The exploration licence is the entry point to the tenement system under the Mining Act 1992. Almost every mine begins as one.
Sections 20 and 21 — grant and term
The Minister may, on the application of any person and after considering a recommendation of the Council, grant an exploration licence.
It shall be on the prescribed form, shall require as a condition that the holder complies with the approved programme, and may contain such other conditions as the Minister determines.
The term is not exceeding two years (s 21), extendable under section 28 for further periods of up to two years each.
Section 22 — area, and the relinquishment rule
The area shall be no more than 750 sub-blocks, and one area comprising a single sub-block, or several sub-blocks each sharing a common side with at least one other.
At the time of applying for an extension, the holder shall relinquish portions comprising in aggregate not less than half the area held at the commencement of that term — so that what remains consists of not more than three discrete areas, each contiguous within itself.
Two safety valves in section 22(3):
- once the area is down to 30 sub-blocks or fewer, no further relinquishment is required; and
- at 75 sub-blocks or fewer, the holder may apply to the Managing Director to waive or vary the requirement. Where he is satisfied, after advice from the Council, that special circumstances justify retaining more than 30 sub-blocks, he may do so — but the total retained shall not exceed 75 sub-blocks.
A relinquishment takes effect on the date the licence would have expired but for the extension application (s 22(4)).
It stops ground being locked up indefinitely by a holder who is not working it. Section 30 complements it: where a licence expires, is surrendered or cancelled, or land is relinquished, no valid application for an exploration licence over the same land may be made by anyone for 30 days after the land ceases to be subject to the licence.
Section 23 — the rights conferred
(a) enter and occupy the land for the purpose of carrying out exploration for minerals;
(b) subject to section 162, extract, remove and dispose of such quantity of rock, earth, soil or minerals as the approved programme permits;
(c) take and divert water on or flowing through the land for any purpose necessary for the exploration; and
(d) do all other things necessary or expedient for the undertaking of exploration.
And under section 23(2), the holder is entitled to the exclusive occupancy for exploration purposes of the land.
The right in paragraph (b) is confined to what the approved programme permits, and is subject to section 162 on the preservation of cores. Extraction beyond the programme is not authorised.
The exclusivity in section 23(2) is for exploration purposes only. It does not exclude the landholder from ordinary use of the surface, and it does not prevent a alluvial mining lease being granted over the same land under section 59, or a mining easement under section 90.
Water rights are now governed by Part VII of the Environment Act 2000, which replaced the Water Resources Act referred to in section 23(1)(c).
Section 24 — what an application must contain
(a) be on the prescribed form, with attached a schedule describing the boundary in latitude and longitude and a sketch map showing the boundary;
(b) be accompanied by a programme on the prescribed form and a statement of the technical and financial resources available to the applicant;
(c) be lodged in triplicate with the prescribed application fee; and
(d) be lodged in accordance with the procedures in Division VI.1.
Note that an exploration licence is applied for by latitude and longitude and sketch map — not by marking out on the ground or survey, which sections 96 and 97 require for the leases. See applying for a tenement.
Sections 25 to 27 — expenditure and the approved programme
The minimum expenditure required annually in connection with the approved programme shall be as prescribed.
Acceptable expenditures are those directly connected with the acquisition and interpretation of exploration data from the licence area, including related laboratory and feasibility work.
Not acceptable: the purchase of a tenement, or the purchase of land or buildings.
Section 26 governs the approved programme — compliance with which is a mandatory condition of the licence under section 20(2)(b) — and section 27 provides for variation of it. Section 32 sets the reporting requirements.
Section 28 — extending the term
(a) complied with the conditions of the licence during the previous term;
(b) paid compensation as required by this Act; and
(c) submitted a programme for the extended term which the Council recommends for approval.
An extension depends on compensation having been paid — and under section 28(4), in considering that question the Council shall rely on the advice of the Chief Warden. A landholder who has not been paid should say so to the Warden, in writing, well before the licence comes up for extension.
Note also section 28(2): where the Minister considers it in the best interests of the State, he may refuse to extend. And section 28(3): where the Council cannot give the section 28(1) advice, the Minister may nonetheless extend, on the Council’s recommendation, and impose further conditions.
Sections 29 and 31 — moving to a mine, and dealings
- Section 29(2) — where an application for a special mining lease or mining lease is made, the term of the exploration licence continues until the application is determined.
- Section 29(3) — the grant of such a lease excises the natural surface and the land beneath it from the exploration licence, and all rights under the licence cease over the excised land.
- Section 29(4) — on surrender, cancellation or expiry of the lease, the excised land reverts to the exploration licence, or is amalgamated with a surrounding tenement.
- Section 31 — a person whose only interest in a tenement is in an exploration licence in its first two-year term shall not create, transfer or otherwise dispose of that interest, directly or indirectly — subject to exceptions, including where the holder is a corporation listed on a public stock exchange.
It stops ground being pegged and immediately flipped. Read it with section 25(3)(a), under which the purchase of a tenement is not acceptable exploration expenditure: the Act wants money spent in the ground, not on the licence.
Sources
- Mining Act 1992 — ss 20–32, 59, 90, 96, 97, 141, 145, 153, 162; Part V Division 1
- Environment Act 2000 — Part VII
- Mining (Safety) Act (Chapter 195A)
Before relying on anything here, read the current text of the Mining Act 1992 and check for later amendments. If a decision matters to you, get advice — start with the Office of the Public Solicitor, or find a firm in the law firms directory.