Commonwealth Consolidated Acts

ATOMIC ENERGY ACT 1953 - SECT 41

             (1)  Where it appears to the Minister that a prescribed substance, or minerals from which, in the opinion of the Minister, a prescribed substance can be obtained, is or are present on or under the whole or a part of an area of land in the Ranger Project Area, either in a natural state or in a deposit of waste material obtained from an underground or surface working, the Minister may, by writing under his or her hand, authorize a person, or 2 or more persons engaged in a joint venture, to carry on, on behalf of or in association with the Commonwealth, operations in accordance with this section on that land.

             (2)  Subject to any conditions or restrictions specified in the authority, the person so authorized in relation to any land may:

                     (a)  enter upon that land, with such workers and other persons as he or she thinks fit, and bring on to that land such machinery, vehicles and other things as he or she thinks fit;

                     (b)  take possession of the whole or a part of that land;

                     (c)  carry on, upon or under that land, operations for discovering prescribed substances, and for mining, recovering, treating and processing prescribed substances and such other minerals as it is necessary or convenient to mine or recover in order to obtain prescribed substances;

                     (d)  for the purposes of the operations referred to in paragraph (c):

                              (i)  erect or install buildings (including residential buildings), structures and machinery on that land;

                             (ii)  cut and construct water races, drains, dams, tramways and roads on that land;

                            (iii)  bore or sink for water, and pump, raise or use water, on that land; and

                            (iv)  do other work on that land;

                     (e)  demolish or remove buildings, structures and machinery erected or installed on that land;

                    (ea)  remove from that land persons who enter upon, or are on, that land otherwise than:

                              (i)  with the consent of the person so authorized; or

                             (ii)  in pursuance of a right or power conferred by law;

                      (f)  pass over, or authorize persons and things to pass or be carried over, land giving access to that land; and

                     (g)  do all such other things as are necessary or convenient for the effectual exercise of the powers specified in the preceding paragraphs of this subsection.

       (2AA)  Operations carried on on the Ranger Project Area by the person or persons specified in an authority under this section (being an authority, whether granted before or after the commencement of this subsection, that authorizes, or purports to authorize, that person, or those persons as joint venturers, to carry on, on behalf of the Commonwealth, operations in accordance with this section on the Ranger Project Area subject to conditions and restrictions specified in the authority) shall, if carried on as provided by the authority and in accordance with the Ranger Project agreement, be deemed, for the purposes of this Act, to be carried on on behalf of the Commonwealth and to be authorized by the authority.

        (2AB)  The reference in subsection (2AA) to the Ranger Project agreement shall be construed as a reference to the agreement known as the Ranger Uranium Project Government Agreement that was made on 9 January 1979 between the Commonwealth, Peko‑Wallsend Operations Ltd., Electrolytic Zinc Company of Australasia Limited and the Commission or, if that agreement is amended, that agreement as amended.

          (2A)  An authority under this section continues in force for the period for which the authority is conferred unless, before the expiration of that period, the authority:

                     (a)  terminates or is terminated in accordance with a condition or restriction to which the authority is subject; or

                     (b)  is revoked under section 41A or 41C.

             (3)  All prescribed substances and minerals mined or otherwise recovered in pursuance of an authority under this section that are not otherwise the property of the Commonwealth are, by force of this section, vested in the Commonwealth.

             (4)  Except as provided by the regulations, this section shall not be construed as intended to exclude or limit the operation of any provision of a law of a State or Territory that is capable of operating concurrently with this section.