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This is a Bill, not an Act. For current law, see the Acts databases.
Queensland
OFFSHORE MINERALS BILL
1997
Queensland
OFFSHORE MINERALS BILL 1997
TABLE OF PROVISIONS
Section Page
CHAPTER 1--INTRODUCTION
PART 1.1--PRELIMINARY
1 Short title . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
2 Commencement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
3 Commonwealth-State agreement (the Offshore Constitutional
Settlement) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
PART 1.2--INTERPRETATION
Division 1--General
4 Note etc. in the text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
5 Definitions--the dictionary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
6 Shares in a tenure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
7 Transfer of a tenure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
8 Successor tenures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
9 Section number not used . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
10 Position on the Earth's surface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
11 Section number not used . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
12 Power to amend and revoke instruments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Division 2--Basic concepts for this Act
1315 Section numbers not used . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
16 Coastal waters, and effect of change in baseline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
17 Sub-blocks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
18 Reserved sub-block . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
19 Standard sub-block . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
20 Tender sub-block . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
2
Offshore Minerals
21 Discrete area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
22 Minerals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
23 Exploration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
24 Recovery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
25 Tenure holder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
26 Associates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
27 Confidential information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
28 Confidential sample . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
PART 1.3--ADMINISTRATION OF THE
COMMONWEALTH-STATE OFFSHORE AREA
29 Definitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
30 Minister as member of Joint Authority, or as Designated Authority . . . . . . 32
31 State officer acting under delegation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
3234 Section numbers not used . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
PART 1.4--APPLICATION OF THIS ACT
35 Act does not apply to exploration for or recovery of petroleum . . . . . . . . . . 33
36 Section number not used . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
37 Act applies to all individuals and corporations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
CHAPTER 2--REGULATION OF OFFSHORE EXPLORATION
AND MINING
PART 2.1--GENERAL
38 General prohibition on exploring and mining without appropriate
authorisation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
39 Tenure and consents available under this Act . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
40 Steps involved in the grant of a fully effective tenure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
41 Approval of form of applications etc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
42 Rights to minerals recovered . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
43 Effect of grant of tenure or special purpose consent on native title . . . . . . 37
44 Tenure etc. does not authorise unnecessary interference with
other activities in the tenure area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
PART 2.2--EXPLORATION PERMITS
Division 1--General
45 Exploration permits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
46 Activities authorised by an exploration permit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
3
Offshore Minerals
47 Minister may cancel or not renew exploration permit without
compensation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
48 Tenure rights may be suspended . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
49 Compensation for acquisition of property due to suspension of rights . . . . . 40
Division 2--Application for and grant of exploration permit over
standard sub-blocks
50 Application for exploration permit over standard sub-block . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
51 Excluded sub-blocks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
52 Minister may decide that excluded sub-block is available . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
53 Minister may allow application for more than one discrete area . . . . . . . . 43
54 How to apply . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
55 Effect of inclusion of unavailable sub-block in application . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
56 Payment of fee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
57 Application must be advertised . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
58 How multiple applications are dealt with . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
59 Discussions about sub-blocks applied for . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
60 Advertising revised application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
61 Request for further information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
62 Section number not used . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
63 Minister may provisionally grant tenure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
64 Section number not used . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
65 Matters to be specified in the tenure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
66 Applicant must be notified . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
67 Amendment of conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
68 Amendment of security requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
69 Extension of primary payment period . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
70 Acceptance of grant of exploration permit for standard sub-block . . . . . . . 51
71 Conditions applicable to tenure on grant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
72 Lapse of provisional grant of exploration permit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Division 3--Application for and grant of exploration permit over
tender sub-block
73 Matters to be decided before applications for exploration permit
over tender sub-blocks invited . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
4
Offshore Minerals
74 Minister may invite applications for exploration permit over
tender sub-blocks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
75 Tender sub-block tenure notice--exploration permit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
76 Application for exploration permit over tender sub-blocks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
77 How to apply . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
78 Payment of fee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
79 Request for further information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
80 Section number not used . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
81 Minister may provisionally grant tenure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
82 Section number not used . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
83 Successful applicant must be notified . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
84 Acceptance of grant of exploration permit over tender sub-blocks . . . . . . . 56
85 Conditions applicable to tenure on grant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
86 Lapse of provisional grant of exploration permit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
87 Provisional grant to next applicant if grant lapses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Division 4--Duration of exploration permit
88 Initial term of exploration permit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
89 Term of renewal of exploration permit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
90 Effect of suspension of rights on term of exploration permit . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
91 Effect of application for renewal on term of exploration permit . . . . . . . . . 59
92 Effect of application for mineral development licence or mining
lease on term of exploration permit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
93 Effect of application for extension on term of tenure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
94 Extension of tenure--activities disrupted . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
95 Grant of tenure extension--activities disrupted . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
96 Extension of tenure--other circumstances . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
97 Grant of tenure extension--other circumstances . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
98 Notification of decision . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Division 5--Voluntary surrender of part of exploration permit area
99 Voluntary surrender of sub-blocks if discrete area remains . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
100 Voluntary surrender of sub-blocks if up to 3 discrete areas remain . . . . . . . 64
5
Offshore Minerals
Division 6--Application for and grant of renewal of exploration
permit
101 Application for renewal of exploration permit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
102 When application to be made . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
103 How to apply for renewal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
104 Mandatory reduction of tenure area on renewal of exploration permit . . . . 66
105 Request for further information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
106 Payment of fee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
107 Section number not used . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
108 Provisional renewal of an exploration permit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
109 Section number not used . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
110 Applicant must be notified . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
111 Amendment of conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
112 Amendment of security requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
113 Extension of primary payment period . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
114 Acceptance of renewal of exploration permit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
115 Conditions applicable to tenure on renewal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
116 Lapse of provisional renewal of exploration permit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Division 7--Obligations associated with exploration permit
117 General . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
118 Conditions of exploration permit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
119 No conditions requiring payment of money . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
120 Variation of conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
121 Exemption from or suspension of conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
122 Automatic suspension of conditions if tenure rights are suspended . . . . . . . 75
123 Work practices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
124 Tenure holder must keep specified records etc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
125 Tenure holder must help inspectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Division 8--Expiry of exploration permit
126 General . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
127 Voluntary surrender of exploration permit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
128 Automatic expiry of exploration permit when mineral
development licence takes effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
6
Offshore Minerals
129 Automatic expiry of exploration permit when mining lease takes effect . . 78
130 Cancellation of exploration permit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
131 Obligations of former exploration permit holders and former associates . . 80
PART 2.3--MINERAL DEVELOPMENT LICENCES
Division 1--General
132 Mineral development licences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
133 Activities authorised by a mineral development licence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
134 Minister may cancel or not renew mineral development licence
without compensation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
135 Tenure rights may be suspended . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
136 Compensation for acquisition of property due to suspension of rights . . . . . 83
Division 2--Application for and grant of mineral development
licence
137 Application for mineral development licence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
138 How to apply . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
139 Payment of fee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
140 Application must be advertised . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
141 Request for further information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
142 Section number not used . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
143 Minister may provisionally grant tenure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
144 Section number not used . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
145 Grounds for granting mineral development licence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
146 Matters to be specified in the tenure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
147 Applicant must be notified . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
148 Amendment of conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
149 Amendment of security requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
150 Extension of primary payment period . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
151 Acceptance of grant of mineral development licence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
152 Conditions applicable to tenure on grant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
153 Lapse of provisional grant of mineral development licence . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
Division 3--Duration of mineral development licence
154 Initial term of mineral development licence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
155 Term of renewal of tenure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
7
Offshore Minerals
156 Effect of application for renewal on term of mineral development
licence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
157 Effect of application for mining lease on term of mineral
development licence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Division 4--Voluntary surrender of part of mineral development
licence area
158 Voluntary surrender of sub-blocks if discrete area remains . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Division 5--Application for and grant of renewal of mineral
development licence
159 Application for renewal of mineral development licence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
160 When application to be made . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
161 How to apply for renewal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
162 Request for further information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
163 Payment of fee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
164 Section number not used . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
165 Provisional renewal of mineral development licence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
166 Section number not used . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
167 Matters that may be taken into account . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
168 Refusal of application for renewal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
169 Applicant must be notified . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
170 Amendment of conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
171 Amendment of security requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
172 Extension of primary payment period . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
173 Acceptance of renewal of mineral development licence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
174 Conditions applicable to tenure on renewal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
175 Lapse of provisional renewal of mineral development licence . . . . . . . . . . 100
Division 6--Obligations associated with mineral development
licence
176 General . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
177 Conditions of mineral development licence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
178 No conditions requiring payment of money . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
179 Variation of conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
180 Exemption from or suspension of conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
181 Automatic suspension of conditions if tenure rights are suspended . . . . . . . 104
8
Offshore Minerals
182 Significant changes in circumstances to be reported to Minister . . . . . . . . 105
183 Work practices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
184 Tenure holder must keep specified records etc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
185 Tenure holder must help inspectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
Division 7--Expiry of mineral development licence
186 General . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
187 Voluntary surrender of mineral development licence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
188 Automatic expiry of mineral development licence when mining
lease takes effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
189 Cancellation of mineral development licence--breach of condition etc. . . 107
190 Cancellation of mineral development licence--mining activities viable . 108
191 Obligations of former mineral development licence holders and
former associates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
PART 2.4--MINING LEASES
Division 1--General
192 Mining leases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
193 Activities authorised by a mining lease . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
194 Minister may cancel or not renew mining lease without compensation . . . 112
195 Tenure rights may be suspended . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
196 Compensation for acquisition of property due to suspension of rights . . . . . 112
Division 2--Application for and grant of mining lease over standard
sub-blocks
197 Application for mining lease over vacant standard sub-block . . . . . . . . . . . 113
198 Holder of exploration permit or mineral development licence may
apply for mining lease . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
199 How to apply . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
200 Effect of inclusion of unavailable sub-block in application . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
201 Payment of fee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
202 Application must be advertised . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
203 How multiple applications are dealt with . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
204 Request for further information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
205 Section number not used . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
206 Minister may provisionally grant tenure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
207 Section number not used . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
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Offshore Minerals
208 Refusal of application for mining lease made under section 198 . . . . . . . . 118
209 Matters to be specified in the tenure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
210 Applicant must be notified . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
211 Amendment of conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
212 Amendment of security requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
213 Extension of primary payment period . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
214 Acceptance of grant of mining lease for standard sub-block . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
215 Conditions applicable to tenure on grant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
216 Lapse of provisional grant of mining lease . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
Division 3--Application for and grant of mining lease over tender
sub-block
217 Matters to be decided before applications for mining lease over
tender sub-blocks invited . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
218 Minister may invite applications for mining lease over tender
sub-blocks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
219 Tender sub-block tenure notice--mining lease . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
220 Application for mining lease over tender sub-blocks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
221 How to apply . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
222 Payment of fee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
223 Request for further information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
224 Section number not used . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
225 Minister may provisionally grant tenure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
226 Section number not used . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
227 Successful applicant must be notified . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
228 Acceptance of grant of mining lease over tender sub-blocks . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
229 Conditions applicable to tenure on grant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
230 Lapse of provisional grant of mining lease . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
231 Provisional grant to next applicant if grant lapses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
Division 4--Duration of mining lease
232 Initial term of mining lease . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
233 Term of renewal of tenure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
234 Effect of application for renewal on term of mining lease . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
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Offshore Minerals
Division 5--Voluntary surrender of part of mining lease area
235 Voluntary surrender of sub-blocks if discrete area remains . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
Division 6--Application for and grant of renewal of mining lease
236 Application for renewal of mining lease . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
237 When application to be made . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
238 How to apply for renewal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
239 Request for further information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
240 Payment of fee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
241 Section number not used . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
242 Provisional renewal of mining lease . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
243 Section number not used . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
244 Matters that may be taken into account . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
245 Refusal of application for renewal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
246 Applicant must be notified . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
247 Amendment of conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
248 Amendment of security requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
249 Extension of primary payment period . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
250 Acceptance of renewal of mining lease . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
251 Conditions applicable to tenure on renewal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
252 Lapse of provisional renewal of mining lease . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
Division 7--Obligations associated with mining lease
253 General . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
254 Conditions of mining lease . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
255 No conditions requiring payment of money . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
256 Variation of conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
257 Exemption from or suspension of conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
258 Automatic suspension of conditions if tenure rights are suspended . . . . . . . 139
259 Work practices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
260 Tenure holder must pay royalty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
261 Tenure holder must keep specified records . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
262 Tenure holder must help inspectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
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Offshore Minerals
Division 8--Expiry of mining lease
263 General . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
264 Voluntary surrender of mining lease . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
265 Cancellation of mining lease . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
266 Obligations of former mining lease holders and former associates . . . . . . . 143
PART 2.5--WORKS LICENCES
Division 1--General
267 Works licences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
268 Activities authorised by a works licence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
269 Minister may cancel or not renew works licence without compensation . . 145
Division 2--Application for and grant of works licence
270 Application for works licence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
271 How to apply . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
272 Payment of fee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
273 Applicant to notify tenure holders affected by the application . . . . . . . . . . 146
274 Application must be advertised . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
275 Section number not used . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
276 Minister may provisionally grant tenure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
277 Section number not used . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
278 Matters to be specified in the tenure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
279 Applicant must be notified . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
280 Amendment of conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
281 Amendment of security requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
282 Extension of primary payment period . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
283 Acceptance of grant of works licence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150
284 Conditions applicable to works licence on grant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150
285 Lapse of provisional grant of works licence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
Division 3--Duration of works licence
286 Initial term of works licence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
287 Term of renewal of works licence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
288 Effect of application for renewal on term of works licence . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
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Offshore Minerals
Division 4--Application for and grant of renewal of works licence
289 Application for renewal of works licence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
290 When application to be made . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
291 How to apply for renewal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
292 Payment of fee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
293 Section number not used . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
294 Provisional renewal of works licence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
295 Section number not used . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
296 Applicant must be notified . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
297 Amendment of conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
298 Amendment of security requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
299 Extension of primary payment period . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156
300 Acceptance of renewal of works licence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156
301 Conditions applicable to works licence on renewal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
302 Lapse of provisional renewal of works licence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
Division 5--Obligations associated with works licence
303 General . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
304 Conditions of works licence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
305 No conditions requiring payment of money . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
306 Variation of conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
307 Exemption from or suspension of conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
308 Work practices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
309 Tenure holder must keep specified records etc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
310 Tenure holder must help inspectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
Division 6--Expiry of works licence
311 General . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
312 Voluntary surrender of works licence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
313 Cancellation of works licence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
314 Obligations of former works licence holders and former associates . . . . . . 164
PART 2.6--SPECIAL PURPOSE CONSENTS
315 Special purpose consents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
316 Activities authorised by a special purpose consent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
13
Offshore Minerals
317 Application for a consent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
318 How to apply . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
319 Payment of fee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
320 Applicant must obtain agreement of exploration permit, mineral
development licence and mining lease holders affected by the
application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
321 Applicant to notify works licence holders affected by the application . . . . 167
322 Section number not used . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
323 Minister may grant special purpose consent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
324 Section number not used . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168
325 Matters to be specified in the consent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168
326 Duration of consent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168
327 Conditions of consent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168
CHAPTER 3--REGISTRATION AND DEALINGS
PART 3.1--REGISTRATION
Division 1--Preliminary
328 Register to be kept . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
329 Document files to be kept . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
330 Form of register and document file . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
331 Correction of errors in the register . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
332 Inspection of register and documents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
Division 2--Matters to be entered in register
Subdivision 1--Tenures
333 Tenures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
334 Renewal of tenures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172
335 Extension of exploration permits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
336 Expiry of tenures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
337 Amendments etc. to tenures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174
338 Transfer of tenures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
339 Other dealings in tenures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
340 Devolution of tenures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
Subdivision 2--Caveats
341 Effect of a caveat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178
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Offshore Minerals
342 Lodgment of caveats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
343 Form of caveat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
344 Payment of fee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
345 Caveat to be registered . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
346 Withdrawal of caveat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
347 Form of withdrawal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
348 Duration of caveat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
349 Notice to caveat holder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
350 Caveat holder may consent to registration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
351 Orders that can be made by Wardens Court in relation to caveats . . . . . . . 183
Division 3--Miscellaneous
352 Exemption from stamp duty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184
353 Protection from legal actions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184
354 Application to court for correction of register . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
355356 Section numbers not used . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
357 Evidentiary value of register . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
358 Certified copy of document on document file . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
359 Certification of registration action . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
PART 3.2--DEALINGS IN TENURES
Division 1--Dealings in tenures to be in writing and registered
360 Dealings in tenures to be in writing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
361 Dealings in interests in tenures not effective until registered . . . . . . . . . . . 187
Division 2--Approval of transfer of tenures
362 Transfers require approval by Minister . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
363 Application for approval of transfer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188
364 Minister may ask for further information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
365 Minister's response to application for approval . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
366 Protection from legal actions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190
CHAPTER 4--ADMINISTRATION
PART 4.1--INFORMATION MANAGEMENT
367 Minister may ask person for information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190
368 Power to ask person to appear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
15
Offshore Minerals
369 Power to examine on oath or affirmation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192
370 Minister may ask for documents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192
371 Minister may ask for samples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
372 Obligation to comply with request under section 367, 368, 369,
370 or 371 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194
373 Immunity from use of information etc. given in response to
request under section 367, 368, 369, 370 or 371 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195
374 Restrictions on release of confidential material . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196
375 Circumstances in which confidential material may be released . . . . . . . . . 197
376 Certain reports to be made available . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197
PART 4.2--MONITORING AND ENFORCEMENT
Division 1--Inspections
377 Compliance inspections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198
378 Powers exercisable in course of inspection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
379 Inspection of tenure-related premises etc. without warrant . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200
380 Inspection of other premises etc. with occupier's consent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201
381 Inspection of other premises etc. with warrant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201
382 Procedure for obtaining warrant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201
383 Further provisions as to exercise of powers under warrant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202
384 Occupier to cooperate with inspector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
Division 2--Directions
385 Directions by Minister must be obeyed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
386 Scope of directions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204
387 Minister may give directions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205
388 Direction may incorporate material in another document . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205
389 Direction may impose absolute prohibition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205
390 Direction may extend to associates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205
391 Holder to give notice of direction to associates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206
392 Power to give directions after tenure etc. ends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206
393 Effect of directions on other instruments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207
394 Minister may specify time for compliance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207
395 Minister may take action if holder fails to comply . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207
396 Costs incurred by Minister in taking action under section 395 . . . . . . . . . . 208
16
Offshore Minerals
397 Defences to actions to recover debts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208
Division 3--Securities
398 Securities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209
399 Decision about requirement to lodge security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209
400 Application of security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210
Division 4--Restoration of environment
401 Removal of property from coastal waters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211
402 Rehabilitation of damaged areas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212
Division 5--Safety zones
403 Declaration of safety zone around a structure or equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . 212
404 Effect of declaration of safety zone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212
405420 Section numbers not used . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213
PART 4.3--INSPECTORS
421 Appointment of inspectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214
422 Identity cards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214
423 Return of identity card . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214
PART 4.4--TENURE FEES AND ROYALTY
Division 1--Tenure Fees
424 Definition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215
425 Tenure fees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215
426 Limit on amount of fees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215
427 Time for payment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216
Division 2--Royalty
428 Definition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216
429 Royalty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217
430 Rate of royalty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217
431 Reduction of royalty in certain cases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217
432 Fixing of landed value . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217
433 Fixing of quantity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218
434 Time for payment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218
435 State to pay 40% of royalties to Commonwealth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218
17
Offshore Minerals
Division 3--Penalties and recovery
436 Penalty if fee or royalty overdue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218
437 Fees etc. recoverable as debts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219
CHAPTER 5--MISCELLANEOUS
438 State functions under the Commonwealth Act, pt 5.1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219
439 Delegation by Minister . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220
440 Service of documents on tenure holders etc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220
441 Regulation-making power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221
Proceedings for offences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223
443 Executive officers must ensure corporation complies with Act . . . . . . . . . . 224
444 Evidentiary provision . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225
445 Approval of forms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226
446 Consequential amendments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226
SCHEDULE 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227
COASTAL WATERS OF THE STATE
SCHEDULE 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228
SUB-BLOCKS
SCHEDULE 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229
COMMONWEALTHSTATE OFFSHORE AREA
SCHEDULE 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230
CONSEQUENTIAL AMENDMENTS
SCHEDULE 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233
DICTIONARY
1997
A BILL
FOR
An Act relating to exploration for, and the recovery of, minerals (other
than petroleum) in the first 3 nautical miles of the territorial sea in
relation to Queensland, and for related purposes
s1 20 s3
Offshore Minerals
The Parliament of Queensland enacts-- 1
HAPTER 1--INTRODUCTION 2
C
ART 1.1--PRELIMINARY 3
P
title 4
Short
1. This Act may be cited as the Offshore Minerals Act 1997. 5
6
Commencement
2. This Act comes into operation on a day to be fixed by proclamation. 7
agreement (the Offshore Constitutional 8
Commonwealth-State
Settlement) 9
3.(1) The Commonwealth and the States have agreed that-- 10
(a) Commonwealth offshore mining legislation should be limited to 11
the area that is outside State coastal waters; and 12
(b) the States should share, in the way provided by the Offshore 13
Minerals Act 1994 (Cwlth), in the administration of the 14
Commonwealth offshore mining legislation; and 15
(c) State offshore mining legislation should apply to State coastal 16
waters beyond the baseline for the territorial sea (that is, the first 17
3 nautical miles of the territorial sea); and 18
(d) the Commonwealth and the States should try to maintain, as far 19
as practicable, common principles, rules and practices in 20
regulating and controlling offshore mining beyond the baseline of 21
Australia's territorial sea. 22
23
Note 1: So far as the agreement is about petroleum, it is reflected in this State's
24
legislation by the Petroleum (Submerged Lands) Act 1982.
s3 21 s3
Offshore Minerals
1
Note 2: The decimal part numbering system closely corresponds to the same
2
decimal part numbering system in the Commonwealth Act. Also, sections 1
3
to 423 of this Act closely correspond to the same sections of the
4
Commonwealth Act. Some sections of the Commonwealth Act contain
5
provisions that are not relevant to the operation of this Act. To maximise
6
uniformity between this Act and the Commonwealth Act, the numbers of
7
some sections that are not relevant have not been used in the numbering of
8
this Act, unless required for provisions particular to the State.
