Information and
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ’s)
for Prospective Members
Historical
Background:
The Mining and Metallurgical Society of America (MMSA) is a
professional organization of individuals. It was organized in
1908 by 114 prominent mining men, in the United States, with the
goal of bringing the professional standing of this prestigious
group to bear on specific issues facing the mineral industry.
In the nearly 100 years since then, MMSA has played an important
role in a series of actions benefiting the industry. These have
included instituting annual financial reports for corporations
to protect investors, the appointment of state mine inspectors,
establishment and development of the Bureau of Mines and many
other issues of interest to all professionals concerned with the
good health of the mining industry.
MMSA has always been a small, but cohesive group composed of
senior people from the mineral industry. That character will
continue to be preserved. The Society exists for the purpose of achieving results
through actions of the membership.
Our intent is not to seek new members through persuading them
that MMSA will do great things for them. It is not the intent
that anyone should benefit directly; other than by the
satisfaction obtained from knowing that they are doing something
worthwhile for the mineral industry and their profession.
Members are selected from recommendations by
existing members. Individuals may also apply directly and must
be endorsed by at least two current members. Candidates must demonstrate the highest level
of leadership, technical competence, ethical standards and
desire to promote the interests of the Society.
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What are your
membership options?
MMSA has two classes of
membership, Regular Member and QP Member. It is important to
stress that these two classes hold identical status within the
organization. The QP classification is offered solely as a
service to our industry, not to create hierarchies. The primary
role of MMSA has always been, and will continue to be, “the
conscience of the mining industry” due to its unique status as
an organization of individuals with no agenda other than what
those members believe is in the best interests of their
industry.
You are invited to consider membership in either class,
dependent upon your interests and needs. Qualification
requirements for membership are essentially identical for
Regular and QP classes. A QP
member is expected to incur a somewhat higher overhead cost in
terms of oversight and governance and therefore annual dues and
application fees are higher.
| If you are applying as a new Member, you can apply for
both Regular and QP Membership at the same time. Fill in both forms to apply for both levels of membership. You can use the same endorsers on both forms. You must be
accepted as a Regular Member before the application as a QP Member is reviewed. See What
Happens To An Application for details about the
process.
Regular Member Application -
QP
Member Application
The completed
application form(s) should be printed out and signed. It may
then be re-digitized and emailed to
[email protected],
(preferably in pdf format) or mailed to MMSA headquarters.
|
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What are the
minimum qualifications?
An applicant for
Regular membership should have at least 10
years of practical or professional experience, which should
include five years in positions of responsibility in mining,
metallurgical or allied lines of work. The holding of a degree
from an accredited college or university may be accepted in lieu of four of the ten
years of required experience, at the
discretion of the Membership Committee.
An applicant for Qualified Professional membership must be become a Regular member in MMSA first. The QP applicant must have at least 10 additional years of practical or professional experience after graduating with an engineering or geoscience degree from an accredited college or university. The experience should include at least 5 years in positions of responsibility in mining, metallurgical or geosciences. The time spent earning the undergraduate college or university degree will NOT count in lieu of the required experience. Time spent earning advanced degrees may be allowed for credit toward experience, at the discretion of the QP Committee.
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Why Have a
Qualified Professional (QP) Membership Category?
Responsibilities for all
representatives of public companies that oversee and/or
communicate the state of the corporation have resulted from the
Sarbanes-Oxley Legislation. Public disclosures must be signed
off by an executive or expert and understood to be true by the
senior corporate executives. In technical reporting, a
qualified/competent expert takes on additional responsibility
for public statements that may influence investment decisions. A
mining company needs access to experts with qualifications to
sign off on a wide variety of scientific and engineering
disciplines. These include all scientific and technical matters
relating to assessment, design and implementation of a mineral
exploration, development program or mining operation, including
the procedures and practices implemented, using appropriate
industry standards.
MMSA is an internationally recognized
U.S. based technical society or organization that offers
the full range of technical specialties needed to develop a
mining project. The QP Member
category certifies U.S. mining specialists to ply their trade in
countries such as Canada, Australia
South Africa and the United Kingdom. Ironically, professional
endorsements are still not required by the SEC, where such
responsibility still lies solely with the CEO. However, it is
reasonable to assume that a worldwide requirement for greater
accountability by developers of mining projects and their
technical experts will become more widespread, over time, rather
than less.
