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About Membership
Statement
of Ethics
Ethics Compliance Statement for QP Members
“I have not had a certification, license, professional society membership,
or similar
qualification sanctioned, impaired, limited, suspended, or terminated for
ethical or
disciplinary reasons nor have I resigned from or given up such designation in
settlement of
proposed or disciplinary proceedings.”
MMSA Ethical Guidelines
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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 three 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 now 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
initiation fees are slightly higher, to reflect these additional
costs.
| If you are applying as a new Member, you can apply for
both Regular and QP Membership. 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 should be printed out and signed. It may
then be re-digitized and emailed to
contactmmsa@mmsa.net
,
(preferably in pdf format) or mailed to MMSA headquarters. |
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What are the
minimum qualifications?
An applicant for
membership in either class of 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, at the
discretion of Membership Committee, in lieu of four of the ten
years of required experience.
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Why Have a
Qualified Professional (QP) Membership Category?
New 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 the first internationally recognized
U.S. based technical society or organization able to offer
the full range of technical specialties needed to develop a
mining project. Many U.S. mining professionals have been
turning to non-US based organizations, such as AusIMM to acquire
the necessary certification and recognition. 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)?
QP is a class of membership offered exclusively by MMSA. The QP will certify or approve portions of reports that
may be relevant to public releases of information (press
releases, 43-101 reports, etc.) that may influence the investing
behavior of the public or a company's shareholders.
A QP is “An individual who is an engineer or geoscientist with
at least 5-10 years of 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.”
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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.
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QP Application Form
The completed
application form should be printed out and signed. It may
then be re-digitized and emailed to
contactmmsa@mmsa.net
,
(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 an application with South Africa is in process, 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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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. As a
Regular Member, you probably already fit all the
requirements needed to become a QP Member. Fill in the QP Member
Application form and attach a
current resume or CV including all preferred methods of
contact. The QP Membership Committee will review your application,
notify the membership of your intent and respond to you in a
timely fashion.
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QP Application Form
The completed
application form should be printed out and signed. It may
then be re-digitized and emailed to
contactmmsa@mmsa.net,
(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 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
Application Form
found on the Website. In either case
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
pre-existing members in good standing and a third should be
a current or past supervisor who can personally attest to
the candidates’ qualifications and background.
-
The completed
application form should be printed out and signed. It may
then be re-digitized and emailed to
contactmmsa@mmsa.net
,
(preferably in pdf format) or mailed to MMSA headquarters.
-
The MMSA
administrator will contact each sponsor and request
corroborating information in support of the application in
question.
-
Administrator
will then forward the application packages to each committee
member with a request to respond within 30 days with a
recommendation or request for 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 21 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 initiation fees and dues have
been received.
Application
for QP Membership
-
Any
applicant for QP Membership must first be accepted as a
regular member and go through the steps outlined above for a
regular member application.
-
A member
in good standing who wishes to apply for QP
recognition, will be required to submit the following:
o A full up-to-date resume.
o Selection of an area/s of expertise for recognition. (see list of options)
o Signed Ethics Compliance certificate.
o Copies of diplomas and certificates used in support of application.
-
The
Administrator will forward the entire application
package to the QP Membership Committee.
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QP committee
members will review materials supplied, approve, disapprove
or request additional information, as appropriate, and
report back to the administrator.
-
The
Administrator will report the findings of the QP Committee
to the Executive Committee, which will rule accordingly.
-
Applicant’s
name 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 21 day period in which
to lodge an objection against an applicant.
-
The
Administrator will notify the applicant and a successful
application will be ratified once initiation fees and dues
have been received.
The entire application process
usually takes between one and three
months.
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Membership Fees:
Fee structure in force for 2008 is as follows:
| Membership Type |
One Time Fee |
Annual Dues |
| Regular Member |
$75 |
$100 |
| QP Member |
$100 |
$150 |
| Senior (Retired) |
$75 |
$50 |
| Conversion, Regular-QP |
$25 |
$150 |
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