(2) Other Acts that provide background in this State to the agreement 9
(commonly referred to as the "Offshore Constitutional Settlement") are-- 10
(a) the Seas and Submerged Lands Act 1973 (Cwlth), the Coastal 11
Waters (State Powers) Act 1980 (Cwlth), the Coastal Waters 12
(State Title) Act 1980 (Cwlth) and the Petroleum (Submerged 13
Lands) Act 1967 (Cwlth); and 14
(b) the Petroleum (Submerged Lands) Act 1982. 15
16
Note 1: The Seas and Submerged Lands Act 1973 (Cwlth)--
17
· declares and enacts that the sovereignty in respect of the territorial sea
18
and the associated airspace, seabed and subsoil is vested in and
19
exercisable by the Crown in right of the Commonwealth;
20
· gives the Governor-General power to declare, by proclamation, the limits
21
of the territorial sea;
22
· declares and enacts that the sovereignty in respect of waters of the sea
23
that are on the landward side of the baseline of the territorial sea (but not
24
within the limits of a State) and in relation to the associated airspace,
25
seabed and subsoil is vested in and exercisable by the Crown in right of
26
the Commonwealth;
27
· declares and enacts that the sovereign rights of Australia as a coastal
28
State in relation to the continental shelf of Australia (for the purpose of
29
exploring it and exploiting its natural resources) are vested in and
30
exercisable by the Crown in right of the Commonwealth;
31
· gives the Governor-General power to declare, by proclamation, the limits
32
of the continental shelf of Australia.
33
Note 2: The Coastal Waters (State Powers) Act 1980 (Cwlth) was enacted following a
34
request from the Parliaments of all the States under section 51(xxxviii) of
35
the Constitution of the Commonwealth and provides that the legislative
36
powers exercisable under the Constitution of each State extend to the
37
making of certain laws that would operate offshore.
38
Note 3: The Coastal Waters (State Title) Act 1980 (Cwlth) vests in each State certain
39
property rights in the seabed beneath the coastal waters.
s4 22 s6
Offshore Minerals
1
Note 4: The Petroleum (Submerged Lands) Act 1967 (Cwlth) and the Petroleum
2
(Submerged Lands) Act 1982 of this State make provision, based on the
3
agreement referred to in subsection (1), for the licensing regime that applies
4
to the exploration for and recovery of petroleum in coastal waters and
5
offshore areas of this State.
ART 1.2--INTERPRETATION 6
P
Division 1--General 7
etc. in the text 8
Note
4. A note, diagram or map in this Act is provided to help understanding 9
and does not form part of the Act. 10
dictionary 11
Definitions--the
5. The dictionary in schedule 5 defines particular words used in this Act.1 12
in a tenure 13
Shares
6.(1) A person has a share in a tenure if the person is the holder, or 1 of 14
the holders, of the tenure. 15
1 In some legislation, definitions are contained in a dictionary that appears as the
last schedule and forms part of the Act--Acts Interpretation Act 1954,
section 14(4).
Words defined elsewhere in the legislation are generally signposted by entries in
the dictionary. However, if a section has a definition applying only to the
section, or a part of the section, it is generally not signposted by an entry in the
dictionary and is generally set out in the last subsection of the section.
Signpost definitions in the dictionary alert the reader to the terms defined elsewhere
in the legislation and tell the reader where the definitions can be found.
s7 23 s7
Offshore Minerals
(2) If a holder is entitled to a particular percentage of the value of the 1
rights conferred by a tenure, that percentage is the holder's share in the 2
tenure. 3
4
Note: A sole holder has a 100% share in the tenure.
(3) If-- 5
(a) a person is a registered holder of a tenure; and 6
(b) the person is shown in the offshore mining register as being 7
entitled to a specified percentage of the value of the rights 8
conferred by the tenure; 9
the person's share in the tenure is taken to be the percentage specified in the 10
register. 11
of a tenure 12
Transfer
7.(1) A tenure is transferred if-- 13
(a) the tenure has only 1 holder and the holder transfers the whole of 14
the licensee's interest in the tenure to another person or other 15
persons; or 16
(b) the tenure has 2 or more holders and the holders all transfer the 17
whole of their interests in the tenure to another person or other 18
persons. 19
(2) A share in a tenure is transferred if-- 20
(a) the tenure has only 1 holder and the holder transfers a part of the 21
holder's share in the tenure to another person or other persons; or 22
(b) the tenure has 2 or more holders and-- 23
(i) some, but not all, of the holders transfer the whole of their 24
shares in the tenure to another person; or 25
(ii) some or all of the holders transfer a part of their shares in the 26
tenure to another person. 27
(3) The other person referred to in subsection (2)(b) may be an existing 28
tenure holder. 29
s8 24 s9
Offshore Minerals
tenures 1
Successor
8.(1) If-- 2
(a) a mining lease takes effect immediately after an exploration 3
permit expires; and 4
(b) the holder of the mining lease immediately after it takes effect was 5
the holder of the exploration permit immediately before it expired; 6
the mining lease is a successor tenure to the exploration permit. 7
(2) If-- 8
(a) a mineral development licence takes effect immediately after an 9
exploration permit expires; and 10
(b) the holder of the mineral development licence immediately after it 11
takes effect was the holder of the exploration permit immediately 12
before it expired; 13
the mineral development licence is a successor tenure to the exploration 14
permit. 15
(3) If-- 16
(a) a mining lease takes effect immediately after a mineral 17
development licence expires; and 18
(b) the mineral development licence took effect immediately after an 19
exploration permit expired; and 20
(c) the holder of the mining lease immediately after it takes effect was 21
the holder of the mineral development licence immediately before 22
it expired; and 23
(d) the holder of the mineral development licence immediately after it 24
took effect was the holder of the exploration permit immediately 25
before it expired; 26
the mining lease is a successor tenure to the exploration permit and the 27
mineral development licence. 28
number not used 29
Section
9. See note 2 to section 3(1). 30
s 10 25 s 1315
Offshore Minerals
on the Earth's surface 1
Position
10. This is how the position of a point, line or area on the Earth's surface 2
must be worked out for this Act-- 3
(a) the position must be worked out by reference to a spheroid that-- 4
(i) has a major (equatorial) radius of 6,378,160 metres; and 5
(ii) has a flattening of 100/29825; and 6
(b) the Johnston Geodetic Station in the Northern Territory is taken to 7
be located 571.2 metres above the point on the surface of the 8
spheroid that is at-- 9
(i) 133°12'30.0771" east longitude; and 10
(ii) 25°56'54.5515" south latitude. 11
number not used 12
Section
11. See note 2 to section 3(1). 13
to amend and revoke instruments 14
Power
12.(1) A provision of this Act that confers a power to do something in 15
writing is also taken to confer the power to revoke or amend the written 16
document by which that thing is done. 17
(2) The power to revoke or amend-- 18
(a) must also be exercised in writing; and 19
(b) is subject to the same procedural requirements as the original 20
power; and 21
(c) is subject to the same conditions as those that governed the 22
exercise of the original power. 23
Division 2--Basic concepts for this Act 24
numbers not used 25
Section
1315. See note 2 to section 3(1). 26
s 16 26 s 16
Offshore Minerals
waters, and effect of change in baseline 1
Coastal
16.(1) Subject to this section, the coastal waters of the State are 2
constituted by the first 3 nautical miles of the territorial sea from the 3
baseline. 4
(2) The coastal waters do not include any waters that are inside the 5
baseline. 6
(3) If-- 7
(a) a tenure has been granted on the basis that an area is within coastal 8
waters; and 9
(b) there is a change to the baseline or, because new data is obtained 10
or existing data is reconsidered, the location of the baseline is 11
reassessed; and 12
(c) as a result of the change to, or reassessment of the location of, the 13
baseline, the area ceases to be within coastal waters; 14
this Act applies as if the area were still within coastal waters. 15
(4) Subsection (3) continues to apply to the area only while the tenure and 16
any successor tenure remains in force. 17
(5) If-- 18
(a) an area in the offshore area under the Commonwealth Act is 19
covered by a tenure under the Commonwealth Act; and 20
(b) there is a change to the baseline; and 21
(c) as a result of the change to the baseline, the area-- 22
(i) ceases to be within the offshore area under the 23
Commonwealth Act; and 24
(ii) falls within coastal waters; 25
this Act does not apply to the area. 26
(6) Subsection (5) continues to apply to the area only while the tenure 27
under the Commonwealth Act and any successor tenure under that Act 28
remains in force. 29
s 17 27 s 17
Offshore Minerals
(7) This Act has effect subject to the Mineral Resources Act 1989, 1
section 4.2 2
(8) In this section-- 3
"baseline" means the baseline adjacent to the coast of the State (including 4
the coast of any island forming part of the State) as for the time being 5
decided under the Seas and Submerged Lands Act 1973 (Cwlth), 6
section 7(2)(b). 7
8
Note 1: Generally the baseline is the lowest astronomical tide along the coast but it
9
also includes lines enclosing bays and indentations that are not bays and
10
straight baselines that depart from the coast. See Australia's territorial sea
11
baseline published 1988 by the Australian Government Printing Service.
12
Note 2: The map in schedule 1 shows the coastal waters of the State.
ub-blocks 13
S
17.(1) This is how a sub-block is constituted in coastal waters-- 14
(a) assume that there is laid over the coastal waters a grid constituted 15
by-- 16
(i) lines running along meridians drawn through each degree of 17
longitude and the minutes between those degrees; and 18
(ii) lines running along parallels drawn through each degree of 19
latitude and the minutes between those degrees; 20
(b) take a bounded space defined by the grid; 21
(c) the seabed and subsoil within the coastal waters that is under that 22
space is a sub-block. 23
(2) The diagram in schedule 23 shows how a sub-block is constituted. 24
(3) Each sub-block is identified by giving the name of the plan in the 25
1:1 000 000 map series, an identifying number of the 5 minute block and a 26
letter identifying the 1 minute sub-block. 27
2 Mineral Resources Act 1989, section 4 (Savings, transitional and validation)
3 Schedule 2 (Sub-blocks)
s 18 28 s 21
Offshore Minerals
sub-block 1
Reserved
18.(1) Subject to subsection (2), the Minister may declare that a 2
sub-block in coastal waters is a reserved sub-block. 3
4
Note 1: A reserved sub-block may be put up for tender by the Minister publishing in
5
the Gazette a tender sub-block tenure notice (see sections 74 and 218).
6
Note 2: The Acts Interpretation Act 1954, section 32C, which provides that in an Act,
7
the singular includes the plural, allows a single declaration under this
8
subsection to be made for 2 or more sub-blocks.
(2) A declaration under subsection (1) must not be made about a sub- 9
block if-- 10
(a) a tenure over that sub-block is in force; or 11
(b) an application for a tenure over that sub-block has been made and 12
has not been decided. 13
(3) A declaration under subsection (1) must be made by gazette notice. 14
tandard sub-block 15
S
19. A standard sub-block is a sub-block that is not the subject of a 16
declaration under section 18(1). 17
sub-block 18
Tender
20. A tender sub-block is a sub-block that is the subject of a tender 19
sub-block tenure notice published by the Minister under section 74 or 218.4 20
area 21
Discrete
21.(1) A group of sub-blocks forms a discrete area if the area formed by 22
the sub-blocks is continuous. 23
(2) Two sub-blocks that are joined at 1 point only do not form a 24
continuous area. 25
4 Section 74 (Minister may invite applications for exploration permit over tender
sub-blocks)
Section 218 (Minister may invite applications for mining lease over tender sub-
blocks)
s 22 29 s 25
Offshore Minerals
1
Minerals
22.(1) A mineral is a naturally occurring substance or a naturally 2
occurring mixture of substances.5 3
(2) Without limiting subsection (1), a mineral may be in the form of clay, 4
limestone, evaporites, shale, oil-shale or coal. 5
(3) However, the following are not minerals under this Act-- 6
(a) coral limestone; 7
(b) sand, gravel and rock.6 8
9
Exploration
23.(1) Exploration for minerals includes any activity that is directly 10
related to the exploration for minerals. 11
(2) Exploration does not include the exploration for minerals of the 12
subsoil of coastal waters that is carried out by way of underground mining 13
from land in the State if that exploration is carried out under the Mineral 14
Resources Act 1989. 15
16
Recovery
24.(1) Recovery of minerals includes any activity that is directly related to 17
the recovery of minerals. 18
(2) Recovery does not include the recovery of minerals from the subsoil 19
of coastal waters that is carried out by way of underground mining from 20
land in the State if that exploration is carried out under the Mineral 21
Resources Act 1989. 22
holder 23
Tenure
25.(1) A reference to the holder of a tenure or the tenure holder is a 24
5 This Act does not apply to petroleum, see section 35 (Act does not apply to
exploration for or recovery of petroleum).
6 See the Transport Infrastructure Act 1994, section 153 (Definitions for chapter),
definition "extractive material".
s 26 30 s 26
Offshore Minerals
reference to the person whose name is entered in the offshore mining 1
register as the person who holds the tenure. 2
3
Note 1: This Act is based upon the grant and registration of tenures.
4
Note 2: If a tenure is granted to a person, that person's name is entered in the
5
register (see section 333).
6
Note 3: The entry in the register about a tenure will be varied if there is a change in
7
the holder of the tenure (see section 338(4)).
(2) A tenure may be held by more than 1 person. 8
9
Associates
26.(1) The following are the associates of a tenure holder-- 10
(a) associated contractors of the holder; 11
(b) associated agents of the holder; 12
(c) associated agents of associated contractors; 13
(d) associated employees of the holder; 14
(e) associated employees of associated contractors. 15
(2) A person is an associated contractor of the holder if-- 16
(a) the person enters into an agreement with the holder for carrying 17
out activities under the tenure; or 18
(b) the person enters into an agreement with a person who is an 19
associated contractor under paragraph (a) or this paragraph for 20
carrying out activities under the tenure. 21
(3) A person is an associated agent of the holder if the person is the agent 22
of, or acts on behalf of, the holder in relation to carrying out activities under 23
the tenure. 24
(4) A person is an associated agent of an associated contractor if the 25
person is the agent of, or acts on behalf of, the associated contractor in 26
relation to carrying out activities under the tenure. 27
(5) A person is an associated employee of the holder if the person is 28
employed by the holder and, in the course of that employment, carries out 29
activities under the tenure. 30
s 27 31 s 28
Offshore Minerals
(6) A person is an associated employee of an associated contractor if the 1
person is employed by the associated contractor and, in the course of that 2
employment, carries out activities under the tenure. 3
information 4
Confidential
27.(1) Information is confidential information if-- 5
(a) a tenure holder has given it to the Minister; and 6
(b) it is in a record, return, report or document; and 7
(c) it relates to activities authorised by the tenure; and 8
(d) it relates to an area of the seabed or subsoil that is covered by the 9
tenure or a successor tenure to the tenure. 10
(2) However, if-- 11
(a) a person is required to give the Minister a report about particular 12
sub-blocks; and 13
(b) the person gives the Minister a report that relates not only to those 14
sub-blocks but also to other sub-blocks; and 15
(c) the Minister is required to make the report available under 16
section 376;7 17
the information that relates to those other sub-blocks is not confidential 18
information. 19
sample 20
Confidential
28. A sample is a confidential sample if-- 21
(a) a tenure holder has given it to the Minister; and 22
(b) it was recovered in the course of activities authorised by the 23
tenure; and 24
(c) it was recovered from an area of the seabed or subsoil that is 25
covered by the tenure or a successor tenure to the tenure. 26
7 Section 376 (Certain reports to be made available)
s 29 32 s 3234
Offshore Minerals
PART 1.3--ADMINISTRATION OF THE 1
COMMONWEALTH-STATE OFFSHORE AREA 2
3
Definitions
29. In this part-- 4
"Commonwealth-State offshore area" means the Commonwealth-State 5
offshore area for the State under the Commonwealth Act, section 13.8 6
as member of Joint Authority, or as Designated Authority 7
Minister
30.(1) The Minister may perform any function that the Minister has 8
under the Commonwealth Act or an associated revenue Act-- 9
(a) as a member of the Joint Authority for the Commonwealth-State 10
offshore area provided for by the Commonwealth Act, 11
section 32(2); or 12
(b) as the Designated Authority for that area provided for by the 13
Commonwealth Act, section 29(2). 14
(2) The Minister must perform any such function that the Minister is 15
required to perform by the Commonwealth Act or an associated revenue 16
Act. 17
officer acting under delegation 18
State
31. An officer of the public service to whom a delegation is made under 19
the Commonwealth Act, section 419 may perform any function that the 20
officer has under that delegation and must perform any such function that 21
the officer is required to perform under the Commonwealth Act. 22
numbers not used 23
Section
3234. See note 2 to section 3(1). 24
8 The diagram in schedule 3 illustrates the CommonwealthState offshore area.
s 35 33 s 37
Offshore Minerals
PART 1.4--APPLICATION OF THIS ACT 1
does not apply to exploration for or recovery of petroleum 2
Act
35. This Act does not apply to the exploration for or recovery of 3
petroleum.9 4
5
Note 1: Offshore petroleum exploration and mining are regulated by the Petroleum
6
(Submerged Lands) Act 1967 (Cwlth) and the Petroleum (Submerged Lands)
7
Act 1982.
number not used 8
Section
36. See note 2 to section 3(1). 9
applies to all individuals and corporations 10
Act
37.(1) This Act applies to all individuals, including-- 11
(a) individuals who are not Australian citizens; and 12
(b) individuals who are not resident in Queensland. 13
(2) This Act applies to all corporations,10 including-- 14
(a) corporations that are not incorporated in Queensland; and 15
(b) corporations that do not carry on business in Queensland. 16
9 For "petroleum" see schedule 5 (Dictionary).
10 The Penalties and Sentences Act 1992, section 181B provides that the maximum
fine for a corporation is 5 times the maximum fine for an individual.
s 38 34 s 39
Offshore Minerals
CHAPTER 2--REGULATION OF OFFSHORE 1
EXPLORATION AND MINING 2
PART 2.1--GENERAL 3
prohibition on exploring and mining without appropriate 4
General
authorisation 5
38. A person must not-- 6
(a) explore for minerals in coastal waters; or 7
(b) recover minerals from coastal waters; 8
unless the exploration or recovery is authorised by a tenure or special 9
purpose consent granted under this Act. 10
Maximum penalty--400 penalty units. 11
12
Note: A works licence may be necessary because "exploration" includes activities
13
that are directly related to exploration (see section 23(1)) and "recovery"
14
includes activities that are directly related to recovery (see section 24(1)).
and consents available under this Act 15
Tenure
39. This Act provides for the grant of-- 16
(a) exploration permits; and 17
(b) mineral development licences; and 18
(c) mining leases; and 19
(d) works licences; and 20
(e) special purpose consents. 21
22
Note 1: An exploration permit is designed to cover the exploration phase of a project
23
and authorises--
24
· exploration; and
25
· the recovery of mineral samples.
