Good Governance and Modern Legislation

This consultation is now closed.

Discussion Paper – Review of the Mineral Resources Act and corresponding regulations

In 2011 the Province of Nova Scotia released “The Path We Share: A Natural Resources Strategy for Nova Scotia”. Within this strategy, the province identified an overarching goal of good governance to ensure that laws and policies are clear and effective. One of the activities identified under this goal was a review of the Mineral Resources Act.

mineral legislation reviewThe Mineral Resources Act and its the legislation that establishes the rights and obligations around the responsible development of Nova Scotia’s geological resources.

All aspects of mining and mineral development, including staking, prospecting, exploration, mining, and reclamation activities, are within the Act and regulations.

The Act has not been reviewed since 1990 and it needs to be updated. With your assistance, the review will modernize the Act and corresponding regulations to be more in tune with the mining sector of 2014 and beyond. Download the Mineral Resources Act..

A discussion paper around the Mineral Resources Act has been prepared to give stakeholders and all Nova Scotians an opportunity to contemplate changes and improvements to the Act.

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The formal consultation process on the Mineral Resources Act will run from January 2, 2015 to February 2, 2015. All interested stakeholders as well as members of the public are invited to share their thoughts and ideas around the Mineral Resources Act via a questionnaire.

Download the consultation questionnaire.

In addition to the questionnaire, if you wish to submit a longer, written document please e-mail it to stratpolplanning@novascotia.ca

It is important to note that the Mineral Resources Act does not include aggregates, pits and quarries, fracking, uranium mining, oil and gas exploration, land use planning or health and safety issues related to mining. These areas are regulated under other legislation and/or are under the jurisdiction of other government departments.

For further information please contact:
Strategic Policy and Planning
Department of Natural Resources
Phone: 902-424-8186
e-mail: StratPolPlanning@novascotia.ca