map staked licences held by different persons include fractions of the same map staked claim, the boundaries within that map staked claim of a licence issued under this

section shall remain the boundaries established on the ground.

(5) A map staked licence issued under this

section shall be considered to have the same date of issuance as the ground staked licence being converted.

(6) The recorder shall, as soon as is practicable, issue a map staked licence under this

section in accordance with subsection 22(3).

5. Subsection 38(1) of the Act is amended by adding immediately after paragraph (

a) the following:

(a.1) the suspension and reinstatement of a person's right to stake out claims;

(a.2) a decision by the minister to withhold approval of a transfer, assignment, mortgage, pledge or conveyance of a licence;

(1) Subparagraph 41(e)(ii) of the Act is repealed and the following substituted:

(ii) the documentation to be submitted with an application for a licence,

(2) Subparagraph 41(e)(vi) of the Act is repealed.

Commencement

7. Sections 2 and 6 of this Act shall come into force on a day and at an hour to be proclaimed by the Lieutenant-Governor in Council.

©Earl G. Tucker, Queen's Printer