26
Note 2: A mineral development licence is designed to ensure the retention of rights
27
pending the transition of a project from the exploration phase to the
28
commercial mining phase and authorises--
s 40 35 s 40
Offshore Minerals
1
· exploration; and
2
· the recovery of minerals but not as part of a commercial mining operation.
3
Note 3: A mining lease is designed to cover the commercial mining phase of a
4
project and authorises--
5
· exploration; and
6
· full commercial recovery.
7
Note 4: A project might make use of any of the following 3 tenure arrangements--
8
· an exploration permit leading to a mining lease;
9
· an exploration permit leading to a mineral development licence and then
10
a mining lease;
11
· a mining lease (without progressing through an exploration permit/mineral
12
development licence stage).
13
Note 5: A tenure is granted over a particular area (constituted by sub-blocks). The
14
tenure holder may need to carry out engineering or other activities outside
15
the tenure area. If so, the tenure holder or someone else must obtain a works
16
licence to carry out those activities.
17
Note 6: If a person wants to carry out--
18
· a scientific investigation; or
19
· a reconnaissance survey; or
20
· the collection of only small amounts of minerals;
21
in coastal waters, the person must obtain a special purpose consent under part 2.6 to
22
carry out the activity.
23
Note 7: Even though a person has a tenure or special purpose consent, the person
24
must not interfere unnecessarily with navigation, native title, fishing,
25
resource conservation or other activities in the area (see section 44).
involved in the grant of a fully effective tenure 26
Steps
40.(1) The following 3 steps must happen before a tenure comes into 27
force-- 28
(a) provisional grant of the tenure; 29
(b) proper acceptance of the grant; 30
(c) registration of the grant. 31
32
Note: See sections 88, 154, 232 and 286.
s 41 36 s 41
Offshore Minerals
(2) If a tenure is provisionally granted to a person, the person must do the 1
following to properly accept the grant-- 2
(a) give the Minister a written acceptance; 3
(b) lodge any security that the Minister has required; 4
(c) pay the fee that is payable under section 425.11 5
6
See sections 70, 84, 151, 214, 228 and 283.
(3) The following 3 steps must occur before a renewal of a tenure comes 7
into force-- 8
(a) provisional renewal of the tenure; 9
(b) proper acceptance of the renewal; 10
(c) registration of the renewal. 11
12
Note: See sections 89, 155, 233 and 287.
(4) If a tenure is provisionally renewed, the holder must do the following 13
to properly accept the renewal-- 14
(a) give the Minister a written acceptance of the renewal; 15
(b) lodge any security that the Minister has required; 16
(c) pay the fee that is payable under section 425. 17
18
Note: See sections 114, 173, 250 and 300.
of form of applications etc. 19
Approval
41.(1) The Minister may approve the form and the way in which the 20
following are to be made-- 21
(a) applications for tenures over sub-blocks in coastal waters; 22
(b) applications for the renewal of tenures over sub-blocks in coastal 23
waters. 24
(2) An approval under subsection (1) must be made in writing. 25
11 Section 425 (Tenure fees)
s 42 37 s 44
Offshore Minerals
to minerals recovered 1
Rights
42.(1) Any minerals recovered by a tenure holder or special purpose 2
consent holder from a sub-block covered by the tenure or consent become 3
the property of the holder when they are recovered. 4
(2) If the tenure or consent authorises the exploration for and the recovery 5
of minerals only of a particular kind, subsection (1) only applies to the 6
recovery of minerals of that kind. 7
(3) Subsection (1) does not apply to the recovery of minerals by a works 8
licence holder. 9
(4) The minerals recovered are not subject to the rights of any other 10
person. 11
(5) Subsection (4) does not apply to rights that the tenure or consent 12
holder transfers to the other person. 13
of grant of tenure or special purpose consent on native title 14
Effect
43.(1) The grant of a tenure or special purpose consent does not 15
extinguish native title in the tenure or consent area. 16
(2) While a tenure or special purpose consent is in force over an area, 17
native title in the area is subject to the rights conferred by the tenure or 18
consent. 19
(3) If compensation is payable under the Native Title Act 1993 (Cwlth), 20
section 23(4) in relation to the grant of a tenure or special purpose consent, 21
the person who applied for the grant must, for section 23(5)(b) of that Act, 22
pay the compensation. 23
etc. does not authorise unnecessary interference with other 24
Tenure
activities in the tenure area 25
44. A person who carries out activities in coastal waters under a tenure or 26
special purpose consent granted under this Act must not do so in a way that 27
interferes with-- 28
(a) navigation; or 29
(b) the exercise of native title rights and interests; or 30
s 45 38 s 45
Offshore Minerals
(c) fishing; or 1
(d) the conservation of the resources of the sea or the seabed; or 2
(e) any activities that someone else is lawfully carrying out; 3
to a greater extent than is necessary for-- 4
(f) the reasonable exercise of the person's rights under the tenure or 5
consent; or 6
(g) the performance of the person's duties under the tenure or 7
consent. 8
Maximum penalty--134 penalty units. 9
10
Example--
11
The person referred to here might be the tenure or consent holder or might be an
12
associated person.
ART 2.2--EXPLORATION PERMITS 13
P
Division 1--General 14
permits 15
Exploration
45.(1) This part provides for the grant of exploration permits over 16
sub-blocks in coastal waters. 17
(2) An exploration permit may be granted over a standard sub-block or 18
over a tender sub-block.12 19
20
Note: A tender sub-block is a sub-block that has been declared available for tender.
21
A standard sub-block is any sub-block that is not a reserved sub-block (see
22
sections 19 and 20).
12 See division 2 (Application for a grant of exploration permit over standard
sub-blocks) or division 3 (Application for and grant of exploration permit over
tender sub-block)
s 46 39 s 48
Offshore Minerals
authorised by an exploration permit 1
Activities
46.(1) Subject to subsection (2), an exploration permit holder may-- 2
(a) explore for minerals in the tenure area; and 3
(b) take samples of minerals in the tenure area. 4
5
Note: Under section 23(1) the concept of "exploration" extends to activities that are
6
directly related to exploration.
(2) If the tenure is expressed to restrict the kind of minerals covered by 7
the tenure, the holder is not permitted to explore for, or to take samples of, 8
minerals not covered by the tenure. 9
(3) A restriction on the kind of minerals covered by the tenure may be 10
inclusive (for example, only minerals A, B and C) or exclusive (for 11
example, all minerals except A, B and C). 12
(4) For subsection (2), the holder does not take samples of an excluded 13
mineral if, in the course of exploring for, or taking samples of, another 14
mineral, the holder recovers some excluded mineral. 15
may cancel or not renew exploration permit without 16
Minister
compensation 17
47. No compensation is payable because of the cancellation or 18
non-renewal of an exploration permit by the Minister. 19
20
Note 1: The Minister may cancel the tenure under section 130.
21
Note 2: The Minister may refuse to renew the tenure under section 108.
rights may be suspended 22
Tenure
48.(1) The Minister must suspend particular rights conferred by an 23
exploration permit if the Minister is satisfied that it is necessary in the public 24
interest to do so. 25
(2) The Minister may suspend rights under subsection (1) for a specified 26
period or for an indefinite period. 27
(3) The Minister may end a suspension at any time. 28
(4) A suspension or the ending of a suspension must be in writing. 29
(5) If the Minister-- 30
s 49 40 s 49
Offshore Minerals
(a) suspends rights conferred by an exploration permit; or 1
(b) ends a suspension; 2
the Minister must give the tenure holder a notice that informs the holder of 3
the suspension or the ending of the suspension. 4
5
Note: See section 122 for the effect of the suspension on the obligations associated
6
with the tenure.
(6) A suspension takes effect when-- 7
(a) the holder has been given notice of the suspension under 8
subsection (5); and 9
(b) the suspension has been registered under section 337.13 10
for acquisition of property due to suspension of rights 11
Compensation
49.(1) If-- 12
(a) the Minister suspends tenure rights under section 48; and 13
(b) the suspension results in the acquisition of property from a 14
person; and 15
(c) the State and the person agree on an amount of compensation for 16
the acquisition; 17
the State must pay the person the agreed amount of compensation. 18
(2) If-- 19
(a) the Minister suspends tenure rights under section 48; and 20
(b) the suspension results in the acquisition of property from a 21
person; and 22
(c) the State and the person do not agree on an amount of 23
compensation for the acquisition; and 24
(d) the person brings an action for compensation against the State in 25
the Wardens Court; 26
the State must pay the person the amount of compensation (if any) that is 27
decided by the court. 28
13 Section 337 (Amendments etc. to tenures)
s 50 41 s 51
Offshore Minerals
(3) In this section-- 1
"acquisition of property" see the Commonwealth Constitution, 2
section 51(xxxi). 3
2--Application for and grant of exploration permit over 4
Division
standard sub-blocks 5
for exploration permit over standard sub-block 6
Application
50.(1) A person may apply to the Minister for an exploration permit over 7
a standard sub-block if-- 8
(a) the sub-block is vacant; and 9
(b) the sub-block is not excluded. 10
11
Note: For "excluded sub-blocks" see section 51.
(2) A standard sub-block is vacant if no exploration permit, mineral 12
development licence or mining lease is in force over the sub-block. 13
(3) A person may apply for an exploration permit over a group of 14
standard sub-blocks if-- 15
(a) the group forms a discrete area; and 16
(b) there are not more than 500 sub-blocks in the group. 17
18
Note: The Minister may, in certain circumstances, allow an application to be made
19
for an exploration permit covering up to 3 discrete areas (see section 53).
sub-blocks 20
Excluded
51.(1) A sub-block is excluded if-- 21
(a) an exploration permit over the sub-block has been surrendered or 22
cancelled; and 23
(b) a period of 30 days after the day on which the tenure was 24
surrendered or cancelled has not ended. 25
(2) A sub-block is excluded for a particular applicant if-- 26
(a) the applicant previously applied for an exploration permit over the 27
sub-block; and 28
s 52 42 s 52
Offshore Minerals
(b) the application was refused; and 1
(c) a period of 6 months after the day on which the previous 2
application was refused has not ended. 3
(3) A sub-block is excluded for a particular applicant if-- 4
(a) the applicant was previously the holder of an exploration permit, 5
mineral development licence or mining lease over the sub-block; 6
and 7
(b) that previous tenure was surrendered or cancelled; and 8
(c) a period of 6 months after the day on which the previous tenure 9
was surrendered or cancelled has not ended. 10
(4) A sub-block is excluded for a particular applicant if-- 11
(a) the applicant was previously the holder of an exploration permit, 12
mineral development licence or mining lease over the sub-block; 13
and 14
(b) the holder was-- 15
(i) required by the tenure conditions; or 16
(ii) given a direction under section 387 or 392;14 17
to provide the Minister with information; and 18
(c) the holder provided the information; and 19
(d) the holder surrendered the tenure; and 20
(e) a period of 6 months from the day on which the holder provided 21
the information has not ended. 22
may decide that excluded sub-block is available 23
Minister
52.(1) A person who wants to apply for an exploration permit over a 24
sub-block that is excluded may apply to the Minister for a decision under 25
subsection (2). 26
14 Section 387 (Minister may give directions)
Section 392 (Power to give directions after tenure etc. ends)
s 53 43 s 54
Offshore Minerals
(2) The Minister may decide that the person may apply for the tenure 1
over the sub-block despite section 51. 2
(3) The decision must be made in writing. 3
may allow application for more than one discrete area 4
Minister
53.(1) If-- 5
(a) a person (the "first applicant") applies for an exploration permit; 6
and 7
(b) another person (the "second applicant") subsequently applies 8
for an exploration permit for a group of sub-blocks that includes a 9
sub-block covered by the application made by the first applicant; 10
and 11
(c) an exploration permit is then granted to the first applicant; and 12
(d) as a result of the grant, the sub-blocks for which the second 13
applicant can be granted an exploration permit no longer form a 14
discrete area; 15
the second applicant may apply to the Minister for approval for the 16
application to proceed even though the sub-blocks it covers no longer form 17
a discrete area. 18
19
Note: See also section 59.
(2) Subject to subsection (3), the Minister may approve the application 20
proceeding even though the sub-blocks that the application covers do not 21
form a discrete area. 22
(3) The Minister may give an approval under subsection (2) only if the 23
sub-blocks covered by the application form not more than 3 discrete areas. 24
ow to apply 25
H
54.(1) The application must-- 26
(a) be made in accordance with the approved form; and 27
(b) be made in the approved way; and 28
(c) specify the sub-blocks for which the application is made; and 29
s 55 44 s 55
Offshore Minerals
(d) include details of-- 1
(i) the activities that the applicant intends to carry out on the 2
sub-block or sub-blocks covered by the application; and 3
(ii) the amount of money that the applicant intends to spend on 4
those activities; and 5
(iii) the technical qualifications of the applicant and of the 6
applicant's employees who are likely to be involved in 7
activities authorised by the tenure; and 8
(iv) the technical advice available to the applicant; and 9
(v) the financial resources available to the applicant; and 10
(vi) if the tenure is to be held by more than 1 person--the share 11
in the tenure that each prospective holder will hold; and 12
(e) be accompanied by maps that-- 13
(i) relate to the sub-blocks; and 14
(ii) comply with the regulations; and 15
(f) specify an address for service of notices under this Act and the 16
regulations. 17
18
Note 1: For paragraphs (a) and (b) see section 41.
19
Note 2: Paragraph (c): the Minister may, after consulting the applicant, vary the
20
sub-blocks applied for (see section 59).
(2) The applicant may include in the application any other information 21
that the applicant considers relevant. 22
of inclusion of unavailable sub-block in application 23
Effect
55. If-- 24
(a) a person applies for a tenure over a group of standard sub-blocks; 25
and 26
(b) because of section 18, 50 or 51, an exploration permit can not be 27
granted over 1 or more of the sub-blocks in the group; 28
s 56 45 s 57
Offshore Minerals
the Minister may still deal with the application to the extent to which the 1
application covers sub-blocks for which an exploration permit can be 2
granted. 3
4
Note: An exploration permit can not be granted over a sub-block that is not vacant or
5
is excluded (see sections 50 and 51) or over a reserved sub-block (see
6
section 18).
of fee 7
Payment
56.(1) The applicant must pay the application fee prescribed under a 8
regulation. 9
(2) The fee must be paid when the application is made. 10
(3) The Minister may refund any fee paid under subsection (1) but only if 11
the Minister is satisfied that special circumstances exist that justify the 12
refund of the fee. 13
must be advertised 14
Application
57.(1) The applicant must advertise the application in a newspaper 15
circulating throughout the State. 16
(2) The advertisement must contain-- 17
(a) the applicant's name and address; and 18
(b) a map and description of the sub-blocks applied for that are 19
sufficient for the sub-blocks to be identified; and 20
(c) the address of the Minister; and 21
(d) a statement that-- 22
(i) the applicant has applied for an exploration permit over the 23
sub-blocks described in the notice; and 24
(ii) invites comment from the public on the application; and 25
(iii) requests that comments be sent to the applicant and the 26
Minister within 30 days after the day on which the 27
advertisement is published. 28
(3) The advertisement must be published-- 29
s 58 46 s 59
Offshore Minerals
(a) as soon as possible after the applicant makes the application; and 1
(b) in any case, subject to subsection (4), within 14 days after the day 2
on which the applicant makes the application. 3
(4) If-- 4
(a) the applicant applies to the Minister within the 14 day period 5
referred to in subsection (3) for an extension of the period; and 6
(b) the Minister extends the period; 7
the advertisement must be published within the period as extended by the 8
Minister. 9
multiple applications are dealt with 10
How
58.(1) Subject to subsection (2), if a sub-block is covered by 2 or more 11
applications for an exploration or mining lease, the Minister must deal with 12
the applications in the order in which they are made.15 13
(2) If-- 14
(a) the applications are lodged within a particular time of each other; 15
and 16
(b) the time is less than the time prescribed under a regulation; 17
the Minister must decide the order in which the applications are to be dealt 18
with by drawing lots in the way prescribed under a regulation. 19
about sub-blocks applied for 20
Discussions
59.(1) The Minister may ask the applicant to discuss with the Minister 21
the sub-blocks covered by the application. 22
(2) The request under subsection (1) must be-- 23
(a) made in writing; and 24
(b) given to the applicant. 25
15 See also section 203 (How multiple applications are dealt with)
s 60 47 s 60
Offshore Minerals
(3) If, after discussions, the Minister and the applicant agree on the 1
sub-blocks to be covered by the application, the applicant is taken to have 2
applied for an exploration permit over the sub-blocks agreed on. 3
(4) The Minister must give the applicant written confirmation of the 4
agreement as soon as possible after the agreement is reached. 5
(5) The Minister may include in the written confirmation a direction that 6
the applicant must advertise the revised application under section 60. 7
(6) If the Minister and the applicant do not agree on the sub-blocks to be 8
covered by the application-- 9
(a) the Minister may make a written decision specifying the 10
sub-blocks to be covered by the application; and 11
(b) the applicant is taken to have applied for an exploration permit 12
over the sub-blocks specified in the decision. 13
(7) The Minister may include in the written decision a direction that the 14
applicant must advertise the revised application under section 60. 15
(8) If the Minister makes a decision under subsection (6), the Minister 16
must give a copy of the decision to the applicant as soon as possible after 17
the decision is made. 18
revised application 19
Advertising
60.(1) If-- 20
(a) the application has been revised under section 59; and 21
(b) the applicant has been given a direction under section 59(5) or (7); 22
the applicant must advertise the revised application in a newspaper 23
circulating throughout the State. 24
(2) The advertisement must contain-- 25
(a) the applicant's name and address; and 26
(b) a map and description of the sub-blocks covered by the revised 27
application that are sufficient for the sub-blocks to be identified; 28
and 29
(c) the address of the Minister; and 30
s 61 48 s 61
Offshore Minerals
(d) a statement that-- 1
(i) the applicant has applied for an exploration permit over the 2
sub-blocks described in the notice; and 3
(ii) invites comment from the public on the application; and 4
(iii) requests that comments be sent to the applicant and the 5
Minister within 30 days after the day on which the 6
advertisement is published. 7
(3) The advertisement must be published-- 8
(a) if the Minister and the applicant agree on the sub-blocks applied 9
for under subsection 59(3)--as soon as possible after the 10
applicant is given written confirmation of the agreement under 11
section 59(4); or 12
(b) if the Minister makes a decision about the sub-blocks applied for 13
under section 59(6)--as soon as possible after the applicant is 14
given a copy of the decision under section 59(8); 15
but in any case, subject to subsection (4), within 14 days after the applicant 16
is given the confirmation or copy. 17
(4) If-- 18
(a) the applicant applies to the Minister within the 14 day period 19
referred to in subsection (3) for an extension of the period; and 20
(b) the Minister extends the period; 21
the advertisement must be published within the period as extended by the 22
Minister. 23
for further information 24
Request
61.(1) The Minister may ask the applicant for further information about 25
the application. 26
(2) The request must-- 27
(a) be in writing; and 28
(b) be given to the applicant; and 29
(c) specify the time within which the information must be provided. 30
s 62 49 s 66
Offshore Minerals
(3) Information requested under subsection (1) must be provided-- 1
(a) in writing; and 2
(b) within the time specified in the request. 3
number not used 4
Section
62. See note 2 to section 3(1). 5
may provisionally grant tenure 6
Minister
63. If the applicant does what is required by sections 54 to 61, the 7
Minister may-- 8
(a) provisionally grant an exploration permit to the applicant; or 9
(b) refuse the application. 10
11
Note: Under section 88, the grant of the tenure can not be effective before it is
12
registered (see section 333 for registration). The grant will not be registered
13
until it has been properly accepted (see section 70 for "proper acceptance").
number not used 14
Section
64. See note 2 to section 3(1). 15
to be specified in the tenure 16
Matters
65. The tenure must specify-- 17
(a) the sub-blocks covered by the tenure; and 18
(b) the term of the tenure; and 19
(c) the tenure conditions. 20
21
Note: For the term of a tenure see section 18.
