Order in Council 1034/2017

On the recommendation of the undersigned, the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, by and with the advice and concurrence of the Executive Council of Ontario, orders that:

Whereas subsection 91(1) of the Mining Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. M.14 provides that all lands, claims or mining rights patented, leased or otherwise disposed of under this or any other Act or by any authority whatsoever, are subject to the condition that all ores or minerals raised or removed therefrom shall be treated and refined in Canada so as to yield refined metal or other product suitable for direct use in the arts without further treatment;

And Whereas under subsection 91(3) of the said Act the Lieutenant Governor in Council may exempt any lands, claims or mining rights from the operation of the said subsection 91(1) for such periods of time as seems proper;

And Whereas by Order in Council dated May 16, 2012 and numbered O.C. 709/2012 Vale Canada Limited (Vale) obtained an exemption from the operation of subsection 91(1) for a period of five years effective from June 27, 2012 to June 26, 2017 for certain lands described therein;

And Whereas Vale operates mines in Ontario to extract nickel and, in the course of it nickel mining operations, copper ores are produced, which Vale processes into copper concentrates and copper anodes at its Sudbury facilities;

And Whereas Vale represents that while most of its copper ore production is fully processed in Canada pursuant to agreements with Glencore Canada Corporation (formerly Xstrata Canada Corporation), those agreements do not cover all of the copper ore currently produced, and it requires this exemption to ensure that it can access processing facilities outside of Canada, in the event that adequate processing capacity in Canada is not available or cannot be secured on sustainable commercial terms;

And Whereas for these reasons it is considered advisable to grant an extension of that exemption to Vale Canada Limited from the operation of subsection 91(1) for the lands described in Schedule “A” hereto;

Therefore pursuant to subsection 91(3) of the Mining Act, R.S.O. 1990, Chap. M.14, the lands, claims or mining rights described in Schedule "A" attached hereto, are hereby exempt from the operation of subsection 91(1) of the said Act for a period of five years effective from June 27, 2017 to June 26, 2022.

Schedule A