MMSA already has members who possess all the skills and
specialties necessary to build any mining project. Because of
this, the Society supplies a service to both its members and to the mining industry
at large by offering certification of its members
as Qualified Professionals “QP’s”.
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What is a
Qualified Professional (QP)?
A QP is “An individual who is an engineer or geoscientist with
the requisite experience in mineral exploration, mine
development, operations or project assessment, including
experience relevant to the subject matter of the project or
report, and is a member in good standing of a recognized
professional organization.”
QP is a class of membership offered by MMSA. The QP will certify or approve portions of reports that
may be relevant to public releases of information (press
releases, Canadian NI43-101 technical reports, etc.) that may influence the investing
behavior of the public or a company's shareholders.
What
disciplines are covered for QP Membership?
A QP member is qualified
in one or more of the following disciplines:
- Geology: requires a degree in geology or
geological engineering and works in one or more of the
following areas: as an exploration, mine, or consulting
geologist on the search for and delineation of mineral
deposits; as a mine geologist in the extraction of a
deposit; and/or the review and auditing of these activities.
- Mining: requires a degree in mining engineering
or other acceptable engineering discipline and works in one
or more of the following areas: the extraction designs for
mineral deposits; on the geostatistical modeling of mineral
deposits; as a mine engineer working on the extraction of a
deposit; and/or the review and auditing of these activities.
- Ore Reserves: requires designation as a geologist
or mining engineer and regular work related to the
evaluation and classification of deposits as mineral
resources and mineral reserves, and/or on the geostatistical
modeling of mineral deposits, and/or the review and auditing
of these activities.
- Metallurgy/Processing: requires a degree in
metallurgy, metallurgical engineering, chemical engineering,
or similar degree along with experience in the processing of
mineral deposits into saleable products.
- Environmental Permitting and Compliance: requires
a degree in environmental science, geology, biology,
chemistry, mining engineering, or other suitable science or
engineering degree and work on the permitting of proposed
mining operations, compliance with applicable permits and
regulations at an active mine, reclamation of mining sites,
and the review and auditing of environmental compliance by
proposed and active mining sites and reclamation of
abandoned sites.
- Mineral Valuation Finance: An applicant for this QP category should:
a. Be an engineer or geoscientist with a degree in mineral economics, geology, mining or metallurgy.
b. Have at least ten years of experience in minerals valuations, mineral economics, or minerals financing; with demonstrated familiarity with international valuation codes, the use of Net Present Value, Internal Rate of Return and Payback Periods and an understanding of macro and micro economics related to a broad topical background in various mineral commodities.
.
- Minerals Project Costing, Infrastructure, Management: An applicant for this QP category should be an engineer or geoscientist with an appropriate engineering degree and ten years of experience in any combination of the following:
- costs analysis for mining and mineral related projects components including the use of available data bases, historic costs, application of appropriate levels of contingency;
- analysis, design and costing of mining related infrastructure requirements such as such as roads, power, water, shops, laboratories and offices, port facilities, etc. with experience in researching and confirming of capital costs and operating components including the use of available data bases, historic costs, application of appropriate levels of contingency; or
- management of surface and/or underground mining projects through the construction and start-up phases. Capabilities in controlling project costs, schedule and monthly progress reports. Experience in dealing with contractor and vendors including bidding, bid analysis and awarding contracts.
|
QP Application Form
The completed
application form should be printed out and signed. It may
then be re-digitized and emailed to
[email protected],
(preferably in pdf format) or mailed to MMSA headquarters. |
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Why is MMSA able
to offer this QP class of membership?
MMSA has
been recognized by all Provinces in Canada, by AusIMM in
Australia and by South Africa, as
a ROPO (Recognized Overseas Professional Organization).
Recognition by these entities requires that QP members meet
certain minimum educational and experience levels, that they
declare their own specific areas of expertise. The QP pledges to
follow the Code of Ethics maintained and enforced by the Mining
and Metallurgical Society of America (MMSA).
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Organizations that Recognize the MMSA QP
Canada
South Africa
Australia
Australian Stock Exchange. See Appendix 5A
Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves
(The JORC Code)
|
How to Apply
for Membership:
If you have been notified by
an MMSA Member that you are being considered for membership, or
if you think you qualify for membership, you may submit
an application.