must be notified 22
Applicant
66.(1) The Minister must give the applicant notice of a decision under 23
section 63. 24
s 67 50 s 68
Offshore Minerals
(2) If the Minister provisionally grants an exploration permit-- 1
(a) the Minister must give the tenure to the provisional holder; and 2
(b) the notice under subsection (1) must contain notification-- 3
(i) of any decision under section 399 16 that the provisional 4
holder must lodge a security; and 5
(ii) that the provisional grant will lapse unless the provisional 6
holder, before the end of the primary payment period-- 7
(A) gives the Minister a written acceptance of the grant; and 8
(B) lodges any security required under section 399; and 9
(C) pays the fee that must be paid for the tenure under 10
section 425.17 11
of conditions 12
Amendment
67.(1) If the provisional holder is dissatisfied with the tenure conditions, 13
the provisional holder may ask the Minister to amend the conditions. 14
(2) The request must be made within 30 days after the day on which the 15
provisional holder is given the tenure under section 66. 16
(3) If a request is made under subsection (1), the Minister may amend 17
the tenure conditions as requested and, with the consent of the provisional 18
holder, otherwise amend the conditions. 19
(4) The Minister must give the provisional holder notice of a decision 20
under this section. 21
of security requirements 22
Amendment
68.(1) If the provisional holder-- 23
(a) is notified of a security requirement; and 24
(b) is dissatisfied with the amount of the security required; 25
16 Section 399 (Decision about requirement to lodge security)
17 Section 425 (Tenure fees)
s 69 51 s 70
Offshore Minerals
the provisional holder may ask the Minister to make a new decision under 1
section 399.18 2
(2) The request must be made within 30 days after the day on which the 3
provisional holder is given notice under section 66. 4
(3) If a request is made under subsection (1), the Minister may make a 5
new decision under section 399. 6
(4) The Minister must give the provisional holder notice of the new 7
decision. 8
of primary payment period 9
Extension
69.(1) If the provisional holder makes a request under section 67 or 68, 10
the provisional holder may ask the Minister to extend the primary payment 11
period. 12
(2) The request must be made within 30 days after the day on which the 13
provisional holder is given notice under section 66. 14
(3) If the Minister agrees to the request, the Minister must-- 15
(a) decide the period of the extension; and 16
(b) give the provisional holder a notice of the period of the extension. 17
of grant of exploration permit for standard sub-block 18
Acceptance
70.(1) The provisional grant of the exploration permit is properly 19
accepted by the provisional holder if, before the required time, the 20
provisional holder-- 21
(a) gives the Minister a written acceptance of the grant; and 22
(b) lodges any security required under section 399; and 23
(c) pays the fee that must be paid for the tenure under section 425.19 24
(2) The required time under subsection (1) is the end of the primary 25
payment period or, if the provisional holder has been granted an extension 26
18 Section 399 (Decision about requirement to lodge security)
19 Section 425 (Tenure fees)
s 71 52 s 73
Offshore Minerals
of the primary payment period under section 69, the end of the secondary 1
payment period. 2
3
Note: Under section 88, the grant of the tenure can not be effective before it is
4
registered (see section 333 for registration).
applicable to tenure on grant 5
Conditions
71. If the provisional grant of the tenure is properly accepted under 6
section 70, it is subject to-- 7
(a) the conditions specified in the tenure given to the applicant under 8
section 66; or 9
(b) if the Minister amended those conditions under section 67--those 10
conditions as amended. 11
of provisional grant of exploration permit 12
Lapse
72. If the provisional grant of the tenure is not properly accepted under 13
section 70, the provisional grant lapses. 14
3--Application for and grant of exploration permit over tender 15
Division
sub-block 16
to be decided before applications for exploration permit over 17
Matters
tender sub-blocks invited 18
73. If the Minister proposes to invite applications for the grant of an 19
exploration permit over reserved sub-blocks, the Minister must, before 20
inviting the applications, decide-- 21
(a) the procedure and criteria that the Minister will adopt to allocate 22
the tenure; and 23
(b) the amount of security that will be required for the tenure under 24
section 399;20 and 25
(c) the tenure conditions. 26
20 Section 399 (Decision about requirement to lodge security)
s 74 53 s 75
Offshore Minerals
may invite applications for exploration permit over tender 1
Minister
sub-blocks 2
74.(1) Subject to subsection (2), the Minister may invite applications for 3
the grant of an exploration permit over reserved sub-blocks. 4
(2) Applications may be invited for a tenure covering a group of reserved 5
sub-blocks only if the group forms a discrete area. 6
(3) The Minister is to invite applications by publishing a tender sub-block 7
tenure notice for the tenure in the gazette. 8
sub-block tenure notice--exploration permit 9
Tender
75.(1) A tender sub-block tenure notice for an exploration permit must-- 10
(a) specify the sub-blocks to be covered by the tenure; and 11
(b) specify the period within which applications may be made; and 12
(c) specify the procedure and criteria that the Minister will adopt to 13
allocate the tenure; and 14
(d) specify the amount of security that the successful applicant will be 15
required to lodge; and 16
(e) include a statement to the effect that information about-- 17
(i) the security that the successful applicant will be required to 18
lodge; and 19
(ii) the tenure conditions; 20
may be obtained from the Minister. 21
(2) Without limiting subsection (1)(c), the Minister may, for that 22
paragraph, specify that the tender will be decided on the basis of either or 23
both of the following-- 24
(a) the nature and extent of the exploration activity proposed to be 25
carried out; 26
(b) the amount of money offered for the tenure. 27
(3) The tender sub-block tenure notice may specify not more than 500 28
sub-blocks for the exploration permit. 29
s 76 54 s 78
Offshore Minerals
for exploration permit over tender sub-blocks 1
Application
76. If a tender sub-block tenure notice has been published inviting 2
applications for an exploration permit, a person may apply to the Minister 3
for the tenure. 4
ow to apply 5
H
77.(1) The application must-- 6
(a) be made in accordance with the approved form; and 7
(b) be made in the approved way; and 8
(c) be made before the end of the period specified in the tender 9
sub-block tenure notice; and 10
(d) address the criteria specified under section 75(1)(c); and 11
(e) include details of-- 12
(i) the technical qualifications of the applicant and of the 13
applicant's employees who are likely to be involved in 14
activities authorised by the tenure; and 15
(ii) the technical advice available to the applicant; and 16
(iii) the financial resources available to the applicant; and 17
(iv) if the tenure is to be held by more than 1 person--the share 18
in the tenure that each prospective holder will hold; and 19
(e) specify an address for service of notices under this Act and the 20
regulations. 21
22
Note: For paragraphs (a) and (b) see section 41.
(2) The applicant may include in the application any other information 23
that the applicant considers relevant. 24
of fee 25
Payment
78.(1) The applicant must pay the application fee prescribed under a 26
regulation. 27
(2) The fee must be paid when the application is made. 28
s 79 55 s 81
Offshore Minerals
(3) The Minister may refund any fee paid under subsection (1) but only if 1
the Minister is satisfied that special circumstances exist that justify the 2
refund of the fee. 3
for further information 4
Request
79.(1) The Minister may ask the applicant for further information about 5
the application. 6
(2) The request must-- 7
(a) be in writing; and 8
(b) be given to the applicant; and 9
(c) specify the time within which the information must be provided. 10
(3) Information requested under subsection (1) must be provided-- 11
(a) in writing; and 12
(b) within the time specified in the request. 13
number not used 14
Section
80. See note 2 to section 3(1). 15
may provisionally grant tenure 16
Minister
81.(1) The Minister may provisionally grant an exploration permit to an 17
applicant who has done what is required by sections 77 to 79. 18
(2) When provisionally granting a tenure under subsection (1), the 19
Minister must follow the procedure and apply the criteria specified in the 20
tender sub-block tenure notice published for the tenure under section 74.21 21
(3) If the Minister refuses to grant a tenure under subsection (1), the 22
Minister must give the applicant notice of the refusal. 23
21 Section 74 (Minister may invite applications for exploration permit over tender
sub-blocks)
s 82 56 s 84
Offshore Minerals
number not used 1
Section
82. See note 2 to section 3(1). 2
applicant must be notified 3
Successful
83.(1) If the Minister provisionally grants an exploration permit under 4
section 81 or 87, the Minister must give the provisional holder-- 5
(a) the tenure; and 6
(b) notice that the provisional grant will lapse unless the provisional 7
holder, within 30 days after the day on which the notice is 8
given-- 9
(i) gives the Minister a written acceptance of the grant; and 10
(ii) lodges any security required under section 399;22 and 11
(iii) pays the fee that must be paid for the tenure under 12
section 425;23 and 13
(iv) if the tender is decided on the basis of the amounts of money 14
offered for the tenure--pays to the Minister the amount that 15
the provisional holder offered for the tenure under 16
section 77(1)(d).24 17
(2) The tenure must specify-- 18
(a) the sub-blocks covered by the tenure; and 19
(b) the term of the tenure; and 20
(c) the tenure conditions.25 21
of grant of exploration permit over tender sub-blocks 22
Acceptance
84. The provisional grant of an exploration permit is properly accepted by 23
the provisional holder if, within 30 days after the day on which the 24
22 Section 399 (Decision about requirement to lodge security)
23 Section 425 (Tenure fees)
24 Section 77 (How to apply)
25 See section 88 (Initial term of exploration permit)
s 85 57 s 87
Offshore Minerals
provisional holder is given notice under section 83, the provisional holder-- 1
(a) gives the Minister a written acceptance of the grant; and 2
(b) lodges any security required under section 399;26 and 3
(c) pays the fee that must be paid for the tenure under section 425;27 4
and 5
(d) if the tender is decided on the basis of the amount of money 6
offered for the tenure--pays to the Minister the amount that the 7
provisional holder offered for the tenure under section 77(1)(d).28 8
9
Note: Under section 88, the grant of the tenure can not be effective before it is
10
registered (see section 333 for registration).
applicable to tenure on grant 11
Conditions
85. If the provisional grant of the tenure is properly accepted, the tenure is 12
subject to the conditions decided under section 73.29 13
of provisional grant of exploration permit 14
Lapse
86. If the provisional grant of the tenure is not properly accepted under 15
section 84, the provisional grant lapses. 16
grant to next applicant if grant lapses 17
Provisional
87.(1) If the provisional grant of the tenure lapses under section 86, the 18
Minister may provisionally grant the tenure to another of the applicants for 19
the tenure. 20
26 Section 399 (Decision about requirement to lodge security)
27 Section 425 (Tenure fees)
28 Section 77 (How to apply)
29 Section 73 (Matters to be decided before applications for exploration permit over
tender sub-blocks invited)
s 88 58 s 89
Offshore Minerals
(2) When provisionally granting a tenure under subsection (1), the 1
Minister must follow the procedure and apply the criteria specified in the 2
tender sub-block tenure notice published for the tenure under section 74.30 3
4--Duration of exploration permit 4
Division
term of exploration permit 5
Initial
88.(1) An exploration permit comes into force on-- 6
(a) the day on which the grant of the tenure is registered; or 7
(b) if a day later than the day on which the grant of the tenure is 8
registered is specified in the tenure as its commencement 9
day--that specified day. 10
(2) The initial term of an exploration permit ends-- 11
(a) 4 years after the day on which the tenure is provisionally granted; 12
or 13
(b) if a day later than the day on which the tenure is provisionally 14
granted is specified in the tenure as its commencement 15
day--4 years after that specified day. 16
17
Note: The tenure may be surrendered at any time (see section 127).
of renewal of exploration permit 18
Term
89.(1) A renewal of an exploration permit comes into force on the later of 19
the following days-- 20
(a) the day on which the renewal is registered; 21
(b) the day on which the previous term of the tenure expires. 22
23
Note: See division 6 for renewal.
(2) The term of a renewal of a tenure ends 2 years after the day on which 24
the previous term of the tenure expires. 25
26
Note: The tenure may be surrendered at any time (see section 127).
30 Minister may invite applications for exploration permit over tender sub-blocks)
s 90 59 s 91
Offshore Minerals
(3) In working out the previous term of the tenure, section 90 must be 1
disregarded. 2
(4) An exploration permit can not be renewed more than 3 times. 3
of suspension of rights on term of exploration permit 4
Effect
90.(1) If the Minister suspends rights conferred by an exploration permit 5
for a specified period under section 48, 31 the Minister may extend the term 6
of the tenure. 7
(2) An extension of a tenure term under subsection (1)-- 8
(a) must not be for a period that is longer than the period for which 9
the tenure rights were suspended; and 10
(b) must be in writing. 11
(3) If the Minister extends the term of a tenure under subsection (1), the 12
Minister must give the tenure holder a notice that informs the holder-- 13
(a) that the tenure has been extended; and 14
(b) of the period of the extension. 15
of application for renewal on term of exploration permit 16
Effect
91. If-- 17
(a) an exploration permit holder applies to renew the tenure under 18
section 101;32 and 19
(b) the current term of the tenure expires; and 20
(c) a renewal of the tenure does not take effect immediately after the 21
current term expires; 22
the tenure remains in force after the current term expires until-- 23
(d) a renewal of the tenure takes effect; or 24
31 Section 48 (Tenure rights may be suspended)
32 Section 101 (Application for renewal of exploration permit)
s 92 60 s 93
Offshore Minerals
(e) a provisional renewal of the tenure lapses; or 1
(f) the application for renewal is withdrawn or refused. 2
of application for mineral development licence or mining lease 3
Effect
on term of exploration permit 4
92. If-- 5
(a) an exploration permit holder applies for-- 6
(i) a mineral development licence; or 7
(ii) a mining lease; 8
over the tenure area, or part of the tenure area, of the exploration 9
permit; and 10
(b) the current term of the exploration permit expires; and 11
(c) a grant of the mineral development licence or mining lease does 12
not take effect before the current term of the exploration permit 13
expires; 14
the exploration permit remains in force until-- 15
(d) the grant of the mineral development licence or mining lease takes 16
effect; or 17
(e) a provisional grant of the mineral development licence or mining 18
lease lapses; or 19
(f) the application for the mineral development licence or mining 20
lease is withdrawn or refused. 21
of application for extension on term of tenure 22
Effect
93.(1) If-- 23
(a) an exploration permit holder applies for an extension of the term 24
of the tenure under section 94 or 96; and 25
(b) the holder has also applied to renew the tenure under 26
section 101;33 and 27
33 Section 101 (Application for renewal of exploration permit)
s 94 61 s 95
Offshore Minerals
(c) the extension application is not decided before the tenure is due to 1
expire; 2
then-- 3
(d) the renewal application lapses; and 4
(e) the tenure remains in force until-- 5
(i) if the Minister extends the term of the tenure under 6
section 95 or 97 for a specified period--30 days after the day 7
on which that period ends; or 8
(ii) if the Minister refuses to extend the term of the tenure under 9
section 95 or 97--30 days after the day on which the holder 10
is given notice of the refusal under section 98. 11
of tenure--activities disrupted 12
Extension
94.(1) If-- 13
(a) an exploration permit authorises the tenure holder to carry out an 14
activity; and 15
(b) circumstances beyond the control of the holder prevent the holder 16
from carrying out the activity; 17
the holder may apply to the Minister for an extension of the term of the 18
tenure. 19
(2) The application must be made-- 20
(a) within 30 days after the day on which the holder first became 21
aware of the circumstances; and 22
(b) before the tenure expires. 23
of tenure extension--activities disrupted 24
Grant
95.(1) Subject to subsection (2), if an exploration permit holder applies 25
for an extension under section 94, the Minister must-- 26
(a) grant an extension of the term of the tenure if the Minister is 27
satisfied that-- 28
s 96 62 s 96
Offshore Minerals
(i) the holder is or has been unable to carry out the activities 1
authorised by the tenure; and 2
(ii) the holder is or has been unable to do so because of 3
circumstances beyond the holder's control; and 4
(iii) no excluded time is included in the period of inability for 5
which an extension is sought; or 6
(b) refuse the application for extension if the Minister is not satisfied 7
of the matters referred to in paragraph (a). 8
(2) The period for which the extension is granted must not be longer than 9
the disruption period for the tenure less any excluded time for the tenure. 10
(3) The extension may be granted subject to whatever conditions the 11
Minister considers appropriate. 12
(4) In this section-- 13
"disruption period" for a tenure means the period during which the tenure 14
holder is unable to carry out activities authorised by the tenure because 15
of circumstances beyond the holder's control. 16
"excluded time" for a tenure means any period during which the tenure 17
was in force because of section 90, 91, 92 or 93. 18
19
Note: Under section 90, if the Minister has under section 48 suspended rights under a
20
tenure for a period, the Minister may extend the term of the tenure for an
21
equivalent period. Under section 91, the term of a tenure is automatically
22
extended if there is an application for the renewal of a tenure undecided when
23
the tenure is due to expire. Under section 92, the term of a tenure is
24
automatically extended if the holder applies for a mineral development
25
licence or mining lease over the tenure area. Under section 93, the term of a
26
tenure is automatically extended if there is an application for an extension of
27
the tenure undecided when the tenure is due to expire.
of tenure--other circumstances 28
Extension
96.(1) An exploration permit holder may apply to the Minister for an 29
extension of the term of the tenure if, under section 121,34 the Minister-- 30
(a) suspends a tenure condition; or 31
34 Section 121 (Exemption from or suspension of conditions)
s 97 63 s 99
Offshore Minerals
(b) exempts the holder from complying with a tenure condition. 1
(2) The application must be made not later than 30 days before the tenure 2
expires. 3
of tenure extension--other circumstances 4
Grant
97.(1) Subject to subsection (2), if an exploration permit holder applies 5
for an extension under section 96, the Minister may-- 6
(a) grant an extension of the term of the tenure; or 7
(b) refuse to grant an extension of the term of the tenure. 8
(2) The extension must not be for a period that is longer than the period 9
of the suspension or exemption. 10
(3) The extension may be granted subject to whatever conditions the 11
Minister considers appropriate. 12
of decision 13
Notification
98.(1) If the Minister grants an extension of the term of the exploration 14
permit under section 95 or 97, the Minister must give the tenure holder a 15
notice that informs the holder of-- 16
(a) the grant of extension; and 17
(b) the period of the extension; and 18
(c) if the extension is subject to conditions--the conditions. 19
(2) If the Minister refuses an application for a tenure extension, the 20
Minister must give the tenure holder a notice that informs the holder of-- 21
(a) the refusal; and 22
(b) the reasons for the refusal. 23
5--Voluntary surrender of part of exploration permit area 24
Division
surrender of sub-blocks if discrete area remains 25
Voluntary
99.(1) An exploration permit holder may surrender a sub-block or some 26
s 100 64 s 100
Offshore Minerals
of the sub-blocks covered by the tenure if the remaining sub-blocks in the 1
tenure area form a discrete area.35 2
(2) A surrender under subsection (1) must-- 3
(a) be made in writing; and 4
(b) identify the sub-blocks surrendered; and 5
(c) be given to the Minister. 6
7
Note: The surrender takes effect when it is registered under section 337 (see section
8
337(5)).
surrender of sub-blocks if up to 3 discrete areas remain 9
Voluntary
100.(1) If-- 10
(a) an exploration permit holder wants to surrender some of the 11
sub-blocks covered by the tenure; and 12
(b) the sub-blocks remaining in the tenure area after the proposed 13
surrender would form not more than 3 discrete areas; 14
the holder may apply to the Minister for approval of the proposed surrender. 15
(2) The application-- 16
(a) must be in writing; and 17
(b) must include a surrender proposal that identifies the sub-blocks in 18
the tenure area that the holder proposes to surrender; and 19
(c) may include any other information that the holder considers 20
relevant. 21
(3) If the Minister agrees with the surrender proposal, the Minister may 22
approve the surrender of the sub-blocks specified in the proposal by giving 23
the holder notice of the approval. 24
25
Note: The surrender takes effect when it is registered under section 337 (see section
26
337(5)).
(4) If the Minister does not agree with the surrender proposal, the 27
Minister may ask the holder to discuss the proposal. 28
35 See section 127 (Voluntary surrender of exploration permit) for the surrender of
the whole tenure.
s 101 65 s 102
Offshore Minerals
(5) If the Minister and the holder agree, after discussions, on the 1
sub-blocks to be surrendered, the Minister may approve the surrender of the 2
sub-blocks agreed on by giving the holder written confirmation of the 3
agreement. 4
5
Note: The surrender takes effect when it is registered under section 337 (see
6
section 337(5)).
