New South Wales Consolidated Acts

MINING ACT 1992 - SECT 163

163 Colliery holdings

(1) The Director-General is to cause to be kept a register of colliery holdings (referred to in this section as "the register") in such form as may be prescribed by the regulations.

(2) The Director-General is to cause to be recorded in the register:

(a) such particulars as are necessary to give effect to a direction given under this section, and

(aa) the name of the colliery holding, and

(ab) the name of the colliery holder, and

(ac) a plan showing the location of the holding, and

(b) such other particulars as may be prescribed by the regulations.

(3) The holder of a mining lease or registered mining sublease that authorises the holder to mine for coal or to carry out mining purposes in connection with the mining of coal must apply to have the mining area or sublease area registered as a colliery holding or recorded on the register as part of an existing colliery holding before commencing mining operations under the lease or sublease.

Maximum penalty: 20 penalty units.

(4) A person who is lawfully carrying out mining purposes on land in connection with the mining of coal (and doing so otherwise than as the holder of a mining lease or registered mining sublease) may apply to have the land registered as a colliery holding or recorded on the register as part of an existing colliery holding.

(5) A person may not be recorded as the colliery holder of a colliery holding registered under this section unless the person is the holder of a mining lease or registered mining sublease that is part of the colliery holding.

(6) A person who has an interest in a colliery holding registered under this section may apply to have the registration of the holding concerned:

(a) cancelled, or

(b) amended so as to exclude land from the holding, or

(c) amended so as to transfer land from the holding to another registered colliery holding, or

(d) amended with respect to the identity of the colliery holder.

(6A) An application under this section must be:

(a) signed by the persons or classes of persons prescribed by the regulations, and

(b) accompanied by any fee and any particulars and consents to the making of the application prescribed by the regulations, and

(c) lodged with the Director-General.

(6B) Within 14 days after an application is lodged (or within such longer period as may be prescribed by the regulations), the Minister must:

(a) grant the application and cause the register to be updated, as soon as practicable, in accordance with the application, or

(b) refuse the application on any of the following grounds:

(i) the application does not comply with the requirements of this section,

(ii) if the application is for registration of a holding or with respect to the name of a holding-the name proposed for the holding may cause confusion (because, for example, it is the same as or similar to a name that is or was used for another holding, whether registered or not).

(6C) The Minister may, by order in writing:

(a) direct a person who is required to or may apply for land to be registered as a colliery holding or recorded on the register as part of an existing colliery holding to apply for that registration or recording in accordance with this section within the time specified by the order, or

(b) direct that a colliery holding is to be registered with a specified name or that the registered name of a colliery holding is to be amended, or

(c) direct that a person be registered as the colliery holder of a colliery holding, if no person has been registered or nominated for registration of the colliery holding.

(6D) A person who is given a direction under subsection (6C) must not, without reasonable excuse, fail to comply with the direction.

Maximum penalty: 20 penalty units.

(7) The Minister may, by order in writing, direct that the registration of a colliery holding be cancelled or amended so as to exclude specified land from the colliery holding.

(8) A direction may be given under subsection (6C) or (7) whether or not an application has been made under subsection (4) or (6) in respect of the same land.

(9) The Director-General is to cause copies of any order under subsection (6C) or (7) to be served on such persons as, in the Director-General’s opinion, have a right to mine coal or to carry out mining purposes in connection with mining for coal in the land or colliery holding to which the order relates.

(10) The register of colliery holdings must be kept available for inspection, free of charge, by members of the public at such offices of the Department as may be prescribed by the regulations.