About Us

Who we are

The Mine Audits Unit (the Audit Unit) is a specialized group in the Ministry of Mining and Critical Minerals (the Ministry). The Audit Unit consists of a team of auditors with expertise and experience in mining, regulatory oversight and audit best practice. The team operates under the direction of the Chief Auditor, whose authorities and duties are set out in the Mines Act.

The Chief Auditor has a mandate to conduct audits to evaluate the effectiveness of the regulatory program for mining in British Columbia. In doing so, the Chief Auditor and the Audit Unit play a key role in supporting the continuous improvement of mining regulation in protecting the public, workers and the environment.

More information about the role of the Audit Unit can be found in our Program Charter.

What we do

Every year, the Chief Auditor publishes an Audit Plan outlining the audits the Audit Unit will prioritize in that year. Each audit focuses on an area of mining regulated by the Ministry and generally considers:

• Current regulatory requirements
• Ministry policies, programs, practices, and actions
• Compliance status of regulated parties, as well as environmental and health and safety outcomes on mine sites

At the end of each audit, the Chief Auditor provides a report to the Minister of Mining and Critical Minerals that includes the audit findings, conclusion and any recommendations for the Ministry. All audit reports and the Ministry's responses are published on our audits page.

More information about the audit process can be found in our Reference Manual.