The Environmental Appeal Board upheld an $8,000 fine on July 10 and dismissed an appeal from a placer miner who did not have a permit to mine on his private property.
Brad Cox, a delegate of the Chief Inspector of Mines, fined Reginald Parr $8,000 in November 2022. A senior inspector of mines visited the claim near Manson Creek in September 2019 and observed multiple excavations, a large pond connected to water lines and a pump, small settling ponds, a large berm and two excavators on site.
Parr held a permit for a portion of the Crown land north of his private land boundary, but not for his own property, contrary to the Mines Act. He applied for a permit amendment that came through in June 2020.
Parr appealed Cox’s decision on the basis that the inspector observed landscaping, not mining, activities. He believed he did not need a permit, so he asked for the determination to be rescinded and the fine cancelled.
But Panel Chair Cynthia Lu presided over a May 21 online hearing and determined Parr was mining.
Parr had testified that it was an “honest mistake” for him to use his personal property, but did not provide evidence or make arguments about the reasonableness of the monetary penalty.
“The appellant confirmed during the hearing that he put material sourced from his property through the wash plant, used water from the ponds on the property to operate the wash plant, and produced some gold as a result,” said Lu’s decision.
On a balance of probabilities, Lu ruled, Parr was engaged in mining activities.
