4 LEXPERT
|
2018/19
|
WWW.LEXPERT.CA
Officers and directors of any public company
have a minefield of obligations that can result in
liability. ose involved with mining companies
have the same and more.
e biggest challenge facing anyone who sits on
a mining company board is not so much that laws
have changed, it's that standards have changed,
says Erik Richer La Flèche, a partner at Stikeman
Elliott LLP in Montréal. "Directors have to be
proactive; they actually have to go out and search,
ferret out information, inquire and actually try to
explore what's going on within their companies."
He says a serious problem confronting many
mining companies is simply getting a project
across the finish line and into production in the
face of community opposition. Many projects
drag on for a decade. Shareholders may buy the
stock on the news of a new mine and, eventually
discouraged, end up selling when there is no pro-
duction despite all the time and money invested.
at's where the rubber hits the road. Richer
La Flèche says he believes the state of negotia-
tions with local communities may be — or are
about to become — a disclosure issue in an era
of shareholder activism.
"From a disclosure point of view, today you'd
probably be smart to indicate whether you have
buy-in. I think your relations with the local com-
munity and with First Nations should be an el-
ement of disclosure. It hasn't happened yet but
somebody could go out and say: 'You have good
geology, you have all your permits, but you don't
REGULATIONS
NAVIGATING
THE REGULATORY
MINEFIELD
PHOTO:
SHUTTERSTOCK
BOARD MEMBERS,
OFFICERS OF MINING
COMPANIES NEED
TO BE AWARE
OF RISKS
BY SANDRA RUBIN
