LETTER TO THE EDITOR — Task force overlooks licensing of chemists

The Qualified Person (QP) concept in the final report of the Mining Standards Task Force expands on the “Competent Person” concept used in other countries.

This concept encompasses all scientific and technical aspects of the mineral industry, and, as such, is of interest to members of the Association of the Chemical Profession of Ontario (ACPO).

As defined by the task force, a QP must be:

• a suitably qualified professional in the specific field;
• a member of a recognized professional organization with a code of conduct that is monitored and enforced; and
• an individual with a minimum of five years professional experience, including experience relevant to the project being designed, managed or reported on.

The report specifically recommends that a QP be an engineer or geoscientist. It goes on to say that since no one person has the academic qualifications or industry experience to direct all aspects of the program, it is management’s responsibility to ensure that the QP is involved in all scientific and technical facets of a project. Also, a QP must be a member-in-good-standing of a recognized professional association.

The report fails to recommend that chemists be licensed to ensure professional practice within the laboratories. Perhaps the task force perceived that the issue affects many industries and that, therefore, it was beyond their mandate. However, a close assessment of the established qualifications of a QP indicate that he must be a chartered chemist with five years of relevant experience.

The accreditation of labs performing mineral analysis was covered extensively by the report. There is no doubt that accreditation is an effective way to judge the professionalism of the labs used by any company. The report recognizes the cost of accreditation and audits in maintaining satisfactory performance, and calls for a peer inter-laboratory proficiency program of at least 10 labs. The report also points out that non-metallic mineral testing is problematic, owing to the limited number of specialized labs. All these factors suggest that a transitional period would be required for complete implementation of a program.

Chartered chemists are members of a recognized, self-governing profession with standards and disciplinary powers that enable them to act as QPs in their specific field of expertise, provided they meet the experience requirements.

In essence, having a chartered chemist on staff can provide a mineral company with an option to limit costs in the lab accreditation process, without sacrificing the integrity of analytical results.

Ed Alvarez, C.Chem, P.Eng.

President, ACPO

Toronto