ASSESSMENT WORK

Assessment Work

An open and honest dialogue with all potentially affected parties goes a long way to establishing a trust that is essential for conducting work programs.  The support of local populations, as well as local and Federal authorities, is part of the core working environment we promote.

In addition, permits and consultations with Indigenous Peoples are often required in advance of starting any work programs. 

In the US, filings and permits must be arranged with the BLM before any land disturbances can be made.

The following is an example of the requirements for doing and filing work on staked claims in Ontario. Other jurisdictions can be quite different. 

In Ontario, assessment work refers to the exploration activities that must be done on mining claims to maintain the right to explore for minerals.  The costs of exploration activities are converted to Assessment Work Credits. These credits may be:

· Applied to the claim where the work was done in the year in which it was done.

· Assigned to an adjoining claim in the year in which the work was done.

· Banked, to be applied in following years to the claim where the work done or assigned to an adjoining claim.

Each year Assessment Work Credits must be applied or assigned to each claim held. Methods permitted include:

· Filing geoscience assessment work.

· Distributing banked assessment work credits or

· Making payments in place of assessment work.

If Assessment Work requirements are not met for a mining claim, it will become forfeit and will be reopened for claim staking.

In order for assessment work to be valid, it must be submitted, recorded and approved by the Minister.  It must meet the terms of the Assessment Work Regulation (Ontario Regulation 6\96.)

Valid Types of Work

Exploration activities that can be used for assessment work credit include:

· Performing physical work such as overburden stripping and bedrock trenching.

· Conducting geophysical, geological and geochemical surveys.

· Performing exploratory drilling.

· Rehabilitation work that has been approved by the Ministry.

· Conducting Aboriginal consultation.

· Providing Global Positioning System (GPS) georeferencing data for unpatented mining claims recorded    prior to November 1, 2012.

It is also possible, in certain circumstances, to make cash payments in place of actual assessment work. 

Although most assessment work occurs after a mining claim is staked and recorded, exploration activities that were performed up to 12 months prior to the recording of a mining claim are also eligible for assessment credit.

Amount of Work Required

A mining claim holder is not required to file any geoscience assessment work between the initial recording of a mining claim and the first anniversary date of the mining claim. By the second anniversary of the recording of a claim, and by each anniversary thereafter, a minimum of $400 worth of exploration activity per claim unit must be reported to the Provincial Recording Office.

Banked credits are not automatically applied to mining claims. It is the claim holder’s responsibility to maintain mining claims by filing an Application to Distribute Banked Assessment Work Credits form before any due date.

Payments in place of reporting assessment work may also be used to meet yearly assessment work requirements, provided the payments are not used for the first unit of assessment work and consecutively thereafter.  Payments cannot be banked to be carried forward for future use.  Other restrictions may apply.

Performing Assessment Work

Surface rights include all rights to a piece of land which are not mineral rights.

For work conducted before November 1, 2012:
The Mining Act requires mining claim holders to notify all persons who own surface rights to any part of the land located within the mining claim a minimum of 24 hours before performing any assessment work.  Proof of giving this notice must be included with the submission of assessment work.

For work conducted on or after April 1, 2013:
Assessment work involving:

· Geophysical surveys requiring a power generator.

· Line cutting.

· Mechanized drilling for the purposes of obtaining rock or mineral samples.

· Mechanized surface stripping (overburden removal).

· Pitting and trenching (of rock).

requires an exploration plan or exploration permit before it can be performed.

Consultation with Aboriginal communities, as identified by MNDM, is encouraged before early exploration activities are undertaken. Some expenses related to consultation with Aboriginal communities can be submitted for assessment work credit.

Filing Assessment Work

To file assessment work, you must submit:

· An assessment work submission form.  

· A written report that outlines the exploration activity that occurred throughout the year. 

· All relevant technical documentation such as drill logs, geological reports and maps or sketches.

Assessment work can be submitted online using the ONe-key-portal Electronic Assessment System (EAS).