Opening a gold mine in Ontario is not a matter of obtaining one all-purpose permit. A project may need approvals under the Mining Act, an environmental assessment decision where the law requires one, and additional provincial or federal authorizations based on its design and effects. The province’s One Project, One Process framework can coordinate parts of the work for projects designated by the Minister, but the company proposing the mine remains responsible for complete applications and every required approval.
Why there is no single “mine permit”
Ontario’s Mining Act governs mineral activity from prospecting and exploration through mine development and rehabilitation. Its requirements vary by stage; the Act and regulations do not create one approval that covers every activity and effect of a mine. The province’s Advanced Exploration, Mine Development and Closure under Part VII of the Act regulation, O. Reg. 240/00, is one part of that framework.
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A proposed mine may also engage other provincial or federal laws. Which ones apply depends on the project’s location, infrastructure, water use, waste and tailings plans, and potential effects on fish, habitat or species. Ontario’s reviews of Côté Gold, Rainy River and Hammond Reef illustrate possible requirements, not a universal checklist.
How the approval pathway fits together
1. Determine which Mining Act requirements apply
The proponent must identify the approvals required for its stage of mineral development, including the applicable mine development and closure requirements. A mine’s approval pathway is project-specific; an approval list from another project cannot establish what this one needs.
2. Check whether the project is designated for coordinated delivery
Ontario’s One Project, One Process (1P1P) framework is established under section 153.0.1 of the Mining Act. It is available for projects designated by the Minister of Energy and Mines, so it is not an automatic or universal route.
For a designated project, a Mine Authorization and Permitting Delivery Team coordinates project management, consultation planning, and the alignment of application, review and decision steps through an Integrated Authorization and Permitting Plan. Coordination does not replace individual approvals. Ontario says the proponent is responsible for implementing the plan by submitting complete applications under each ministry’s applicable requirements and obtaining all necessary authorizations, including those outside participating ministries.
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3. Complete an environmental assessment if required
Where the Environmental Assessment Act process applies, the proponent prepares an environmental assessment and consults interested people during its preparation. The Minister may approve the undertaking, approve it with conditions, or refuse it. Ontario’s cited mine assessment examples also state that approval requires concurrence from the Lieutenant Governor in Council.
An environmental assessment decision is not a blanket authorization to build or operate. Other implementation approvals may still be required under provincial or federal laws.
4. Obtain other approvals triggered by the project
Assessment reviews for Côté Gold, Rainy River and Hammond Reef describe potential approvals concerning water, closure, highways, fisheries, species, effluent and explosives. The relevant requirements depend on actual project activities and effects.
5. Address closure and rehabilitation as part of the lifecycle
Ontario identifies a Mining Act closure plan for mine construction and production through eventual decommissioning, including financial assurance. Rehabilitation is part of the statutory mineral-development framework, not a matter to leave until operations end. Ontario’s Mine Rehabilitation Code took effect on April 1, 2024, and is incorporated by reference into O. Reg. 35/24.
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Examples of approvals that may be relevant
The following examples appear in Ontario’s mine assessment materials. They show why permit requirements must be checked against a particular mine’s plans and effects; they do not mean every gold project needs every approval listed.
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|---|---|---|
| Taking more than 50,000 litres of water per day | A Permit to Take Water may be relevant. | The threshold is cited as an example in project reviews, not a sector-wide estimate of water use. |
| Construction within a provincial highway right of way | Highway permissions may be required. | Whether they apply depends on the location and design of roads or other works. |
| Mine development and eventual decommissioning | A Mining Act closure plan, including financial assurance, may be required. | The plan concerns the particular mine’s closure and rehabilitation obligations. |
| Potential harm to fish or fish habitat, or placing tailings or waste rock in waters frequented by fish | Fisheries approvals may be relevant. | The federal requirements depend on the project’s effects and the proposed placement or activity. |
| Potential effects on an endangered species | Species-at-risk permissions may be relevant. | Applicability turns on the species and anticipated effects. |
| Explosives facilities or use | Explosives-related permissions may be relevant. | The applicable approvals depend on the planned facilities and activities. |
| Mine effluent or other discharges | Effluent-related requirements may apply. | The relevant rules and authorizations depend on the discharge and applicable provincial or federal law. |
Who is responsible for Indigenous consultation?
Consultation is part of relevant assessment and regulatory processes. The Crown’s constitutional duty to consult—and, where appropriate, accommodate—arises when the Crown has knowledge of protected Aboriginal or treaty rights and contemplates conduct that may adversely affect those rights.
Under 1P1P, consultation requirements can be sequenced through plans aligned with the integrated permitting plan. A proponent may carry out procedural aspects when directed, but the Crown retains its constitutional responsibility. A proponent’s consultation activities therefore do not transfer that duty to the company.
How to read a project’s approval status
For someone tracking a proposed mine, distinguish an assessment submission, a ministry review, an environmental assessment decision and the project’s other approvals. Each is a different milestone; publication of a review does not itself authorize construction or operation.
Springpole illustrates the distinction. Ontario’s project page reports that First Mining Gold submitted its environmental assessment on November 8, 2024, and that the assessment was amended and resubmitted on June 8, 2026. The ministry review page described a review prepared for Indigenous community, public, agency and stakeholder comment, with a July 31, 2026 comment deadline. Those pages say the ministry review is not the project decision: the decision belongs to the Minister and is subject to Lieutenant Governor in Council approval. The cited page information does not establish what decision, if any, followed that comment period, so it should not be read as confirmation that Springpole is approved to proceed.
For any named project, use its current Ontario project page and check the laws and regulators relevant to its specific footprint and effects. A designation for coordinated permitting, an EA submission, or an EA approval should not be treated as proof that every authorization needed to build or operate has been obtained.
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