See the Membership
Roster for a list of current members who can endorse your
application.
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As an existing
member, how can I become a QP Member?
MMSA Members who are members in good standing may apply for recognition as a QP Member. Fill in the QP Member
Application form and attach a
current resume or CV including all preferred methods of
contact. The resume should include detail about experience in the categories applied for so the QP committee can evaluate your qualifications. Existing members applying for QP status must name three current members who can attest to your technical capabilities and ethical standing. The sponsoring members will fill in the QP Endorsement form. The QP Membership Committee will review your application,
notify the membership of your intent and respond to you in a
timely fashion.
|
QP Application Form
The completed
application form should be printed out and signed. It may
then be re-digitized and emailed to
[email protected],
(preferably in pdf format) or mailed to MMSA headquarters. |
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What
Happens to an Application?
The application process can take several months because
under our bylaws we are required to publish the names of all
prospective candidates in our quarterly or monthly newsletter. The process
of applying for membership consists of several steps which are a
little different depending on which class of membership is
applied for. The applications are processed as follows:
Application
for Regular Membership
-
An applicant
may be anybody who believes they meet at least the minimum
qualifications for admission. Such applicant should either
be invited to apply by an existing member, or should apply
independently by completing the Regular Member Application Form
found on the Website. This is a pdf form that can be downloaded to your computer. It has fields that can be filled in with your information. The completed application must include the names of three
sponsors who will be willing to endorse the applicant for
admission. At least two of those sponsors must be
current members in good standing and a third can be
a current or past supervisor or peer who can personally attest to
the candidate's qualifications and background.
-
The completed
application form should be printed out and signed. It may
then be re-digitized and emailed to
[email protected],
(preferably in pdf format) or mailed to MMSA headquarters. A current resume should be attached.
-
The MMSA
Administrator will contact each sponsor and request
corroborating information in support of the application in
question.
-
The MMSA Administrator
will then forward the application packages to the Executive Committee
for approval as a candidate. The Committee may request additional information.
-
Applicant’s
name and those of his sponsors will be posted to the
membership at large, either by means of the Quarterly
Newsletter or the more frequent monthly Member Update.
Members have a 30 day period in which to lodge an objection
against an applicant.
-
After the given
grace periods and in the absence of any objections, the
applicant will be invited to join the Society and such
action will be confirmed once application fees and dues have
been received.
Application
for QP Membership
The entire application process
usually takes between one and three
months.
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Membership Fees:
Fee structure in force is as follows:
| Membership Type |
One Time Application Fee |
Annual Dues |
| Regular Member |
$75 |
$150 |
| QP Member |
$100 |
$250* |
| QP Retired Member |
na |
$100 |
| Senior (Retired) |
$75 |
$50 |
| Conversion, Regular-QP |
$25 |
$250* |
*If a QP member has been approved for more than one category, an additional $50 per category is added to the annual dues.
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Continuing Professional Development
(CPD)
When you are accepted as a QP member,
you are expected to stay current with your professional development. As a QP you are required to have an average of 50 hours per year of CPD within any three year period for each QP category. Reporting CPD accumulation yearly is required. It is your responsibility to keep track of your CPD hours. CPD logs will be audited periodically and you will be notified when your CPD logs for the previous 3 years is selected for auditing.
The CPD hours can include:
- Attendance at workshops, on-line or in-person courses, field trips, and other events with a technical focus.
- Attendance at technical meetings and conferences
- Preparation and presentation of technical papers, including articles published in mining media.
- Participation in professional associations as an officer or committee member.
- Any employer- or work-required training such as safety classes, regulatory requirements classes, etc.
When CPD is reported, a copy will be added to your file. Reporting consists of a document or spreadsheet containing the following information:
- QP's Name and contact information, QP category(ies) of qualification, and the 3 year periods being reported.
- The dates of the CPD hours.
- The number of CPD hours.
- The title of the CPD event or activity.
- A brief description of the technical aspects of the CPD event or activity.
A sample CPD log is provided. Those QPs who are members of other professional organizations that have a CPD reporting system may wish to keep their CPD log in the form used by that organization as long as the information requested by MMSA is also included. MMSA will accept these alternative CPD logs.
If there is a request for information about a QP, MMSA will provide the CPD as part of the response. If you do not have a current statement on file, you will be asked to provide one.
For details about the CPD program, go to the Members Only page.
