VIDEO - Eric Sprott, Terry Lynch: Mining is Starting to Boom, Reinstate the Tick Test

After launching last November, the Save Canadian Mining initiative has reached a critical stage.

Founder Terry Lynch said that Ontario’s Capital Markets Modernization Taskforce is working to update the Ontario Securities Act, and recently released a report covering key issues and proposals.

“There’s a lot of good things (in the report). They specifically targeted predatory short selling, which is one of the things we’ve talked about,” said Lynch. “They haven’t yet endorsed the reinstatement of the tick test — that’s still on the table with them.”

The tick test or uptick rule existed for 142 years before being removed in 2012 by the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada, better known as IIROC, and the Canadian Securities Administrators. According to Save Canadian Mining, in its absence junior miners have faced challenges in financing and in getting support from retail investors.

The next six weeks will be important for Save Canadian Mining because the taskforce will be gearing up to make decisions on the ideas laid out in its report.

“This is a boom and bust business in mining,” said Lynch. “We’re about to head maybe into the most glorious mining market of all time, and wouldn’t it be great if the rules would work for us so individual investors can make some money without having to get ripped off?”

Eric Sprott of Sprott Mining is one of Save Canadian Mining’s major supporters, and he shares Lynch’s frustration with the current situation.

“The regulators should really think hard about this — there’s no need for these algorithmic traders and guys flipping for pennies. It’s not creating any liquidity, it’s stealing from the Canadian investor every day. That’s the bottom line,” he commented.

“If that’s what a regulator thinks they should stand for, they should just stand in there and keep (the tick test). But if what they’re supposed to stand for is open and fair markets, it should go.”

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Securities Disclosure: I, Charlotte McLeod, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.

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