(1) The holder of an opal prospecting licence may, in accordance with the
licence, prospect for opals in the opal prospecting block over which the
licence is granted.
(1A) Despite subsection (1), the holder of an opal
prospecting licence may not prospect for opals in any part of an opal
prospecting block in respect of which prospecting is prohibited under
section 223A.
(2) While an opal prospecting licence is in force, no person,
other than the holder of the licence, may prospect for opals in any part of
the opal prospecting block to which the licence relates.
(3) Nothing in this
section prevents the holder of a mineral claim from exercising, in relation to
any land within an opal prospecting block, any right conferred by the claim.
(4) An application for a mineral claim is a nullity to the extent to which it
relates to any part of an opal prospecting block in respect of which any
person other than the applicant holds an opal prospecting licence.