(6) If, after discussions, the Minister and the holder do not agree on the 7
surrender proposal, no sub-blocks are surrendered. 8
Division 6--Application for and grant of renewal of exploration permit 9
for renewal of exploration permit 10
Application
101. An exploration permit holder may apply to the Minister to renew the 11
tenure. 12
13
Note 1: Part of the tenure area must be surrendered on each renewal (see
14
section 104).
15
Note 2: At each renewal, the tenure conditions are reviewed (see section 118).
application to be made 16
When
102.(1) Subject to subsections (2) and (3), the application must be made 17
at least 30 days before the day on which the tenure is to expire. 18
19
Note: If an application for extension of a tenure is made, the expiry of the tenure is
20
postponed (see section 93). For expiry of a tenure see section 126.
(2) The Minister may accept an application that is made later than 30 days 21
before the day on which the tenure is to expire if-- 22
(a) the application is made before the day on which the tenure 23
expires; and 24
(b) the Minister believes that there are reasonable grounds for 25
accepting the application. 26
(3) If a tenure remains in force because of section 93(e)(ii), the 27
application may be made at any time before the tenure ceases to be in force. 28
s 103 66 s 104
Offshore Minerals
to apply for renewal 1
How
103.(1) The application must-- 2
(a) be made in accordance with the approved form; and 3
(b) be made in the approved way; and 4
(c) include details of-- 5
(i) the activities carried out by the applicant under the tenure 6
during its current term; and 7
(ii) the amount of money spent by the applicant in relation to the 8
sub-blocks covered by the tenure during its current term; and 9
(iii) the activities that the applicant intends to carry out under the 10
tenure during the term applied for; and 11
(iv) the amount of money that the applicant intends to spend on 12
those activities during the term applied for; and 13
(d) specify the sub-blocks that the applicant nominates for surrender 14
under section 104. 15
16
Note: For paragraphs (a) and (b) see section 41.
(2) The applicant may include in the application any other information 17
that the applicant considers relevant. 18
reduction of tenure area on renewal of exploration permit 19
Mandatory
104.(1) This section deals with the mandatory reduction of the tenure area 20
covered by an exploration permit when the tenure is renewed. 21
(2) Subject to subsection (4)(b), on each surrender day of an exploration 22
permit, the tenure holder must surrender-- 23
(a) 50% of the number of sub-blocks in the tenure area; or 24
(b) if 50% of that number of the sub-blocks is a whole number and a 25
fraction--the next higher whole number of the sub-blocks. 26
(3) Subject to subsection (4)(a), the sub-blocks that remain in the tenure 27
area after a surrender under subsection (2) must form a discrete area. 28
(4) The Minister may give permission for-- 29
s 105 67 s 107
Offshore Minerals
(a) the surrender of sub-blocks in a tenure area, if the tenure area 1
remaining after the proposed surrender would consist of not more 2
than 3 discrete areas; or 3
(b) a tenure area to be reduced by less than 50%, if the Minister 4
considers that there are special circumstances present in relation to 5
the renewal application. 6
for further information 7
Request
105.(1) The Minister may ask the applicant to provide further 8
information about the application. 9
(2) The request must-- 10
(a) be in writing; and 11
(b) be given to the applicant; and 12
(c) specify the time within which the information must be provided. 13
(3) Information requested under subsection (1) must be provided-- 14
(a) in writing; and 15
(b) within the time specified in the request. 16
of fee 17
Payment
106.(1) The applicant must pay the application fee prescribed under a 18
regulation. 19
(2) The fee must be paid when the application is made. 20
(3) The Minister may refund any fee paid under subsection (1) but only if 21
the Minister is satisfied that special circumstances exist that justify the 22
refund of the fee. 23
number not used 24
Section
107. See note 2 to section 3(1). 25
s 108 68 s 110
Offshore Minerals
renewal of an exploration permit 1
Provisional
108.(1) The Minister must provisionally renew an exploration permit if 2
the applicant-- 3
(a) does what is required by sections 101 to 106; and 4
(b) has complied with-- 5
(i) this Act; and 6
(ii) the regulations; and 7
(iii) the tenure conditions. 8
9
Note 1: Under section 89, the renewal of the tenure can not be effective before it is
10
registered (see section 334 for registration). The renewal will not be
11
registered until it has been properly accepted (see section 114 for "proper
12
acceptance").
13
Note 2: Under section 118, new conditions may be imposed on renewal.
(2) If subsection (1) does not require the Minister to provisionally renew 14
the tenure, the Minister may-- 15
(a) provisionally renew the tenure; or 16
(b) refuse to renew the tenure. 17
number not used 18
Section
109. See note 2 to section 3(1). 19
must be notified 20
Applicant
110.(1) The Minister must give the applicant notice of the Minister's 21
decision under section 108. 22
(2) If the Minister provisionally renews the exploration permit under 23
section 108, the notice must contain notification-- 24
(a) of the conditions of the renewed tenure; and 25
(b) of any decision under section 399 36 that the applicant must lodge 26
a security or a further security; and 27
36 Section 399 (Decision about requirement to lodge security)
s 111 69 s 112
Offshore Minerals
(c) that the provisional renewal will lapse unless the applicant, before 1
the end of the primary payment period-- 2
(i) gives the Minister a written acceptance of the renewal; and 3
(ii) lodges any security required by the Minister under 4
section 399; and 5
(iii) pays the fees that must be paid under section 425.37 6
7
Note: Section 118 provides for renewals to be granted subject to conditions.
of conditions 8
Amendment
111.(1) If the tenure holder-- 9
(a) has been provisionally granted a renewal of the tenure under 10
section 108; and 11
(b) is notified of the tenure conditions; and 12
(c) is dissatisfied with the conditions; 13
the holder may ask the Minister to amend the conditions. 14
(2) The request must be made within 30 days after the day on which the 15
holder is given notice under section 110. 16
(3) If a request is made under subsection (1), the Minister may amend 17
the tenure conditions as requested and, with the consent of the holder, 18
otherwise amend the conditions. 19
(4) The Minister must give the holder notice of a decision under this 20
section. 21
of security requirements 22
Amendment
112.(1) If the tenure holder-- 23
(a) has been provisionally granted a renewal of the tenure under 24
section 108;38 and 25
(b) is notified of a security requirement; and 26
37 Section 425 (Tenure fees)
38 Section 108 (Provisional renewal of an exploration permit)
s 113 70 s 114
Offshore Minerals
(c) is dissatisfied with the amount of the security required; 1
the holder may ask the Minister to make a new decision under 2
section 399.39 3
(2) The request must be made within 30 days after the day on which the 4
holder is given notice under section 110. 5
(3) If a request is made under subsection (1), the Minister may make a 6
new decision under section 399. 7
(4) The Minister must give the holder notice of the new decision. 8
of primary payment period 9
Extension
113.(1) If the tenure holder makes a request under section 111 or 112, the 10
holder may ask the Minister to extend the primary payment period. 11
(2) The request must be made within 30 days after the day on which the 12
holder is given notice under section 110. 13
(3) If the Minister agrees to the request, the Minister must-- 14
(a) decide the period of the extension; and 15
(b) give the holder a notice informing the holder of the period of the 16
extension. 17
of renewal of exploration permit 18
Acceptance
114.(1) The provisional renewal of an exploration permit is properly 19
accepted by the tenure holder if, before the required time, the holder-- 20
(a) gives the Minister a written acceptance of the renewal; and 21
(b) lodges any security required under section 399; and 22
(c) pays the fee that must be paid under section 425.40 23
(2) The required time under subsection (1) is the end of the primary 24
payment period or, if the tenure holder has been granted an extension of the 25
primary payment period under section 113, the end of the secondary 26
39 Section 399 (Decision about requirement to lodge security)
40 Section 425 (Tenure fees)
s 115 71 s 117
Offshore Minerals
payment period. 1
2
Note: Under section 89, the renewal of the tenure can not be effective before it is
3
registered (see section 334 for registration).
applicable to tenure on renewal 4
Conditions
115. If the provisional renewal is properly accepted under section 114, 5
the renewed tenure is subject to-- 6
(a) the conditions specified in the notice given to the tenure holder 7
under section 110; or 8
(b) if the Minister amended those conditions under 9
section 111--those conditions as amended. 10
of provisional renewal of exploration permit 11
Lapse
116. If the provisional renewal of an exploration permit is not properly 12
accepted under section 114, the provisional renewal lapses. 13
Division 7--Obligations associated with exploration permit 14
15
General
117.(1) The sources of obligations associated with an exploration permit 16
are-- 17
(a) the tenure conditions; and 18
(b) obligations arising from directions under section 387 or 39241 19
given by the Minister; and 20
(c) obligations imposed by this Act and the regulations. 21
22
Note: For paragraph (a) see sections 118 to 120. For paragraph (c) see sections 44,
23
123 to 125, 372 and 391(1).
(2) If an exploration permit has 2 or more holders, all the holders are 24
jointly and severally bound by the obligations that attach to the tenure. 25
41 Section 387 (Minister may give directions) or section 392 (Power to give
directions after tenure etc. ends)
s 118 72 s 118
Offshore Minerals
of exploration permit 1
Conditions
118.(1) The Minister may grant or renew an exploration permit subject to 2
whatever conditions the Minister considers appropriate. 3
(2) If the Minister grants or renews an exploration permit subject to 4
conditions, the conditions must be specified in the tenure. 5
(3) Without limiting subsection (1), the Minister may attach conditions to 6
the grant or renewal of an exploration permit requiring the tenure holder to 7
do the following types of things-- 8
(a) take out insurance as required by the Minister; 9
(b) carry out certain work in or in relation to the tenure area during the 10
term of the tenure; 11
(c) spend a specified amount of money in carrying out the work 12
referred to in paragraph (b); 13
(d) lodge a security with the Minister; 14
(e) keep specified information; 15
(f) give the Minister, on request, specified information; 16
(g) a condition requiring the holder to take steps to protect the 17
environment of the tenure area, including conditions about-- 18
(i) protecting wildlife; or 19
(ii) minimising the effect on the environment of the tenure area 20
and the area surrounding the tenure area of activities carried 21
out in the tenure area; 22
(h) repair any damage to the environment caused by activities in the 23
tenure area; 24
(i) pay a specified penalty to the State if the holder does not comply 25
with a tenure condition. 26
(4) A condition under subsection (3)(d) must specify-- 27
(a) the amount of the security required; and 28
(b) the kind of security required; and 29
(c) the way and the form in which the security is to be lodged. 30
s 119 73 s 120
Offshore Minerals
(5) Without limiting subsection (3)(d), a condition under that paragraph 1
may require the lodgment of a security in the form of a guarantee and, if a 2
guarantee is required, the condition may specify-- 3
(a) the kind of person who is to give the guarantee; and 4
(b) the terms of the guarantee. 5
conditions requiring payment of money 6
No
119. Except for a condition requiring the payment of a penalty or 7
lodgment of security, a tenure condition must not require the payment of 8
money to the State. 9
of conditions 10
Variation
120.(1) If-- 11
(a) an exploration permit holder requests the Minister in writing to 12
vary the tenure conditions; or 13
(b) an exploration permit continues in force because of section 93;42 14
or 15
(c) an extension of the term of an exploration permit is granted under 16
section 95;43 or 17
(d) part of the tenure area of an exploration permit is surrendered 18
under section 99 or 100;44 19
the Minister may vary the tenure conditions. 20
(2) If the Minister gives-- 21
(a) a direction under section 387;45 or 22
(b) an approval, consent or exemption under a regulation; 23
42 Section 93 (Effect of application for extension on term of tenure)
43 Section 95 (Grant of tenure extension--activities disrupted)
44 Section 99 (Voluntary surrender of sub-blocks if discrete area remains) or
section 100 (Voluntary surrender of sub-blocks if up to 3 discrete areas remain)
45 Section 387 (Minister may give directions)
s 121 74 s 121
Offshore Minerals
to an exploration permit holder, the Minister may vary the tenure conditions 1
to the extent necessary to avoid inconsistency between the tenure conditions 2
and the direction, approval, consent or exemption. 3
(3) The Minister may vary the tenure conditions subject to whatever 4
conditions the Minister considers appropriate. 5
(4) If the Minister varies the tenure conditions, the Minister must give the 6
tenure holder a notice that-- 7
(a) informs the holder of the variation; and 8
(b) specifies the conditions that have been varied; and 9
(c) specifies any conditions to which the variation is subject. 10
from or suspension of conditions 11
Exemption
121.(1) If-- 12
(a) an exploration permit holder requests the Minister in writing to-- 13
(i) suspend a tenure condition; or 14
(ii) exempt the holder from complying with a tenure condition; 15
or 16
(b) an exploration permit continues in force because of section 93;46 17
or 18
(c) an extension of the term of an exploration permit is granted under 19
section 95;47 or 20
(d) part of the tenure area of an exploration permit is surrendered 21
under section 99 or 100;48 22
the Minister may-- 23
(e) suspend a tenure condition; or 24
(f) exempt the holder from complying with a tenure condition. 25
46 Section 93 (Effect of application for extension on term of tenure)
47 Section 95 (Grant of tenure extension--activities disrupted)
48 Section 99 (Voluntary surrender of sub-blocks if discrete area remains) or
section 100 (Voluntary surrender of sub-blocks if up to 3 discrete areas remain)
s 122 75 s 122
Offshore Minerals
(2) If the Minister gives-- 1
(a) a direction under section 387;49 or 2
(b) an approval, consent or exemption under a regulation; 3
to an exploration permit holder, the Minister may suspend a tenure 4
condition, or exempt the holder from compliance with a tenure condition, to 5
the extent necessary to avoid inconsistency between the tenure conditions 6
and the direction, approval, consent or exemption. 7
(3) The Minister may-- 8
(a) suspend a tenure condition; or 9
(b) exempt the tenure holder from complying with a tenure condition; 10
subject to whatever conditions the Minister considers appropriate. 11
(4) If the Minister-- 12
(a) suspends a tenure condition; or 13
(b) exempts the tenure holder from complying with a tenure 14
condition; 15
the Minister must give the holder a notice that-- 16
(c) informs the holder of the exemption or suspension; and 17
(d) specifies the conditions that have been suspended or affected by 18
the exemption; and 19
(e) specifies any conditions to which the suspension or exemption is 20
subject. 21
22
Note: A suspension or exemption of a condition can not be effective before it is
23
registered (see section 337).
suspension of conditions if tenure rights are suspended 24
Automatic
122. If-- 25
49 Section 387 (Minister may give directions)
s 123 76 s 124
Offshore Minerals
(a) the Minister suspends particular rights conferred by an 1
exploration permit under section 48;50 and 2
(b) a tenure condition is affected by the suspension; 3
the tenure condition is suspended for the period of the suspension of the 4
rights. 5
practices 6
Work
123. A person who is an exploration permit holder or an associate of the 7
holder, in carrying out activities in the tenure area that are authorised by the 8
tenure, must take all reasonable steps-- 9
(a) to ensure that the activities are carried out at a standard that is 10
accepted as reasonable and proper in the mining industry; and 11
(b) to maintain in good repair all structures and equipment erected in, 12
or brought into, the tenure area by the person; and 13
(c) to remove from the tenure area any structure, equipment or other 14
property that-- 15
(i) belongs to the person, or is under the person's control; and 16
(ii) is not being used, or is not going to be used, in connection 17
with the activities. 18
Maximum penalty--267 penalty units. 19
20
Note: The safety of offshore exploration activities is governed by the Mines
21
Regulation Act 1964--see the definition of "mine" in section 5 of that Act.
holder must keep specified records etc. 22
Tenure
124. An exploration permit holder must-- 23
(a) keep whatever records and samples; and 24
(b) give whatever records and samples to the Minister for inspection; 25
and 26
(c) make whatever returns; 27
50 Section 48 (Tenure rights may be suspended)
s 125 77 s 126
Offshore Minerals
are necessary to comply with-- 1
(d) the regulations; or 2
(e) the tenure conditions; or 3
(f) a direction given by the Minister under section 387.51 4
5
Note: Under sections 386 and 387 the Minister may direct a person to keep records
6
and samples, to give records and samples to the Minister, and to make returns.
Maximum penalty--134 penalty units. 7
holder must help inspectors 8
Tenure
125. An exploration permit holder must provide an inspector with 9
reasonable facilities and help so that the inspector is able to carry out 10
compliance inspections. 11
12
Note: See sections 377 to 384 for compliance inspections.
Maximum penalty--67 penalty units. 13
Division 8--Expiry of exploration permit 14
15
General
126.(1) An exploration permit expires if-- 16
(a) the term of the tenure ends without the tenure being renewed; or 17
(b) the tenure holder surrenders the tenure; or 18
(c) a mineral development licence is granted over the sub-blocks in 19
the tenure area of the exploration permit; or 20
(d) a mining lease is granted over the sub-blocks in the tenure area of 21
the exploration permit; or 22
(e) the tenure is cancelled. 23
24
Note: For paragraph (a) see division 6. For paragraph (b) see section 127. For
25
paragraph (c) see section 128. For paragraph (d) see section 129. For
26
paragraph (e) see section 130.
51 Section 387 (Minister may give directions)
s 127 78 s 129
Offshore Minerals
(2) In subsection (1)(a), the reference to the term of the tenure includes 1
any period during which the tenure is in force under section 90, 91, 92 or 2
93. 3
surrender of exploration permit 4
Voluntary
127. An exploration permit holder may surrender the tenure. 5
6
Note 1: See Division 5 for voluntary surrender of part of a tenure area.
7
Note 2: The surrender takes effect when it is registered under section 337 (see
8
section 337(5)).
expiry of exploration permit when mineral development 9
Automatic
licence takes effect 10
128. If-- 11
(a) an exploration permit is in force; and 12
(b) a mineral development licence over all or some of the sub-blocks 13
in the exploration permit area comes into force under 14
section 154;52 15
the exploration permit expires in relation to the sub-blocks covered by the 16
mineral development licence. 17
expiry of exploration permit when mining lease takes effect 18
Automatic
129. If-- 19
(a) an exploration permit is in force; and 20
(b) a mining lease over all or some of the sub-blocks in the 21
exploration permit area comes into force under section 232;53 22
the exploration permit expires in relation to the sub-blocks covered by the 23
mining lease. 24
52 Section 154 (Initial term of mineral development licence)
53 Section 232 (Initial term of mining lease)
s 130 79 s 130
Offshore Minerals
of exploration permit 1
Cancellation
130.(1) Subject to subsection (5), the Minister may cancel an exploration 2
permit if the tenure holder-- 3
(a) breaches a tenure condition; or 4
(b) contravenes a provision of this Act or the regulations; or 5
(c) breaches a condition attached to an approval under 6
section 365(2).54 7
(2) If the Minister proposes to cancel a tenure under subsection (1), the 8
Minister must give the tenure holder a notice that informs the holder of the 9
proposed cancellation. 10
(3) The notice must-- 11
(a) specify the reason for the proposed cancellation; and 12
(b) invite the holder to make submissions about the proposed 13
cancellation; and 14
(c) specify the day by which submissions may be given to the 15
Minister; and 16
(d) specify an address where submissions are to be lodged. 17
(4) The day specified under subsection (3)(c) must be not less than 18
60 days after the day on which the notice is given. 19
(5) The Minister may cancel the tenure only if-- 20
(a) the holder has been given a notice under subsection (2); and 21
(b) the Minister has considered-- 22
(i) any submission made by the holder as provided by the 23
notice under subsection (3); and 24
(ii) any steps taken by the holder to remedy the breach or 25
contravention that led to the proposal to cancel the tenure and 26
to prevent any similar breach or contravention from 27
happening again; and 28
54 Section 365 (Minister's response to application for approval)
s 131 80 s 131
Offshore Minerals
(c) the Minister is satisfied that no special circumstances exist that 1
justify the tenure not being cancelled. 2
of former exploration permit holders and former 3
Obligations
associates 4
131.(1) Subject to subsection (4), if-- 5
(a) a person was-- 6
(i) an exploration permit holder; or 7
(ii) an associate of an exploration permit holder; and 8
(b) the tenure-- 9
(i) expires; or 10
(ii) is cancelled; or 11
(iii) is surrendered; and 12
(c) an obligation associated with the tenure arising out of-- 13
(i) a tenure condition; or 14
(ii) a direction given under section 387; or 15
(iii) this Act or the regulations; or 16
has not been discharged; and 17
(d) the person was bound by that obligation when the person was the 18
tenure holder or an associate; 19
the person remains bound by the obligation until the obligation is 20
discharged. 21
(2) Subsection (1) does not continue an obligation to carry out 22
exploration or recovery activities. 23
(3) Subsection (1) continues an obligation that a person had to carry out 24
exploration or recovery activities in a particular way if the person carries 25
them out. 26
(4) The Minister may decide that the person is not subject to-- 27
(a) any particular obligation under this section; or 28
s 132 81 s 133
Offshore Minerals
(b) all the person's remaining obligations under this section. 1
(5) A decision under subsection (4) must be in writing. 2
ART 2.3--MINERAL DEVELOPMENT LICENCES 3
P
Division 1--General 4
development licences 5
Mineral
132. This part provides for the grant of mineral development licences 6
over sub-blocks in coastal waters. 7
8
Note: A mineral development licence is designed to allow an exploration permit
9
holder to retain rights over an area if--
10
· the holder has identified and evaluated a significant mineral deposit in
11
the exploration permit area; and
12
· mining the deposit is not commercially viable in the short term; and
13
· there is a reasonable prospect of development of the deposit in the longer
14
term.
