The open comment period on the proposed overhaul of Canada’s National Instrument 43-101 (NI 43-101) officially closed on Oct. 10, marking a key step in the move to modernize mineral project disclosure rules.  

NI 43‑101, introduced in 2001 by the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA), establishes mandatory standards for mineral project reporting to ensure transparency in mining disclosures. 

The 120-day comment period followed a June 12 notice from the CSA inviting feedback on plans to repeal and replace the existing NI 43‑101 standards; its Companion Policy (43-101CP) which provides guidance related to the instrument as well as the form (43-101F) a company would use to structure its report.  

The CSA will now review the submissions and complete the drafting of the replacement instrument, companion policy and form. Once finalized, the CSA will proceed to adopt and issue the new NI 43-101 regime and set an effective date.  

Issuers will be expected to then transition to the new disclosure framework. But until the new instrument takes effect, the existing NI 43-101 remains in force, and issuer disclosure continues to be governed by the current standard. 

Key proposed amendments 

Several driving factors have prompted the proposed amendments to ensure the instrument remains current in today’s mining landscape. First introduced nearly 25 years ago, many of NI 43-101’s definitions and disclosure rules have not kept up with developments in the mining industry, reporting practices or global standards. 

The proposed amendments include consolidating terms such as “property,” “mineral property,” “project” and “mineral project” under the single defined term “mineral project.” 

 The definitions of “early-stage exploration property” and “advanced property” would be removed to ensure the same disclosure rules apply across all project stages. 

The definition of a qualified person (QP) would be updated to remove the formal education requirement, require five years of relevant post-registration experience, and clarify that the QP must approve all scientific and technical disclosure. 

The instrument is also being updated to harmonize with global standards. Definitions for mineral resources, reserves, and mining studies have been aligned internationally under CIM and the Committee for Mineral Reserves International Reporting Standards (CRIRSCO), and the proposed changes would remove references to foreign codes so that all technical report disclosures conform to CIM standards. 

In addition, the instrument would shift from disclosing “material” to “relevant” scientific and technical information for both material and non-material projects. Other updates aim to strengthen disclosure regarding Indigenous Peoples, rightsholders, communities and environmental or permitting matters, as well as exempting royalty-only issuers from filing a full technical report if they hold only a royalty or a similar interest. 

MRMR comment letter 

On Oct. 9, the CIM Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserve Committee (MRMR) released a comment letter to the CSA outlining its recommendations on the proposed repeal and replacement of NI 43-101. Key among the committee’s recommendations was retaining the term “material” rather than adopting “relevant,” noting that the undefined term could create uncertainty, as “relevant” is undefined and could lead to inconsistent interpretations by QPs, regulators and investors. The letter also recommended supporting the inclusion of inferred resources in early-stage studies, along with providing clearer guidance on exploration targets, data verification and reliance on experts. 

Of all the recommendations, Deborah McCombe, MRMR committee co-chair, highlighted data verification as particularly important, noting that MRMR wants to ensure the public clearly understands what is required for proper data verification. 

“As you can imagine, [data verification] is very important,” she told CIM Magazine. “There have been some projects that have had a lot of work done on them, and you have to go back years to check everything that’s happened, so we’re trying to clarify certain aspects of that.” 

McCombe emphasized that “CIM has a very good relationship with the regulators, and we want to work closely with them to [ensure] the amendments result in a document that [delivers] the right results for proper disclosure for the industry,” McCombe said. 

The evolution of NI 43-101 

Feb. 1, 2001: NI 43-101 was first introduced in response to the aftermath of the 1997 Bre-X scandal, in which a Canadian company falsely claimed to have discovered a huge gold deposit in Indonesia, leading to a multibillion-dollar stock collapse when the hoax was exposed. The instrument replaced NP 2-A, the predecessor to NI 43‑101. 

Dec. 30, 2005: The amended version of NI 43-101 officially came into effect, updating several provisions from the 2001 version. 

June 30, 2011: Further revisions were made to the 2005 version, and the current instrument took effect. 

April 14, 2022: The CSA released a consultation paper to seek input on updating NI 43‑101. 

June 12, 2025: CSA released a notice and request for comment proposing to repeal and replace NI 43-101, along with the associated forms and policies.