Ontario’s mining sector varies in location, setting and activity. It includes:

  • large and small firms
  • unionized and non-unionized workplaces
  • underground and surface operations
  • processing plants, including mills, smelters and refineries
  • sand and gravel operations
  • mineral exploration sites and
  • oil and gas extraction facilities.

The key mining subsectors are listed as follows:

Underground mines
Includes ramp or shaft (conveyance) access mines and can involve a variety mining methods such as bulk or narrow-vein mining.
Open pit mines and quarries
Surface operations that typically involve large scale drilling, blasting, crushing, sizing and trucking.
Sand and gravel pit operations
Range from small open pits to large scale operations with hundreds of pieces of mobile equipment. Typically, these operations do not involve blasting.
Mineral exploration sites
Surface operations that typically involve diamond drilling and bulk sampling to determine ore reserve potential.
Oil and gas extraction sites and facilities
This sector is tied to both onshore and offshore locations. Offshore locations are governed by Regulation 855  – Oil and Gas, and onshore activities are governed by Regulation 854 – Mines and Mining Plants.