Exemption Orders (Discretionary)
POLYMET MINING CORP.
2001 BCSECCOM 760
Headnote
Mutual Reliance Review System for Exemptive Relief Applications – Relief granted from certain provisions of National Instrument 43-101 to permit a prefeasibility report to include an economic evaluation based on inferred resources as a variation on a base case analysis and to permit the disclosure of the prefeasibility report, subject to certain conditions
Applicable British Columbia Provisions
National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects, ss. 2.3(1) and 9.1
Form 43-101F1 Technical Report, Item 19(i)
IN THE MATTER OF THE SECURITIES LEGISLATION OF BRITISH COLUMBIA, ALBERTA AND ONTARIO
AND
IN THE MATTER OF THE MUTUAL RELIANCE REVIEW SYSTEM FOR EXEMPTIVE RELIEF APPLICATIONS
AND
IN THE MATTER OF POLYMET MINING CORP.
MRRS DECISIONDOCUMENT
[para 1]
WHEREAS the local securities regulatory authority or regulator (the “Decision Maker”) in each of British Columbia, Alberta, and Ontario (the “Jurisdictions”) has received an application from PolyMet Mining Corp. (the “Filer”) for a decision under section 9.1 of National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects (the “National Instrument”) that the Filer is exempt from:
(a) the requirement in Form 43-101F1 Technical Report that only indicated mineral resources, measured mineral resources, probable mineral reserves and proven mineral reserves be used when referring to mineral resources or mineral reserves in an economic evaluation that is used in a preliminary feasibility study of a mineral project (the “Report Requirement”); and
(b) the prohibition in the National Instrument against making any disclosure of results of an economic evaluation which uses inferred mineral resources (the “Disclosure Prohibition”);
[para 2]
AND WHEREAS under the Mutual Reliance Review System for Exemptive Relief Applications (the “System”) the British Columbia Securities Commission is the principal regulator for this application;
[para 3]
AND WHEREAS the Filer has represented to the Decision Makers that:
1. the Filer is a company incorporated under the Company Act (British Columbia) and is a reporting issuer in each of the Jurisdictions;
2. the authorized capital of the Filer consists of 1,000,000,000 shares, of which 29,228,603 shares were issued and outstanding as of July 3, 2001;
3. the common shares of the Filer are listed and posted on the Canadian Venture Exchange;
4. the Company is engaged principally in the exploration for minerals;
5. in April, 2001, Independent Mining Consultants Inc. (“IMC”) prepared a pre-feasibility study on the Filer’s NorthMet Project located in north-eastern Minnesota (the “Study”), as amended by an addendum dated May, 2001;
6. the Study contains an economic evaluation based only on resources in the measured and indicated categories as a base case analysis, and an economic evaluation which includes 16.9% of in-pit inferred resources as a variation on the base case analysis;
7. the Filer considers that a variation on the base case analysis which includes 16.9% of in-pit inferred resource is reasonable from a technical point of view, which position is supported by IMC in the Study;
8. the economic evaluation which includes 16.9% of in-put inferred resource is a material fact in the affairs of the Filer;
9. the Filer intends to issue a news release announcing the results of the Study including the in-put inferred resources (the “News Release”);
[para 4]
AND WHEREAS under the System this MRRS Decision Document evidences the decision of each Decision Maker (collectively, the “Decision”);
[para 5]
AND WHEREAS each Decision Maker is satisfied that the test contained in the Legislation that provides the Decision Maker with the jurisdiction to make the Decision has been met;
[para 6]
THE DECISION of the Decision Makers under the Legislation is that the Filer is exempt from the Report Requirement and the Disclosure Prohibition in respect of the Study and the News Release provided that:
(a) the proposed mining plan (pit design) contained in the Study is based on only the measured and indicated resources;
(b) the Filer prepares and discloses a base case economic analysis, using only measured and indicated resources; and
(c) the News Release include a proximate statement that the Study is preliminary in nature, that it includes inferred mineral resources that are considered too speculative geologically to have the economic considerations applied to them that would enable them to be categorized as mineral reserves, and there is no certainty that the Study will be realized.
[para 7]
DATED July 19, 2001.
Brenda Leong
Director