Québec City, September 24, 2024 – Why does the government want to restrict mining companies’ access to land, when minerals will be needed to ensure the success of the future battery sector? This is one of the questions asked by the Québec Mining Association (QMA) following its analysis of Bill 63, An Act to amend the Mining Act.
The QMA points out that currently only 15% of Québec’s land base has been explored. The potential for future discoveries remains enormous. Since only one out of every one thousand exploration projects leads to an operating mine, it is easy to see that exploration and access to land are vital if we want to see new mines or extend existing mines, thereby ensuring the future of the mining industry. Exploration is the first step in the process that supplies the metals and minerals we need for our everyday lives and the worldwide energy transition.
The QMA commends the government’s goal of improving the process for granting claims, requiring firms that want to explore in Québec to qualify for the process, and preventing speculation, which has created too much uncertainty in recent years.
That being said, despite the positive points in the Bill, any reduction in exploration possibilities will inevitably reduce the benefits that support socioeconomic development in Québec and its regions. On the pretence of reconciling land uses and ensuring harmonious cohabitation, the Bill withdraws even more land from mining use.
In the view of the QMA, systematically withdrawing land from mining use cannot be described as reconciling land uses or cohabitation. The mining industry cannot cohabit if it has not been given the chance to inhabit the land to start with.
BAPE review of all mining projects
The QMA is pleased to note that the government has implemented its proposal to make all new mining projects subject to the environmental impact assessment procedure and consultation process of the BAPE (Bureau d’audiences publiques sur l’environnement). This was one of its demands to improve the social acceptability of mining projects and make the authorization process clearer and more predictable for promoters, the general population and the government.
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“The Bill, in response to the demands made by municipalities with less experience of cohabiting with the mining industry, penalizes other municipalities that are open to the idea of mining projects in their territory, despite the fact that regional county municipalities can already designate certain areas as mining-incompatible. The Bill must be amended to halt the withdrawal of land from mining use.”
“The QMA and its members understand that some members of the general public have concerns about mineral development. The mining industry, and the government, have a duty to reassure them by highlighting the numerous success stories where mining has led to socioeconomic prosperity in the host communities, while ensuring respect for the population. The new legislative restrictions will only deepen the divide.”
Josée Méthot, the Québec Mining Association president and CEO
About the Québec Mining Association
The Québec Mining Association (QMA) was founded in 1936 and speaks proactively for mining companies involved in exploration, extraction and processing, mining contractors and junior mining companies, along with suppliers, institutions, non-profit organizations and other mining sector partners. It is proud of the 51,334 jobs and activities totalling $13.4 billion generated by Québec’s mining industry in 2022. The QMA’s mission is to promote, support and proactively develop a responsible, committed and innovative mining industry in Québec.