Section 65’s compulsory surrender provisions of the Mining Act 1978 states that exploration licence holders will have conducted exploration to identify areas of interest and the balance of the ground held.
Section 65 Compulsory Surrender provisions of the Mining Act require the following:
- All exploration licences applied for prior to 10 February 2006 shall be reduced by 50 per cent at the end of the third year of their term and reduced again by a further 50 per cent at the end of the fourth year of their term.
- All exploration licences applied for on or after 10 February 2006 shall be reduced by at least 40 per cent at the end of the sixth year of their term.
Exemption from the requirement to surrender ground at the end of the third and fourth years for pre-10 February 2006 licences is provided in cases where holders, for specified reasons, are unable to conduct or complete planned exploration programs. The onus is on holders to provide evidence to support their applications, based on the criteria detailed in Transitional Provision 19 of the Mining Act (as amended by Mining Amendment Act 2012).
There is no exemption of the compulsory surrender requirement for exploration licences applied for on or after 10 February 2006.
Applications for exemption requirements
All applications for exemption from the compulsory surrender provisions must specifically relate to the licence for which the exemption is sought. Each application must be supported by satisfactory documentation detailing the reasons for the exemption request. If the necessary documentation cannot be provided, a statutory declaration may be lodged in its place.
Important notes:
The Minister for Mines and Petroleum may grant exemptions either wholly or partially, subject to any terms and conditions deemed appropriate. In some cases, exemptions may be granted for less than the statutory requirement, depending on the circumstances. Factors such as the size of the licence may influence this decision.
If the information or reasons provided in the application are deemed insufficient, a 35-day notice will be issued to allow for additional supporting information. If adequate further documentation is not provided within this timeframe, the application may be refused.
When an application is not supported, a 35-day notice will be issued where the reasons given, or information supplied, has not proved sufficient support for the application. The application will be determined after this period. If no adequate further supporting information is received within this period, the application may be refused.
Prescribed grounds for exemption
The prescribed ground for which an application for exemption can be granted related to where an exploration program, or the marking out and application for mining lease or general-purpose lease, in respect to the land the subject of the licence, cannot be completed or undertaken by reasons of difficulties or delays:
- occasioned by law
- arising from administrative, political, environmental or other requirements of governmental or other authorities, in the State or elsewhere
- arising from the requirement to conduct Aboriginal heritage surveys on the land
- in obtaining requisite consents or approvals for exploration or for the marking out of a mining lease or general-purpose lease in relation to any part of the land
- in gaining access to the relevant land because of climatic conditions.
The reason ‘work already carried out under the licence justifies further exploration’ allows for exemption for the purposes of continuing exploration where exploration is at an advance stage and further work is warranted. This reason cannot be considered if no mineral exploration has been carried out on the licence during its term, even if substantial exploration has been carried out within the project as a whole.
A detailed explanation of the department’s guidelines when assessing these reasons is provided in the document Policy Guidelines – Compulsory Surrender Provisions of Section 65 of the Mining Act 1978.
