Mining Sector Overview

• Author: Elaine L. Hughes, Arlene J. Kwasniak, Alastair R. Lucas
• Pages: 377-388

377

CH AP TER 18

MINING

SECTOR

OVERV IEW

Alastair R Lucas and Greg Plester*

A. THE SCOPE OF MINING LAW

Mining law applies to all n aturally occurring minerals that are mined.

While the scope of legislation changes between jurisdictions, m ining

law generally refers to the mining of hard and soft rock minerals, in-

cluding uranium, gems, and some hydrocarbons. These includes metal-

lic minerals such as gold, silver, platinum, iron, nickel, lead, and zi nc;

precious stones such as diamonds and sapphires; building stones such

as limestone, sandstone, and gra nite; and industrial mi nerals such as

gypsum and s alt. Depending on the jurisdiction, some hydrocarbons

also fall under mining law. While the extraction of oil and gas are regu-

lated independently, coal and oil sands extract ion fall under mining

legislation in many Can adian jurisdictions. Mining law does not gener-

ally control surface operations such as t he extraction of sand, clay, or

gravel.

Mining legislation governs several stages of the mining proce ss, in-

cluding exploration, development, production, and reclamation. While

each jurisdict ion has sectoral legi slation directed specif‌ically at mining,

other non-sectoral regimes, such as land use and environmental assess-

ment legislation, are also relevant to mi ning operations.

* Greg Plester (J D, Alberta) is c urrently an associ ate with Brownlee LLP in E d-

monton and practis es in the area of municipal l aw.