BC regulator issues warning

With trading and financing activity heating up in the junior mining sector, the British Columbia Securities Commission has warned companies to remain diligent when it comes to corporate and technical disclosure.

In a prepared statement, BCSC director of Corporate Finance Angela Huxham said, “Many of the companies in this sector need financing and one of our key functions at the commission is to help foster a fair and competitive capital-raising environment for them.”

“We find that the majority of the good mining companies look to us to crackdown on the few bad apples that hurt their ability to raise money,” she added.

The Toronto Stock Exchange and TSX Venture Exchange are home to more than 1,030 mining, or more than half of the world’s listed mining companies. Of the total, around 65% are based in B.C., with the BCSC is responsible for regulating their financing and disclosure activities.

In recent years, the TSX Venture Exchange (formerly the Vancouver Stock Exchange) has taken steps to clean up its stigma as the scam capital of the world. In addition to tougher listing requirements, leaner times have helped to weed out some of those bad apples.

Huxham says that better disclosure by mining companies means an increase in investor confidence and liquidity in the markets, which will only help to boost capital available for exploration and development activities.

She warns that mining companies that fail to quickly address disclosure shortcomings face cease-trade orders or other regulatory actions.

The commission’s chief mining advisor Greg Gosson said, “Often times, we find that a company’s technical reports are complete and accurate but it is how they use this information for their marketing and public relations activities that leads them offside of the disclosure rules.”

To alleviate that, the BCSC has arranged two half-day workshops on Nov. 13 and Nov. 18 in Vancouver to give mining industry professionals guidance on the rules for technical reports and disclosure on mineral projects.