Effective January 27, 2012, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") has adopted new rules outlining how publicly traded mining companies must disclose in their quarterly and annual reports the mine safety information required by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.
The new rule is applicable to foreign private issuers and to Canadian issuers reporting under the US-Canadian multijurisdictional disclosure system. The disclosure, however, only applies in respect of mines located in the United States.
The information required by the new SEC rules, which is required to be disclosed on a mine-by-mine basis, includes:
- Significant and substantial violations of mandatory health or safety standards under the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 ("Mine Act") for which the operator received a citation from the Mine Safety and Health Administration ("MSHA").
- Information regarding citations and orders for unwarrantable failure of the mine operator to comply with the Mine Act.
- Imminent danger orders issued under the Mine Act.
- The dollar value of proposed assessments from the MSHA.
- Notices from the MSHA of a pattern of violations or potential to have a pattern of violations under the Mine Act.
- Pending legal actions before the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission.
- Mining-related fatalities.
Additional information can be found here. For a copy of the new SEC rule please visit http://www.sec.gov/rules/final/2011/33-9286.pdf
For more information, visit FMC's Securities Mining Law Blog at www.securitiesmininglaw.com
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