The Canadian Securities Administrators are planning to accelerate disclosure of technical reports by mining companies.

In a notice published Friday, the CSA says that it is planning change in its administrative practices for providing public access to technical reports and related materials filed with preliminary prospectuses, and the technical materials an issuer must file before a regulator will issue a receipt for a preliminary prospectus.

The CSA notes that, as a matter of practice, they have not made the technical reports filed with a preliminary prospectus publicly available on SEDAR until after issuing a receipt for the final prospectus. However, as of July 1, for all preliminary prospectus filings, they will make these technical reports publicly available on SEDAR at the same time they make the preliminary prospectus public. Generally, that will be immediately after filing.

It notes that issuers may apply to have these documents kept confidential, but says, “We would only grant this request in exceptional circumstances.”

Also, as a matter of practice, the CSA has not always required an issuer to file all the necessary technical documents before issuing a receipt for a preliminary prospectus. “However, effective immediately, we will generally not issue a receipt for the preliminary prospectus until the issuer files these required documents,” it says.

Comments on the changes are requested by June 16.