15
See section 145 for the grounds on which a mineral development licence may be
16
granted.
authorised by a mineral development licence 17
Activities
133.(1) Subject to subsections (2) and (3), a mineral development licence 18
holder may-- 19
(a) explore for minerals in the tenure area; and 20
(b) recover minerals in the tenure area. 21
22
Note 1: The mineral development licence may specify a restricted range of
23
activities that are the only ones authorised by the tenure (see section
24
146(3)).
25
Note 2: Under section 23(1), the concept of "exploration" extends to activities that
26
are directly related to exploration.
s 134 82 s 135
Offshore Minerals
1
Note 3: Under section 24(1), the concept of "recovery" extends to activities that are
2
directly related to the recovery of minerals.
(2) A mineral development licence does not authorise the recovery of 3
minerals as part of a commercial mining operation. 4
(3) If the tenure is expressed to restrict the kind of minerals covered by 5
the tenure, the holder is not permitted to explore for, or to recover, minerals 6
not covered by the tenure. 7
(4) A restriction on the kind of minerals covered by the tenure may be 8
inclusive (for example, only minerals A, B and C) or exclusive (for 9
example, all minerals except A, B and C). 10
(5) For subsection (3), the holder does not recover an excluded mineral 11
if, in the course of exploring for, or recovering, another mineral, the holder 12
recovers some excluded mineral. 13
may cancel or not renew mineral development licence without 14
Minister
compensation 15
134. No compensation is payable because of the cancellation or 16
non-renewal of a mineral development licence by the Minister. 17
18
Note 1: The Minister may cancel the tenure under section 189 or 190.
19
Note 2: The Minister may refuse to renew the tenure under section 165.
rights may be suspended 20
Tenure
135.(1) The Minister must suspend particular rights conferred by a 21
mineral development licence if the Minister is satisfied that it is necessary in 22
the public interest to do so. 23
(2) The Minister may suspend rights under subsection (1) for a specified 24
period or for an indefinite period. 25
(3) The Minister may end a suspension at any time. 26
(4) A suspension or the ending of a suspension must be in writing. 27
(5) If the Minister-- 28
(a) suspends rights conferred by a mineral development licence; or 29
(b) ends a suspension; 30
s 136 83 s 136
Offshore Minerals
the Minister must give the tenure holder a notice that informs the holder of 1
the suspension or the ending of a suspension. 2
3
Note: See section 181 for the effect of the suspension on the obligations associated
4
with the tenure.
(6) A suspension takes effect when-- 5
(a) the holder has been given notice of the suspension under 6
subsection (5); and 7
(b) the suspension has been registered under section 337.55 8
for acquisition of property due to suspension of rights 9
Compensation
136.(1) If-- 10
(a) the Minister suspends tenure rights under section 135;56 and 11
(b) the suspension results in the acquisition of property from a 12
person; and 13
(c) the State and the person agree on an amount of compensation for 14
the acquisition; 15
the State must pay the person the agreed amount of compensation. 16
(2) If-- 17
(a) the Minister suspends tenure rights under section 135; and 18
(b) the suspension results in the acquisition of property from a 19
person; and 20
(c) the State and the person do not agree on an amount of 21
compensation for the acquisition; and 22
(d) the person brings an action for compensation against the State in 23
the Wardens Court; 24
the State must pay the person the amount of compensation (if any) that is 25
decided by the court. 26
(3) In this section-- 27
55 Section 337 (Amendments etc. to tenures)
56 Section 135 (Tenure rights may be suspended)
s 137 84 s 138
Offshore Minerals
"acquisition of property" see the Commonwealth Constitution, 1
section 51(xxxi). 2
2--Application for and grant of mineral development licence 3
Division
for mineral development licence 4
Application
137.(1) An exploration permit holder may apply to the Minister for a 5
mineral development licence over sub-blocks within the exploration permit 6
area. 7
(2) A person may apply for a mineral development licence over a group 8
of sub-blocks only if-- 9
(a) the group forms a discrete area; and 10
(b) there are not more than 20 sub-blocks in the group. 11
(3) The exploration permit holder may apply for 2 or more mineral 12
development licences over different parts of the exploration permit area. 13
ow to apply 14
H
138.(1) The application must-- 15
(a) be made in accordance with the approved form; and 16
(b) be made in the approved way; and 17
(c) specify the sub-blocks for which the application is made; and 18
(d) include details of-- 19
(i) the reasons that the applicant is applying for a mineral 20
development licence rather than a mining lease; and 21
(ii) the mineral deposit that the applicant has identified and 22
evaluated and that the applicant believes is commercially 23
viable in the longer term; and 24
(iii) the applicant's assessment of the present and potential 25
commercial viability of the mineral deposit; and 26
s 139 85 s 139
Offshore Minerals
(iv) the overall work program that the applicant has already 1
carried out under the exploration permit on the sub-blocks 2
covered by the application; and 3
(v) the amount of money that the applicant has already spent 4
under the exploration permit on and in connection with the 5
sub-blocks covered by the application; and 6
(vi) the activities that the applicant intends to carry out on the 7
sub-blocks covered by the application; and 8
(vii) the amount of money that the applicant intends to spend on 9
and in connection with those activities; and 10
(viii)the technical qualifications of the applicant and of the 11
applicant's employees who are likely to be involved in 12
activities authorised by the tenure; and 13
(ix) the technical advice available to the applicant; and 14
(x) the financial resources available to the applicant; and 15
(e) be accompanied by maps that-- 16
(i) relate to the sub-blocks; and 17
(ii) comply with the regulations; and 18
(f) specify an address for service of notices under this Act and the 19
regulations. 20
21
Note: For paragraphs (a) and (b) see section 41.
(2) The mineral deposit details given under subsection (1)(d)(ii) must 22
include-- 23
(a) a full description of the mineral deposit; and 24
(b) both factual information about the deposit and the applicant's 25
interpretation of the factual information. 26
(3) The applicant may include in the application any other information 27
that the applicant considers relevant. 28
of fee 29
Payment
139.(1) The applicant must pay the application fee prescribed under a 30
s 140 86 s 140
Offshore Minerals
regulation. 1
(2) The fee must be paid when the application is made. 2
(3) The Minister may refund any fee paid under subsection (1) but only if 3
the Minister is satisfied that special circumstances exist that justify the 4
refund of the fee. 5
must be advertised 6
Application
140.(1) The applicant must advertise the application in a newspaper 7
circulating throughout the State. 8
(2) The advertisement must contain-- 9
(a) the applicant's name and address; and 10
(b) a map and description of the sub-blocks applied for that are 11
sufficient for the sub-blocks to be identified; and 12
(c) the address of the Minister; and 13
(d) a statement that-- 14
(i) the applicant has applied for a mineral development licence 15
for the sub-blocks described in the notice; and 16
(ii) invites comment from the public on the application; and 17
(iii) requests that comments be sent to the applicant and the 18
Minister within 30 days after the day on which the 19
advertisement is published. 20
(3) The advertisement must be published-- 21
(a) as soon as possible after the applicant makes the application; and 22
(b) in any case, subject to subsection (4), within 14 days after the day 23
on which the applicant makes the application. 24
(4) If-- 25
(a) the applicant applies to the Minister within the 14 day period 26
referred to in subsection (3) for an extension of the period; and 27
(b) the Minister extends the period; 28
s 141 87 s 144
Offshore Minerals
the advertisement must be published within the period as extended by the 1
Minister. 2
for further information 3
Request
141.(1) The Minister may ask the applicant for further information about 4
the application. 5
(2) The request must-- 6
(a) be in writing; and 7
(b) be given to the applicant; and 8
(c) specify the time within which the information must be provided. 9
(3) Information requested under subsection (1) must be provided-- 10
(a) in writing; and 11
(b) within the time specified in the request. 12
number not used 13
Section
142. See note 2 to section 3(1). 14
may provisionally grant tenure 15
Minister
143. If the applicant does what is required by sections 138 to 141, the 16
Minister may-- 17
(a) subject to section 145, provisionally grant a mineral development 18
licence to the applicant; or 19
(b) refuse the application. 20
21
Note: Under section 154, the grant of the tenure can not be effective before it is
22
registered (see section 333 for registration). The grant will not be registered
23
until it has been properly accepted (see section 151 for "proper acceptance").
number not used 24
Section
144. See note 2 to section 3(1). 25
s 145 88 s 146
Offshore Minerals
for granting mineral development licence 1
Grounds
145.(1) The Minister may provisionally grant the mineral development 2
licence only if the Minister is satisfied that-- 3
(a) the exploration permit holder has identified and evaluated a 4
significant mineral deposit in the exploration permit area; and 5
(b) there are reasonable grounds for the holder not applying 6
immediately for a mining lease. 7
(2) Without limiting subsection (1), reasonable grounds for not applying 8
immediately for a mining lease include the following-- 9
(a) the need to obtain government approvals (for example, relating to 10
environmental protection) before mining activities can commence; 11
(b) the need to carry out further exploration or evaluation in order to 12
establish the commercial viability of a mineral deposit found in 13
the tenure area; 14
(c) the need to develop technologies before mining activities can 15
commence; 16
(d) the need to arrange finance, or to secure additional capital 17
reserves, before mining activities can commence; 18
(e) the existence of economic considerations (for example, the 19
prevailing condition of the commodity market for the minerals 20
concerned) that effectively preclude mining activities in the 21
immediate future; 22
(f) the existence of political considerations that effectively preclude 23
mining activities in the immediate future. 24
to be specified in the tenure 25
Matters
146.(1) The tenure must specify-- 26
(a) the sub-blocks covered by the tenure; and 27
(b) the term of the tenure; and 28
(c) the tenure conditions. 29
(2) The term specified under subsection (1)(b) must not be more than 30
5 years. 31
s 147 89 s 148
Offshore Minerals
(3) The tenure may specify the activities that may be carried out under the 1
tenure. 2
(4) If the tenure includes a specification under subsection (3), the tenure 3
authorises only the specified activities. 4
must be notified 5
Applicant
147.(1) The Minister must give the applicant notice of a decision under 6
section 143.57 7
(2) If the Minister provisionally grants a mineral development licence-- 8
(a) the Minister must give the tenure to the provisional holder; and 9
(b) the notice under subsection (1) must contain notification-- 10
(i) of any decision under section 399 58 that the provisional 11
holder must lodge a security; and 12
(ii) that the provisional grant will lapse unless the provisional 13
holder, before the end of the primary payment period-- 14
(A) gives the Minister a written acceptance of the grant; and 15
(B) lodges any security required under section 399; and 16
(C) pays the fee that must be paid for the tenure under 17
section 425.59 18
of conditions 19
Amendment
148.(1) If the provisional holder is dissatisfied with the tenure conditions, 20
the provisional holder may ask the Minister to amend the conditions. 21
(2) The request must be made within 30 days after the day on which the 22
provisional holder is given the tenure under section 147. 23
(3) If a request is made under subsection (1), the Minister may amend 24
the tenure conditions as requested and, with the consent of the provisional 25
57 Section 143 (Minister may provisionally grant tenure)
58 Section 399 (Decision about requirement to lodge security)
59 Section 425 (Tenure fees)
s 149 90 s 151
Offshore Minerals
holder, otherwise amend the conditions. 1
(4) The Minister must give the provisional holder notice of a decision 2
under this section. 3
of security requirements 4
Amendment
149.(1) If the provisional holder-- 5
(a) is notified of a security requirement; and 6
(b) is dissatisfied with the amount of the security required; 7
the provisional holder may ask the Minister to make a new decision under 8
section 399. 9
(2) The request must be made within 30 days after the day on which the 10
provisional holder is given notice under section 147. 11
(3) If a request is made under subsection (1), the Minister may make a 12
new decision under section 399. 13
(4) The Minister must give the provisional holder notice of the new 14
decision. 15
of primary payment period 16
Extension
150.(1) If the provisional holder makes a request under section 148 or 17
149, the provisional holder may ask the Minister to extend the primary 18
payment period. 19
(2) The request must be made within 30 days after the day on which the 20
provisional holder is given notice under section 147. 21
(3) If the Minister agrees to the request, the Minister must-- 22
(a) decide the period of the extension; and 23
(b) give the provisional holder a notice of the period of the extension. 24
of grant of mineral development licence 25
Acceptance
151.(1) The provisional grant of a mineral development licence is 26
properly accepted by the provisional holder if, before the required time, the 27
provisional holder-- 28
s 152 91 s 154
Offshore Minerals
(a) gives the Minister a written acceptance of the grant; and 1
(b) lodges any security required under section 399;60 and 2
(c) pays the fee that must be paid for the tenure under section 425.61 3
(2) The required time under subsection (1) is the end of the primary 4
payment period or, if the provisional holder has been granted an extension 5
of the primary payment period under section 150, the end of the secondary 6
payment period. 7
8
Note: Under section 154, the grant of the tenure can not be effective before the grant
9
is registered (see section 333 for registration).
applicable to tenure on grant 10
Conditions
152. If the provisional grant of the tenure is properly accepted under 11
section 151, it is subject to-- 12
(a) the conditions specified in the tenure given to the applicant under 13
section 147; or 14
(b) if the Minister amended those conditions under 15
section 148--those conditions as amended. 16
of provisional grant of mineral development licence 17
Lapse
153. If the provisional grant of the tenure is not properly accepted under 18
section 151, the provisional grant lapses. 19
3--Duration of mineral development licence 20
Division
term of mineral development licence 21
Initial
154.(1) A mineral development licence comes into force on-- 22
(a) the day on which the grant of the tenure is registered; or 23
(b) if a day later than the day on which the grant of the tenure is 24
60 Section 399 (Decision about requirement to lodge security)
61 Section 425 (Tenure fees)
s 155 92 s 156
Offshore Minerals
registered is specified in the tenure as its commencement 1
day--that specified day. 2
(2) The initial term of a mineral development licence expires at the end of 3
the period specified in the tenure under section 146(1). 4
5
Note 1: For the maximum initial term see section 146(2).
6
Note 2: The tenure may be surrendered at any time (see section 187).
(3) The period runs from-- 7
(a) the day on which the tenure is provisionally granted; or 8
(b) if a day later than the day on which the tenure is provisionally 9
granted is specified in the tenure as its commencement day--that 10
specified day. 11
of renewal of tenure 12
Term
155.(1) A renewal of a mineral development licence comes into force on 13
the later of the following days-- 14
(a) the day on which the renewal is registered; or 15
(b) the day on which the previous term of the tenure expires. 16
17
Note: See division 5 for renewal.
(2) The term of a renewal of a tenure expires at the end of the period 18
specified in the notice under section 169.62 19
20
Note 1: For the maximum term of renewal see section 169(3).
21
Note 2: The tenure may be surrendered at any time (see section 187).
(3) The period runs from the expiry of the previous term of the tenure. 22
(4) In working out the period referred to in subsection (3), section 156 23
must be disregarded. 24
of application for renewal on term of mineral development 25
Effect
licence 26
156. If-- 27
62 Section 169 (Applicant must be notified)
s 157 93 s 158
Offshore Minerals
(a) a mineral development licence holder applies to renew the tenure 1
under section 159; and 2
(b) the current term of the tenure expires; and 3
(c) a renewal of the tenure does not take effect immediately after the 4
current term expires; 5
the tenure remains in force after the current term expires until-- 6
(d) a renewal of the tenure takes effect; or 7
(e) a provisional renewal of the tenure lapses; or 8
(f) the application for renewal is withdrawn or refused. 9
of application for mining lease on term of mineral development 10
Effect
licence 11
157. If-- 12
(a) a mineral development licence holder applies for a mining lease 13
over the tenure area, or part of the tenure area, of the mineral 14
development licence; and 15
(b) the current term of the mineral development licence expires; and 16
(c) a grant of the mining lease does not take effect before the current 17
term of the mineral development licence expires; 18
the mineral development licence remains in force until-- 19
(d) the grant of the mining lease takes effect; or 20
(e) a provisional grant of the mining lease lapses; or 21
(f) the application for the mining lease is withdrawn or refused. 22
Division 4--Voluntary surrender of part of mineral development licence 23
area 24
surrender of sub-blocks if discrete area remains 25
Voluntary
158.(1) A mineral development licence holder may surrender a sub-block 26
or some of the sub-blocks covered by the tenure if the remaining sub-blocks 27
s 159 94 s 161
Offshore Minerals
in the tenure area form a discrete area. 1
2
Note: See section 187 for the surrender of the whole tenure.
(2) A surrender under subsection (1) must-- 3
(a) be made in writing; and 4
(b) identify the sub-blocks surrendered; and 5
(c) be given to the Minister. 6
7
Note: The surrender takes effect when it is registered under section 337 (see
8
section 337(5)).
Division 5--Application for and grant of renewal of mineral 9
development licence 10
for renewal of mineral development licence 11
Application
159. A mineral development licence holder may apply to the Minister to 12
renew the tenure. 13
14
Note: At each renewal, the tenure conditions are reviewed (see section 177).
application to be made 15
When
160.(1) Subject to subsection (2), the application must be made at least 16
6 months before the day on which the tenure is to expire. 17
(2) The Minister may accept an application that is made later than 18
6 months before the day on which the tenure is to expire if-- 19
(a) the application is made before the day on which the tenure 20
expires; and 21
(b) the Minister believes that there are reasonable grounds for 22
accepting the application. 23
to apply for renewal 24
How
161.(1) The application must-- 25
(a) be made in accordance with the approved form; and 26
s 162 95 s 162
Offshore Minerals
(b) be made in the approved way; and 1
(c) include details of-- 2
(i) the reasons that the applicant is applying to renew the 3
mineral development licence rather than applying for a 4
mining lease; and 5
(ii) the activities carried out by the applicant under the tenure 6
during its current term; and 7
(iii) the amount of money spent by the applicant in relation to the 8
sub-blocks covered by the tenure during its current term; and 9
(iv) the results obtained by the applicant from carrying out the 10
activities referred to in subparagraph (ii); and 11
(v) the activities that the applicant intends to carry out under the 12
tenure during the term applied for; and 13
(vi) the amount of money that the applicant intends to spend in 14
relation to activities authorised by the tenure during the term 15
applied for. 16
17
Note: For paragraphs (a) and (b) see section 41.
(2) The applicant may include in the application any other information 18
that the applicant considers relevant. 19
for further information 20
Request
162.(1) The Minister may ask the applicant to provide further 21
information about the application. 22
(2) The request must-- 23
(a) be in writing; and 24
(b) be given to the applicant; and 25
(c) specify the time within which the information must be provided. 26
(3) Information requested under subsection (1) must be provided-- 27
(a) in writing; and 28
(b) within the time specified in the request. 29
s 163 96 s 167
Offshore Minerals
of fee 1
Payment
163.(1) The applicant must pay the application fee prescribed under a 2
regulation. 3
(2) The fee must be paid when the application is made. 4
(3) The Minister may refund any fee paid under subsection (1) but only if 5
the Minister is satisfied that special circumstances exist that justify the 6
refund of the fee. 7
number not used 8
Section
164. See note 2 to section 3(1). 9
renewal of mineral development licence 10
Provisional
165. The Minister may-- 11
(a) provisionally renew the tenure; or 12
(b) subject to section 168, refuse to renew the tenure. 13
14
Note 1: Under section 155, the renewal of the tenure can not be effective before it is
15
registered (see section 334 for registration). The renewal will not be
16
registered until it has been properly accepted (see section 173 for "proper
17
acceptance").
