Criminal Code

Marginal note:Fraud in relation to valuable minerals

• 394 (1) No person who is the holder of a lease or licence issued under an Act relating to the mining of valuable minerals, or by the owner of land that is supposed to contain valuable minerals, shall

  • (a) by a fraudulent device or contrivance, defraud or attempt to defraud any person of

    • (i) any valuable minerals obtained under or reserved by the lease or licence, or

    • (ii) any money or valuable interest or thing payable in respect of valuable minerals obtained or rights reserved by the lease or licence; or

  • (b) fraudulently conceal or make a false statement with respect to the amount of valuable minerals obtained under the lease or licence.

• Marginal note:Sale of valuable minerals

  (2) No person, other than the owner or the owner’s agent or someone otherwise acting under lawful authority, shall sell any valuable mineral that is unrefined, partly refined, uncut or otherwise unprocessed.

• Marginal note:Purchase of valuable minerals

  (3) No person shall buy any valuable mineral that is unrefined, partly refined, uncut or otherwise unprocessed from anyone who the person has reason to believe is not the owner or the owner’s agent or someone otherwise acting under lawful authority.

• Marginal note:Presumption

  (4) In any proceeding in relation to subsection (2) or (3), in the absence of evidence raising a reasonable doubt to the contrary, it is presumed that

  • (a) in the case of a sale, the seller is not the owner of the valuable mineral or the owner’s agent or someone otherwise acting under lawful authority; and

  • (b) in the case of a purchase, the purchaser, when buying the valuable mineral, had reason to believe that the seller was not the owner of the mineral or the owner’s agent or someone otherwise acting under lawful authority.

• Marginal note:Offence

  (5) A person who contravenes subsection (1), (2) or (3) is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term of not more than five years.

• Marginal note:Forfeiture

  (6) If a person is convicted of an offence under this section, the court may order anything by means of or in relation to which the offence was committed, on such conviction, to be forfeited to Her Majesty.

• Marginal note:Exception

  (7) Subsection (6) does not apply to real property other than real property built or significantly modified for the purpose of facilitating the commission of an offence under this section.