The Minister empowered an OMICC Leadership Group to advise him on the establishment of the initial Council, its proposed membership, terms of reference and other issues that may arise. This consists of two industry leaders, appointed as the OMICC Co-Chairs, the Deputy Minister and the Assistant Deputy Minister, Mines and Minerals of MNDM.

OMICC Membership

OMICC will be representative of key sectors, with members identified as having a key role and an interest in the mineral industry. Members will have credibility and standing within their respective sectors, the industry as a whole and the community at large.

Prospectors
Junior exploration and development companies
Operating mining companies with main facilities in Ontario
Suppliers of equipment
Suppliers of services
Mining municipalities (AMMO)
Labour Unions
First Nations economic development
Environmental NGO's
Post secondary education

Additional representation on OMICC may be contemplated at any time.

Each member of OMICC will nominate and alternate and they will be kept briefed and informed on all OMICC activities and it is expected that Members will coordinate to ensure that they or their alternate will attend all meetings.

Role of Members

Members shall serve as independent experts to represent the views of their stakeholder group at large and not as representatives of their individual organizations.

Frequency of Meetings

At the call of the Co-chairs.

Decision-making by consensus

OMICC functions as a group and makes decisions by consensus.

Voting

Where the Co-chairs determine that consensus cannot be reached and deem that a resolution is required, the matter to be determined by a majority vote of all the OMICC members. The votes shall be recorded.

OMICC Working Groups

Working Groups identified to develop strategies and recommendations around individual issues or opportunities identified and endorsed by OMICC.
Each Working Group will usually be Chaired by an OMICC Member.
Mandates, expectations and deliverables for each Working Group will be clearly defined.
A time frame, with identified milestones, for Working Group activities will be spelled out.
Other OMICC members can serve on Working Groups, but the majority of the membership will usually be non-OMICC members with appropriate expertise and knowledge.
Working Group members may include provincial and federal government Departments or Ministries with a mandate in the subject matter.
Funding agencies may be invited to participate in the deliberations of the Working Groups.
Working Group membership will be the responsibility of the Working Group Chair, with input from OMICC members.
Findings and recommendations will be reported back to OMICC.
Working Group report backs will usually be by the Working Group Chair, but Working Group members may be invited to attend that part of the OMICC meeting in order to contribute to the discussion before final decisions are reached.

OMICC Resolutions, Action Plans, Endorsements

These will be positions taken by OMICC as a whole.
They could consist of:
- Letters to the MNDM Minister endorsing a course of action.
- Letters to other provincial or federal Ministers endorsing a plan of action.
- Submission of funding applications to provincial or federal funding agencies.
- Development of Action Plans involving various sub-sectors in cooperative ventures.
- Press releases.

Secretariat Support

MNDM will provide a secretariat function. This role will include coordinating meetings, preparing funding proposals when requested, managing external resources, developing and monitoring project plans and coordinating correspondence on behalf of the OMICC and the Ministry (i.e. news releases, briefings, presentations, status reports, monthly news letter etc.)

External Resources

OMICC will direct the Secretariat, operating within an approved budget structure, to engage resources, prepare proposals, agreements and administer external resources.

Different types of resources will probably be required at different stages of the cluster strategy development and the implementation stages. In the beginning, resources will be required with experience in building competitiveness, and cluster strategy formulation and knowledge of how collective decision-making operates in a successful cluster.

A facilitator, knowledgeable of the mineral industry as well as the intricacies of sector relationships may be required to facilitate OMICC meetings, focus group and Working Group meetings. Technical expertise may be required for specific tasks such as data gathering and analysis, the production of materials for publishing, public relations, information technology related and marketing.

Funding

On direction from OMICC, the Secretariat may prepare a business proposal to identify and secure funding and 'in kind' resources from public and private sector organizations.

Incorporating as a Non-Profit Organization

This may be considered as a future possibility, should circumstances warrant that it would be beneficial in accessing funding sources.