18
Note 2: Under section 177, new conditions may be imposed on renewal.
number not used 19
Section
166. See note 2 to section 3(1). 20
that may be taken into account 21
Matters
167. In deciding whether to renew the tenure, the Minister may have 22
regard to-- 23
(a) whether mining activities are commercially viable in the mineral 24
development licence area; and 25
(b) whether the applicant has complied with-- 26
(i) this Act; and 27
s 168 97 s 169
Offshore Minerals
(ii) the regulations; and 1
(iii) any tenure conditions. 2
of application for renewal 3
Refusal
168.(1) If the Minister proposes to refuse to renew the tenure, the 4
Minister must give the applicant notice of the proposed refusal. 5
6
Note: The mineral development licence remains in force until the application for
7
renewal has been finally decided (i.e. until the Minister decides whether or not
8
to renew the tenure) (see section 156).
(2) The notice must-- 9
(a) give details of the Minister's reasons for the proposal not to 10
renew the tenure; and 11
(b) invite the applicant to make written submissions on the proposed 12
non-renewal to the Minister; and 13
(c) specify the day by which submissions may be made to the 14
Minister. 15
(3) The day specified under subsection (2)(c) must be at least 30 days 16
after the day on which the notice under subsection (1) is given to the 17
applicant. 18
4) The Minister, in deciding whether to refuse to renew the tenure, must 19
have regard to any submissions made by the applicant in response to the 20
notice under subsection (1). 21
must be notified 22
Applicant
169.(1) The Minister must give the applicant notice of the Minister's 23
decision under section 165. 24
(2) If the Minister provisionally renews the tenure under section 165, the 25
notice must contain notification-- 26
(a) of the term of the renewal; and 27
(b) of the conditions of the renewed tenure; and 28
s 170 98 s 170
Offshore Minerals
(c) of any decision under section 399 63 that the applicant must lodge 1
a security or a further security; and 2
(d) that the provisional renewal will lapse unless the applicant, before 3
the end of the primary payment period-- 4
(i) gives the Minister a written acceptance of the renewal; and 5
(ii) lodges any security required under section 399; and 6
(iii) pays the fee that must be paid under section 425.64 7
8
Note: Paragraph (b): section 177 provides for renewals to be granted subject to
9
conditions.
(3) The term specified under subsection (2)(a) must not be more than 10
5 years. 11
of conditions 12
Amendment
170.(1) If the tenure holder-- 13
(a) has been provisionally granted a renewal of the tenure under 14
section 165; and 15
(b) is notified of the tenure conditions; and 16
(c) is dissatisfied with the conditions; 17
the holder may ask the Minister to amend the conditions. 18
(2) The request must be made within 30 days after the day on which the 19
applicant is given notice under section 169. 20
(3) If a request is made under subsection (1), the Minister may amend 21
the tenure conditions as requested and, with the consent of the holder, 22
otherwise amend the conditions. 23
(4) The Minister must give the holder notice of a decision under this 24
section. 25
63 Section 399 (Decision about requirement to lodge security)
64 Section 425 (Tenure fees)
s 171 99 s 173
Offshore Minerals
of security requirements 1
Amendment
171.(1) If the tenure holder-- 2
(a) has been provisionally granted a renewal of the tenure under 3
section 165; and 4
(b) is notified of a security requirement; and 5
(c) is dissatisfied with the amount of the security required; 6
the holder may ask the Minister to make a new decision under 7
section 399.65 8
(2) The request must be made within 30 days after the day on which the 9
holder is given notice under section 169. 10
(3) If a request is made under subsection (1), the Minister may make a 11
new decision under section 399. 12
(4) The Minister must give the holder notice of the new decision. 13
of primary payment period 14
Extension
172.(1) If the tenure holder makes a request under section 170 or 171, the 15
holder may ask the Minister to extend the primary payment period. 16
(2) The request must be made within 30 days after the day on which the 17
holder is given notice under section 169. 18
(3) If the Minister agrees to the request to extend the primary payment 19
period, the Minister must-- 20
(a) decide the period of the extension; and 21
(b) give the holder a notice informing the holder of the period of the 22
extension. 23
of renewal of mineral development licence 24
Acceptance
173.(1) The provisional renewal of a mineral development licence is 25
properly accepted by the tenure holder if, before the required time, the 26
holder-- 27
65 Section 399 (Decision about requirement to lodge security)
s 174 100 s 176
Offshore Minerals
(a) gives the Minister a written acceptance of the renewal; and 1
(b) lodges any security required under section 399; and 2
(c) pays the fee that must be paid under section 425. 3
(2) The required time under subsection (1) is the end of the primary 4
payment period or, if the tenure holder has been granted an extension of the 5
primary payment period under section 172, the end of the secondary 6
payment period. 7
8
Note: Under section 155, the renewal of the tenure can not be effective before it is
9
registered (see section 334 for registration).
applicable to tenure on renewal 10
Conditions
174. If the provisional renewal is properly accepted under section 173, 11
the renewed tenure is subject to-- 12
(a) the conditions specified in the notice given to the tenure holder 13
under section 169; or 14
(b) if the Minister amended those conditions under 15
section 170--those conditions as amended. 16
of provisional renewal of mineral development licence 17
Lapse
175. If the provisional renewal of a mineral development licence is not 18
properly accepted under section 173, the provisional renewal lapses. 19
Division 6--Obligations associated with mineral development licence 20
21
General
176.(1) The sources of obligations associated with a mineral 22
development licence are-- 23
(a) the tenure conditions; and 24
s 177 101 s 177
Offshore Minerals
(b) obligations arising from directions under section 387 or 39266 1
given by the Minister; and 2
(c) obligations imposed by this Act and the regulations. 3
4
Note: For paragraph (a) see sections 177 to 179. For paragraph (c) see sections 44,
5
177 to 185, 372 and 391(1).
(2) If a mineral development licence has 2 or more holders, all the 6
holders are jointly and severally bound by the obligations that attach to the 7
tenure. 8
of mineral development licence 9
Conditions
177.(1) The Minister may grant or renew a mineral development licence 10
subject to whatever conditions the Minister considers appropriate. 11
(2) If the Minister grants or renews a mineral development licence 12
subject to conditions, the conditions must be specified in the tenure. 13
(3) Without limiting subsection (1), the Minister may attach conditions to 14
the grant or renewal of a mineral development licence requiring the tenure 15
holder to do the following types of things-- 16
(a) take out insurance as required by the Minister; 17
(b) carry out certain activities in or in relation to the tenure area during 18
the term of the tenure; 19
(c) spend a specified amount of money in carrying out the activities 20
referred to in paragraph (b); 21
(d) lodge a security with the Minister; 22
(e) keep specified information; 23
(f) give the Minister, on request, specified information; 24
(g) take steps to protect the environment of the tenure area, including 25
conditions about-- 26
(i) protecting wildlife; or 27
66 Section 387 (Minister may give directions) or section 392 (Power to give
directions after tenure etc. ends)
s 178 102 s 179
Offshore Minerals
(ii) minimising the effect on the environment of the tenure area 1
and the area surrounding the tenure area of activities carried 2
out in the tenure area; 3
(h) repair any damage to the environment caused by activities in the 4
tenure area; 5
(i) pay a specified penalty to the State if the holder does not comply 6
with a tenure condition. 7
(4) A condition under subsection (3)(d) must specify-- 8
(a) the amount of the security required; and 9
(b) the kind of security required; and 10
(c) the way and the form in which the security is to be lodged. 11
(5) Without limiting subsection (3)(d), a condition under that provision 12
may require the lodgment of a security in the form of a guarantee and, if a 13
guarantee is required, the condition may specify-- 14
(a) the kind of person who is to give the guarantee; and 15
(b) the terms of the guarantee. 16
conditions requiring payment of money 17
No
178. Except for a condition requiring the payment of a penalty or 18
lodgment of a security, a tenure condition must not require the payment of 19
money to the State. 20
of conditions 21
Variation
179.(1) If-- 22
(a) a mineral development licence holder requests the Minister in 23
writing to amend the tenure conditions; or 24
(b) part of the tenure area of a mineral development licence is 25
surrendered under section 158;67 26
the Minister may vary the tenure conditions. 27
67 Section 158 (Voluntary surrender of sub-blocks if discrete area remains)
s 180 103 s 180
Offshore Minerals
(2) If a Minister gives-- 1
(a) a direction under section 387;68 or 2
(b) an approval, consent or exemption under a regulation; 3
to a mineral development licence holder, the Minister may vary the tenure 4
condition to the extent necessary to avoid inconsistency between the tenure 5
conditions and the direction, approval, consent or exemption. 6
(3) The Minister may vary the tenure conditions subject to whatever 7
conditions the Minister considers appropriate. 8
(4) If the Minister varies the tenure conditions, the Minister must give the 9
tenure holder a notice that-- 10
(a) informs the holder of the variation; and 11
(b) specifies the conditions that have been varied; and 12
(c) specifies any conditions to which the variation is subject. 13
from or suspension of conditions 14
Exemption
180.(1) If-- 15
(a) a mineral development licence holder requests the Minister in 16
writing to-- 17
(i) suspend a tenure condition; or 18
(ii) exempt the holder from complying with a tenure condition; 19
or 20
(b) part of the tenure area of a mineral development licence is 21
surrendered under section 158;69 22
the Minister may-- 23
(c) suspend a tenure condition; or 24
(d) exempt the holder from complying with a tenure condition. 25
(2) If the Minister gives-- 26
68 Section 387 (Minister may give directions)
69 Section 158 (Voluntary surrender of sub-blocks if discrete area remains)
s 181 104 s 181
Offshore Minerals
(a) a direction under section 387;70 or 1
(b) an approval, consent or exemption under a regulation; 2
to a mineral development licence holder, the Minister may suspend a tenure 3
condition, or exempt the holder from compliance with a tenure condition, to 4
the extent necessary to avoid inconsistency between the tenure conditions 5
and the direction, approval, consent or exemption. 6
(3) The Minister may-- 7
(a) suspend a tenure condition; or 8
(b) exempt the tenure holder from compliance with a tenure 9
condition; 10
subject to whatever conditions the Minister considers appropriate. 11
(4) If the Minister-- 12
(a) suspends a tenure condition; or 13
(b) exempts the tenure holder from complying with a tenure 14
condition; 15
the Minister must give the holder a notice that-- 16
(c) informs the holder of the exemption or suspension; and 17
(d) specifies the conditions that have been suspended or affected by 18
the exemption; and 19
(e) specifies any conditions to which the suspension or exemption is 20
subject. 21
22
Note: A suspension or exemption of a condition does not take effect until registered
23
(see section 337).
suspension of conditions if tenure rights are suspended 24
Automatic
181. If-- 25
(a) the Minister suspends particular rights conferred by a mineral 26
development licence under section 135;71 and 27
70 Section 387 (Minister may give directions)
71 Section 135 (Tenure rights may be suspended)
s 182 105 s 183
Offshore Minerals
(b) a tenure condition is affected by the suspension; 1
the tenure condition is suspended for the period of the suspension of the 2
rights. 3
changes in circumstances to be reported to Minister 4
Significant
182.(1) A mineral development licence holder must notify the Minister 5
of any change of circumstances that significantly affects the long term 6
viability of mining activities in the mineral development licence area. 7
8
Note: The Minister may cancel the mineral development licence if the Minister
9
believes that circumstances have changed so that mining activities can now
10
commence (see section 190).
(2) Subsection (1) applies to a change of circumstances whether 11
favourable or unfavourable to the long term viability of mining activities in 12
the mineral development licence area. 13
practices 14
Work
183. A person who is a mineral development licence holder, or an 15
associate of the holder, in carrying out activities in the tenure area that are 16
authorised by the tenure, must take all reasonable steps-- 17
(a) to ensure that the activities are carried out at a standard that is 18
accepted as reasonable and proper in the mining industry; and 19
(b) to maintain in good repair all structures and equipment erected in, 20
or brought into, the tenure area by the person; and 21
(c) to remove from the tenure area any structure, equipment or other 22
property that-- 23
(i) belongs to the person, or is under the person's control; and 24
(ii) is not being used, or is not going to be used, in connection 25
with the activities. 26
Maximum penalty--267 penalty units. 27
28
Note: The safety of offshore exploration activities is governed by the Mines
29
Regulation Act 1964--see the definition "mine" in section 5 of that Act.
s 184 106 s 186
Offshore Minerals
holder must keep specified records etc. 1
Tenure
184. A mineral development licence holder must-- 2
(a) keep whatever records and samples; and 3
(b) give whatever records and samples to the Minister for inspection; 4
and 5
(c) make whatever returns; 6
are necessary to comply with-- 7
(d) the regulations; or 8
(e) the tenure conditions; or 9
(f) a direction given by the Minister under section 387.72 10
11
Note: Under sections 386 and 387 the Minister may direct a person to keep records
12
and samples to give records and samples to the Minister, and to make returns.
Maximum penalty--134 penalty units. 13
holder must help inspectors 14
Tenure
185. A mineral development licence holder must provide an inspector 15
with reasonable facilities and help so that the inspector is able to carry out 16
compliance inspections. 17
18
Note: See sections 377 to 384 for compliance inspections.
Maximum penalty--67 penalty units. 19
Division 7--Expiry of mineral development licence 20
21
General
186. A mineral development licence expires if-- 22
(a) the term of the tenure ends without the tenure being renewed; or 23
(b) the tenure holder surrenders the tenure; or 24
72 Section 387 (Minister may give directions)
s 187 107 s 189
Offshore Minerals
(c) a mining lease is granted over the sub-blocks in the tenure area of 1
the mineral development licence; or 2
(d) the tenure is cancelled. 3
4
Note: For paragraph (a) see division 5. For paragraph (b) see section 187. For
5
paragraph (c) see section 188. For paragraph (d) see sections 189 and 190.
surrender of mineral development licence 6
Voluntary
187. A mineral development licence holder may surrender the tenure. 7
8
Note 1: See division 4 for voluntary surrender of part of a tenure area.
9
Note 2: The surrender takes effect when it is registered under section 337 (see
10
section 337(5)).
expiry of mineral development licence when mining lease 11
Automatic
takes effect 12
188. If-- 13
(a) a mineral development licence is in force; and 14
(b) a mining lease over all or some of the sub-blocks in the mineral 15
development licence area comes into force under section 232;73 16
the mineral development licence expires in relation to the sub-blocks 17
covered by the mining lease. 18
of mineral development licence--breach of condition etc. 19
Cancellation
189.(1) Subject to subsection (5), the Minister may cancel a mineral 20
development licence if the tenure holder-- 21
(a) breaches a tenure condition; or 22
(b) contravenes a provision of this Act or the regulations; or 23
(c) breaches a condition attached to an approval under 24
section 365(2).74 25
73 Section 232 (Initial term of mining lease)
74 Section 365 (Minister's response to application for approval)
s 190 108 s 190
Offshore Minerals
(2) If the Minister proposes to cancel a tenure under subsection (1), the 1
Minister must give the holder a notice that informs the holder of the 2
proposed cancellation. 3
(3) The notice must-- 4
(a) specify the reason for the proposed cancellation; and 5
(b) invite the holder to make submissions about the proposed 6
cancellation; and 7
(c) specify the day by which submissions may be made to the 8
Minister; and 9
(d) specify an address where submissions are to be lodged. 10
(4) The day specified under subsection (3)(c) must be not less than 11
60 days after the day on which the notice is given. 12
(5) The Minister may cancel the tenure only if-- 13
(a) the holder has been given a notice under subsection (2); and 14
(b) the Minister has considered-- 15
(i) any submission made by the holder as provided by the 16
notice under subsection (3); and 17
(ii) any steps taken by the holder to remedy the breach or 18
contravention that led to the proposal to cancel the tenure and 19
to prevent any similar breach or contravention from 20
happening again; and 21
(c) the Minister is satisfied that no special circumstances exist that 22
justify the tenure not being cancelled. 23
of mineral development licence--mining activities viable 24
Cancellation
190.(1) If the Minister believes that mining activities should commence 25
in a mineral development licence area, the Minister must ask the tenure 26
holder to explain to the Minister why the holder should not apply for a 27
mining lease over the mineral development licence area. 28
(2) A request under subsection (1) must-- 29
(a) be in writing; and 30
s 191 109 s 191
Offshore Minerals
(b) specify the day by which the holder must give the explanation to 1
the Minister. 2
(3) The day specified under subsection (2)(b) must be at least 30 days 3
after the day on which the request is given to the holder. 4
(4) An explanation provided in response to a request under subsection (1) 5
must be in writing. 6
(5) The Minister may cancel the mineral development licence if-- 7
(a) a request is made under subsection (1); and 8
(b) either-- 9
(i) the holder does not give the Minister an explanation in 10
response to the request by the day specified in the request; or 11
(ii) the holder gives the Minister an explanation in response to 12
the request but the Minister does not consider the explanation 13
to be satisfactory. 14
(6) If the Minister cancels a mineral development licence under 15
subsection (5), the Minister may specify the day on which the cancellation 16
takes effect. 17
(7) Without limiting subsection (6), the Minister, in deciding the day on 18
which the cancellation is to take effect, may have regard to the time needed 19
by the holder to obtain the grant of a mining lease over the mineral 20
development licence area. 21
of former mineral development licence holders and former 22
Obligations
associates 23
191.(1) Subject to subsection (4), if-- 24
(a) a person was-- 25
(i) a mineral development licence holder; or 26
(ii) an associate of a mineral development licence holder; and 27
(b) the tenure-- 28
(i) expires; or 29
(ii) is cancelled; or 30
s 192 110 s 192
Offshore Minerals
(iii) is surrendered; and 1
(c) an obligation associated with the tenure arising out of-- 2
(i) a tenure condition; or 3
(ii) a direction given under section 387;75 or 4
(iii) this Act or the regulations; 5
has not been discharged; and 6
(d) the person was bound by that obligation when the person was the 7
tenure holder or an associate; 8
the person remains bound by the obligation until the obligation is 9
discharged. 10
(2) Subsection (1) does not continue an obligation to carry out 11
exploration or recovery activities. 12
(3) Subsection (1) continues an obligation that a person had to carry out 13
exploration or recovery activities in a particular way if the person carries 14
them out. 15
(4) The Minister may decide that the person is not subject to-- 16
(a) any particular obligation under this section; or 17
(b) all the person's remaining obligations under this section. 18
(5) A decision under subsection (4) must be in writing. 19
PART 2.4--MINING LEASES 20
Division 1--General 21
leases 22
Mining
192.(1) This part provides for the grant of mining leases over sub-blocks 23
75 Section 387 (Minister may give direction)
s 193 111 s 193
Offshore Minerals
in coastal waters. 1
(2) A mining lease may be granted over-- 2
(a) a vacant standard sub-block; or 3
(b) certain sub-blocks that are not vacant; or 4
(c) a tender sub-block.76 5
6
Note 1: A tender sub-block is a sub-block that has been declared available for
7
tender. A standard sub-block is any other sub-block (see sections 19 and
8
20).
9
Note 2: An exploration permit or mineral development licence holder may apply for
10
a mining lease over the same area or part of the same area.
authorised by a mining lease 11
Activities
193.(1) Subject to subsection (2), a mining lease holder may-- 12
(a) recover minerals in the tenure area; and 13
(b) explore for minerals in the tenure area. 14
15
Note 1: Under section 23(1) the concept of "exploration" extends to activities that
16
are directly related to exploration.
17
Note 2: Under section 24(1) the concept of "recovery" extends to activities that are
18
directly related to the recovery of minerals.
(2) If the tenure is expressed to restrict the kind of minerals covered by 19
the tenure, the holder is not permitted to recover, or to explore for, minerals 20
not covered by the tenure. 21
(3) A restriction on the kind of minerals covered by the tenure may be 22
inclusive (for example, only minerals A, B and C) or exclusive (for 23
example, all minerals except A, B and C). 24
(4) For subsection (2), the holder does not recover an excluded mineral 25
if, in the course of recovering, or exploring for, another mineral, the holder 26
recovers some excluded mineral. 27
76 For paragraphs (a) and (b) see division 2 (Application for and grant of mining
lease over standard sub-blocks) and for paragraph (c) see division 3 (Application
for and grant of mining lease over tender sub-block)
s 194 112 s 196
Offshore Minerals
may cancel or not renew mining lease without compensation 1
Minister
194. No compensation is payable because of the cancellation or 2
non-renewal of a mining lease by the Minister. 3
4
Note 1: The Minister may cancel the tenure under section 265.
