New and improved Mining Act coming in December

The first glimpse of the Ontario's new Mining Act will be tabled in the Legislature before Christmas.

The first draft of the modernized act will be introduced by the McGuinty government in early December, says Ministry of Northern Development and Mines spokeswoman Anne-Marie Flanagan.

The Ministry has received more than 700 responses from groups or individuals who either attended public meetings in five Ontario cities this past summer or submitted comments.

The deadline for comments was October, but the final date for submissions by First Nation and Metis groups was extended until Nov. 12.

"They had some conflicts with the fall hunt going on," says Flanagan.

Those stakeholders were accommodated with their own separate round of workshops in Kenora, Sioux Lookout, Thunder Bay, Timmins, Sault Ste. Marie, Sudbury and Orillia during September and October.

Flanagan could not say whether the legislation would head to committee with more public consultation.

"It may go to a round of committee meetings but we can't pre-suppose."

Public comments varied by region, from First Nation consultation processes in mineral exploration to surface rights issues and concerns about uranium mining in Eastern Ontario.