5
Note 2: The Minister may refuse to renew the tenure under section 242.
rights may be suspended 6
Tenure
195.(1) The Minister must suspend particular rights conferred by a 7
mining lease if the Minister is satisfied that it is necessary in the public 8
interest to do so. 9
(2) The Minister may suspend rights under subsection (1) for a specified 10
period or for an indefinite period. 11
(3) The Minister may end a suspension at any time. 12
(4) A suspension or the ending of a suspension must be in writing. 13
(5) If the Minister-- 14
(a) suspends rights conferred by a mining lease; or 15
(b) ends a suspension; 16
the Minister must give the tenure holder a notice that informs the holder of 17
the suspension or the ending of a suspension. 18
19
Note: See section 258 for the effect of the suspension on the obligations associated
20
with the tenure.
(6) A suspension takes effect when-- 21
(a) the holder has been given notice of the suspension under 22
subsection (5); and 23
(b) the suspension has been registered under section 337.77 24
for acquisition of property due to suspension of rights 25
Compensation
196.(1) If-- 26
77 Section 337 (Amendments etc. to tenures)
s 197 113 s 197
Offshore Minerals
(a) the Minister suspends tenure rights under section 195; and 1
(b) the suspension results in the acquisition of property from a 2
person; and 3
(c) the State and the person agree on an amount of compensation for 4
the acquisition; 5
the State must pay the person the agreed amount of compensation. 6
(2) If-- 7
(a) the Minister suspends tenure rights under section 195; and 8
(b) the suspension results in the acquisition of property from a 9
person; and 10
(c) the State and the person do not agree on an amount of 11
compensation for the acquisition; and 12
(d) the person brings an action for compensation against the State in 13
the Wardens Court; 14
the State must pay the person the amount of compensation (if any) that is 15
decided by the court. 16
(3) In this section-- 17
"acquisition of property" see the Commonwealth Constitution, 18
section 51(xxxi). 19
Division 2--Application for and grant of mining lease over standard 20
sub-blocks 21
for mining lease over vacant standard sub-block 22
Application
197.(1) A person may apply to the Minister for a mining lease over a 23
standard sub-block that is vacant. 24
(2) A standard sub-block is vacant if no exploration permit, mineral 25
development licence or mining lease is in force over the sub-block. 26
(3) The application must not cover more than 20 sub-blocks. 27
(4) If the application is for a tenure over a group of sub-blocks, the 28
sub-blocks must form a discrete area. 29
s 198 114 s 199
Offshore Minerals
of exploration permit or mineral development licence may 1
Holder
apply for mining lease 2
198.(1) An exploration or mineral development licence holder may apply 3
to the Minister for a mining lease over all or some of the sub-blocks in the 4
tenure area of the exploration or mineral development licence. 5
(2) A person may apply for a mining lease under subsection (1) over a 6
group of sub-blocks only if-- 7
(a) the group forms a discrete area; and 8
(b) there are not more than 20 sub-blocks in the group. 9
(3) The holder may apply for 2 or more mining leases over different 10
parts of the tenure area of the exploration or mineral development licence. 11
ow to apply 12
H
199.(1) An application under section 197 or 198 must-- 13
(a) be made in accordance with the approved form; and 14
(b) be made in the approved way; and 15
(c) specify the sub-blocks for which the application is made; and 16
(d) include details of-- 17
(i) the activities that the applicant intends to carry out on the 18
sub-block or sub-blocks covered by the application; and 19
(ii) the amount of money that the applicant intends to spend on 20
those activities; and 21
(iii) the technical qualifications of the applicant and of the 22
applicant's employees who are likely to be involved in 23
activities authorised by the tenure; and 24
(iv) the technical advice available to the applicant; and 25
(v) the financial resources available to the applicant; and 26
(vi) if the tenure is to be held by more than 1 person--the share 27
of the tenure that each prospective holder will hold; and 28
(e) be accompanied by maps that-- 29
s 200 115 s 202
Offshore Minerals
(i) relate to the sub-blocks; and 1
(ii) comply with the regulations; and 2
(f) specify an address for service of notices under this Act and the 3
regulations. 4
5
Note: For paragraphs (a) and (b) see section 41.
(2) The applicant may include in the application any other information 6
that the applicant considers relevant. 7
of inclusion of unavailable sub-block in application 8
Effect
200. If-- 9
(a) a person applies under section 197 or 198 for a tenure over a 10
group of sub-blocks; and 11
(b) because of section 18, 197 or 198 a mining lease can not be 12
granted over 1 or more of the sub-blocks in the group; 13
the Minister may still deal with the application to the extent to which the 14
application covers sub-blocks for which a mining lease can be granted. 15
16
Note: A mining lease can not be granted over a sub-block that is not vacant or over
17
a reserved sub-block (see section 18).
of fee 18
Payment
201.(1) The applicant must pay the application fee prescribed under a 19
regulation. 20
(2) The fee must be paid when the application is made. 21
(3) The Minister may refund any fee paid under subsection (1) but only if 22
the Minister is satisfied that special circumstances exist that justify the 23
refund of the fee. 24
must be advertised 25
Application
202.(1) The applicant must advertise the application in a newspaper that 26
circulates throughout the State. 27
(2) The advertisement must contain-- 28
s 203 116 s 203
Offshore Minerals
(a) the applicant's name and address; and 1
(b) a map and description of the sub-blocks applied for that are 2
sufficient for the sub-blocks to be identified; and 3
(c) the address of the Minister; and 4
(d) a statement that-- 5
(i) the applicant has applied for a mining lease over the 6
sub-blocks described in the notice; and 7
(ii) invites comment from the public on the application; and 8
(iii) requests that comments be sent to the applicant and the 9
Minister within 30 days after the day on which the 10
advertisement is published. 11
(3) The advertisement must be published-- 12
(a) as soon as possible after the applicant lodges the application; and 13
(b) in any case, subject to subsection (4), within 14 days after the day 14
on which the applicant lodges the application. 15
(4) If-- 16
(a) the applicant applies to the Minister within the 14 day period 17
referred to in subsection (3) for an extension of the period; and 18
(b) the Minister extends the period; 19
the advertisement must be published within the period as extended by the 20
Minister. 21
multiple applications are dealt with 22
How
203.(1) Subject to subsection (2), if a sub-block is covered by 2 or more 23
applications for a mining or exploration permit, the Minister must deal with 24
the applications in the order in which they are made. 25
26
Note: See also section 58.
(2) If-- 27
(a) the applications are lodged within a particular time of each other; 28
and 29
(b) the time is less than the time prescribed under a regulation; 30
s 204 117 s 207
Offshore Minerals
the Minister must decide the order in which the applications are to be dealt 1
with by drawing lots in the way prescribed under a regulation. 2
for further information 3
Request
204.(1) The Minister may ask the applicant for further information about 4
the application. 5
(2) The request must-- 6
(a) be in writing; and 7
(b) be given to the applicant; and 8
(c) specify the time within which the information must be provided. 9
(3) Information requested under subsection (1) must be provided-- 10
(a) in writing; and 11
(b) within the time specified in the request. 12
number not used 13
Section
205. See note 2 to section 3(1). 14
may provisionally grant tenure 15
Minister
206. If the applicant does what is required by sections 199, 201, 202 and 16
204, the Minister may-- 17
(a) provisionally grant a mining lease to the applicant; or 18
(b) subject to section 208, refuse the application. 19
20
Note: Under section 232, the grant of the tenure can not be effective before it is
21
registered (see section 333 for registration). The grant will not be registered
22
until it has been properly accepted (see section 214 for "proper acceptance").
number not used 23
Section
207. See note 2 to section 3(1). 24
s 208 118 s 209
Offshore Minerals
of application for mining lease made under section 198 1
Refusal
208.(1) If the Minister proposes to refuse an application for a mining 2
lease made under section 198, 78 the Minister must give the applicant notice 3
of the proposed refusal. 4
(2) The notice must-- 5
(a) specify the reason for the proposed refusal; and 6
(b) invite the applicant to make written submissions about the 7
proposed refusal; and 8
(c) specify the day by which submissions may be made to the 9
Minister; and 10
(d) specify an address where submissions are to be lodged. 11
(3) The day specified under subsection (2)(c) must be not less than 12
30 days after the day on which the notice is given. 13
(4) The Minister may refuse to grant an application for a mining lease 14
made under section 198 only if-- 15
(a) the applicant has been given a notice under subsection (1); and 16
(b) the Minister has considered any submission made by the 17
applicant; and 18
(c) the Minister is satisfied that no special circumstances exist that 19
justify the tenure being granted. 20
to be specified in the tenure 21
Matters
209.(1) The tenure must specify-- 22
(a) the sub-blocks covered by the tenure; and 23
(b) the term of the tenure; and 24
(c) the tenure conditions. 25
78 Section 198 (Holder of exploration permit or mineral development licence may
apply for mining lease)
s 210 119 s 211
Offshore Minerals
(2) The term specified under subsection (1)(b) must not be more than 1
21 years. 2
must be notified 3
Applicant
210.(1) The Minister must give the applicant notice of the Minister's 4
decision under section 206. 5
(2) If the Minister provisionally grants a mining lease-- 6
(a) the Minister must give the tenure to the provisional holder; and 7
(b) the notice under subsection (1) must contain notification-- 8
(i) of any decision under section 399 79 that the provisional 9
holder must lodge a security; and 10
(ii) that the provisional grant will lapse unless the provisional 11
holder, before the end of the primary payment period-- 12
(A) gives the Minister a written acceptance of the grant; and 13
(B) lodges any security required by the Minister under 14
section 399; and 15
(C) pays the fee that must be paid for the tenure under 16
section 425.80 17
of conditions 18
Amendment
211.(1) If the provisional holder is dissatisfied with the tenure conditions, 19
the provisional holder may ask the Minister to amend the conditions. 20
(2) The request must be made within 30 days after the day on which the 21
provisional holder is given the tenure under section 210. 22
(3) If a request is made under subsection (1), the Minister may amend 23
the tenure conditions as requested and, with the consent of the provisional 24
holder, otherwise amend the conditions. 25
79 Section 399 (Decision about requirement to lodge security)
80 Section 425 (Tenure fees)
s 212 120 s 214
Offshore Minerals
(4) The Minister must give the provisional holder notice of a decision 1
under this section. 2
of security requirements 3
Amendment
212.(1) If the provisional holder-- 4
(a) is notified of a security requirement; and 5
(b) is dissatisfied with the amount of the security required; 6
the provisional holder may ask the Minister to make a new decision under 7
section 399. 8
(2) The request must be made within 30 days after the day on which the 9
applicant is given notice under section 210. 10
(3) If a request is made under subsection (1), the Minister may make a 11
new decision under section 399.81 12
(4) The Minister must give the provisional holder notice of the new 13
decision. 14
of primary payment period 15
Extension
213.(1) If the provisional holder makes a request under section 211 or 16
212, the provisional holder may ask the Minister to extend the primary 17
payment period. 18
(2) The request must be made within 30 days after the day on which the 19
provisional holder is given notice under section 210. 20
(3) If the Minister agrees to the request, the Minister must-- 21
(a) decide the period of the extension; and 22
(b) give the provisional holder a notice of the period of the extension. 23
of grant of mining lease for standard sub-block 24
Acceptance
214.(1) The provisional grant of the mining lease is properly accepted by 25
the provisional holder if, before the required time, the provisional holder-- 26
81 Section 399 (Decision about requirement to lodge security)
s 215 121 s 217
Offshore Minerals
(a) gives the Minister a written acceptance of the grant; and 1
(b) lodges any security required under section 399;82 and 2
(c) pays the fee that must be paid for the tenure under section 425.83 3
(2) The required time under subsection (1) is the end of the primary 4
payment period or, if the provisional holder has been granted an extension 5
of the primary payment period under section 213, the end of the secondary 6
payment period. 7
8
Note: Under section 232, the grant of the tenure can not be effective before it is
9
registered (see section 333 for registration).
applicable to tenure on grant 10
Conditions
215. If the provisional grant of the tenure is properly accepted under 11
section 214, it is subject to-- 12
(a) the conditions specified in the tenure given to the applicant under 13
section 210; or 14
(b) if the Minister amended those conditions under 15
section 211--those conditions as amended. 16
of provisional grant of mining lease 17
Lapse
216. If the provisional grant of the tenure is not properly accepted under 18
section 214, the provisional grant lapses. 19
3--Application for and grant of mining lease over tender 20
Division
sub-block 21
to be decided before applications for mining lease over tender 22
Matters
sub-blocks invited 23
217.(1) If the Minister proposes to invite applications for the grant of a 24
mining lease over reserved sub-blocks, the Minister must, before inviting 25
82 Section 399 (Decision about requirement to lodge security)
83 Section 425 (Tenure fees)
s 218 122 s 219
Offshore Minerals
the applications, decide-- 1
(a) the procedure and criteria that the Minister will adopt to allocate 2
the tenure; and 3
(b) the amount of security that will be required for the tenure under 4
section 399; and 5
(c) the initial term of the tenure; and 6
(d) the tenure conditions. 7
(2) The term decided under subsection (1)(c) must not be more than 8
21 years. 9
may invite applications for mining lease over tender 10
Minister
sub-blocks 11
218.(1) Subject to subsection (2), the Minister may invite applications for 12
the grant of a mining lease over reserved sub-blocks. 13
(2) Applications may be invited for a tenure covering a group of reserved 14
sub-blocks only if the group forms a discrete area. 15
(3) The Minister is to invite applications by publishing a tender sub-block 16
tenure notice for the tenure in the gazette. 17
18
Note 1: A mining lease may cover not more than 20 tender sub-blocks (see section
19
219).
20
Note 2: A mining lease might be made available by a tender sub-block notice if a
21
mineral deposit in the area had already been identified and sufficient
22
information was already available to justify the issue of a mining lease
23
rather than an exploration permit.
sub-block tenure notice--mining lease 24
Tender
219.(1) A tender sub-block tenure notice for a mining lease must-- 25
(a) specify the sub-blocks to be covered by the tenure; and 26
(b) specify the period within which applications may be made; and 27
(c) specify the procedure and criteria that the Minister will adopt to 28
allocate the tenure; and 29
s 220 123 s 221
Offshore Minerals
(d) specify the amount of security that the successful applicant will be 1
required to lodge; and 2
(e) specify the initial term of the tenure; and 3
(f) include a statement to the effect that information about-- 4
(i) the security that the successful applicant will be required to 5
lodge; and 6
(ii) the tenure conditions; 7
may be obtained from the Minister. 8
(2) Without limiting subsection (1)(c), the Minister may, for that 9
paragraph, specify that the tender will be decided on the basis of either or 10
both of the following-- 11
(a) the nature and extent of the exploration activity proposed to be 12
carried out; 13
(b) the amount of money offered for the tenure. 14
(3) The tender sub-block tenure notice may specify not more than 15
20 sub-blocks for the mining lease. 16
for mining lease over tender sub-blocks 17
Application
220. If a tender sub-block tenure notice has been published inviting 18
applications for a mining lease, a person may apply to the Minister for the 19
tenure. 20
ow to apply 21
H
221.(1) The application must-- 22
(a) be made in accordance with the approved form; and 23
(b) be made in the approved way; and 24
(c) be made before the end of the period specified in the tender 25
sub-block tenure notice; and 26
(d) address the criteria specified under section 219(1)(c); and 27
(e) include details of-- 28
s 222 124 s 223
Offshore Minerals
(i) the technical qualifications of the applicant and of the 1
applicant's employees who are likely to be involved in 2
activities authorised by the tenure; and 3
(ii) the technical advice available to the applicant; and 4
(iii) the financial resources available to the applicant; and 5
(iv) if the tenure is to be held by more than 1 person--the share 6
in the tenure that each prospective holder will hold; and 7
(f) specify an address for service of notices under this Act and the 8
regulations. 9
10
Note: For paragraphs (a) and (b) see section 41.
(2) The applicant may include in the application any other information 11
that the applicant considers relevant. 12
of fee 13
Payment
222.(1) The applicant must pay the application fee prescribed under a 14
regulation. 15
(2) The fee must be paid when the application is made. 16
(3) The Minister may refund any fee paid under subsection (1) but only if 17
the Minister is satisfied that special circumstances exist that justify the 18
refund of the fee. 19
for further information 20
Request
223.(1) The Minister may ask the applicant for further information about 21
the application. 22
(2) The request must-- 23
(a) be in writing; and 24
(b) be given to the applicant; and 25
(c) specify the time within which the information must be provided. 26
(3) Information requested under subsection (1) must be provided-- 27
s 224 125 s 227
Offshore Minerals
(a) in writing; and 1
(b) within the time specified in the request. 2
number not used 3
Section
224. See note 2 to section 3(1). 4
may provisionally grant tenure 5
Minister
225.(1) The Minister may provisionally grant a mining lease to an 6
applicant who has done what is required by sections 221 to 223. 7
(2) When provisionally granting a tenure under subsection (1), the 8
Minister must follow the procedure and apply the criteria specified in the 9
tender sub-block tenure notice published for the tenure under section 218. 10
(3) If the Minister refuses to grant a tenure under subsection (1), the 11
Minister must give the applicant notice of the refusal. 12
number not used 13
Section
226. See note 2 to section 3(1). 14
applicant must be notified 15
Successful
227.(1) If the Minister provisionally grants a mining lease under 16
section 225 or 231, the Minister must give the provisional holder-- 17
(a) the tenure; and 18
(b) notice that the provisional grant will lapse unless the provisional 19
holder, within 30 days after the day on which the notice is 20
given-- 21
(i) gives the Minister a written acceptance of the grant; and 22
(ii) lodges any security required under section 399;84 and 23
84 Section 399 (Decision about requirement to lodge security)
s 228 126 s 228
Offshore Minerals
(iii) pays the fee that must be paid for the tenure under 1
section 425;85 and 2
(iv) if the tender is decided on the basis of the amounts of money 3
offered for the tenure--pays to the Minister the amount that 4
the provisional holder offered for the tenure under 5
section 221(1)(d).86 6
(2) The tenure must specify-- 7
(a) the sub-blocks covered by the tenure; and 8
(b) the term of the tenure; and 9
(c) the tenure conditions. 10
11
Note: For the term of a tenure see section 217(2).
of grant of mining lease over tender sub-blocks 12
Acceptance
228. The provisional grant of a mining lease is properly accepted by the 13
provisional holder if, within 30 days after the day on which the provisional 14
holder is given notice under section 227, the provisional holder-- 15
(a) gives the Minister a written acceptance of the grant; and 16
(b) lodges any security required under section 399;87 and 17
(c) pays the fee that must be paid for the tenure under section 425; 18
and 19
(d) if the tender is decided on the basis of the amounts of money 20
offered for the tenure--pays to the Minister the amount that the 21
provisional holder offered for the tenure under section 221(1)(d). 22
23
Note: Under section 232, the grant of the tenure can not be effective before it is
24
registered (see section 333 for registration).
85 Section 425 (Tenure fees)
86 Section 221 (How to apply)
87 Section 399 (Decision about requirement to lodge security)
s 229 127 s 232
Offshore Minerals
applicable to tenure on grant 1
Conditions
229. If the provisional grant of the tenure is properly accepted, the tenure 2
is subject to the conditions decided under section 217. 3
of provisional grant of mining lease 4
Lapse
230. If the provisional grant of the tenure is not properly accepted under 5
section 228, the provisional grant lapses. 6
grant to next applicant if grant lapses 7
Provisional
231.(1) If the provisional grant of the tenure lapses under section 230, the 8
Minister may provisionally grant the tenure to another of the applicants for 9
the tenure. 10
(2) When provisionally granting a tenure under subsection (1), the 11
Minister must follow the procedure and apply the criteria specified in the 12
tender sub-block tenure notice published for the tenure under section 218. 13
4--Duration of mining lease 14
Division
term of mining lease 15
Initial
232.(1) A mining lease comes into force on-- 16
(a) the day on which the grant of the tenure is registered; or 17
(b) if a day later than the day on which the grant of the tenure is 18
registered is specified in the tenure as its commencement 19
day--that specified day. 20
(2) The initial term of a mining lease ends-- 21
(a) if the tenure is granted under division 2--at the end of the period 22
specified in the tenure under section 209(1); or 23
(b) if the tenure is granted under division 3--at the end of the period 24
specified under section 227(2). 25
26
Note: The tenure may be surrendered at any time (see section 264).
(3) The period runs from-- 27
s 233 128 s 234
Offshore Minerals
(a) the day on which the tenure is provisionally granted; or 1
(b) if a day later than the day on which the tenure is provisionally 2
granted is specified in the tenure as its commencement day--that 3
specified day. 4
of renewal of tenure 5
Term
233.(1) A renewal of a mining lease comes into force on the later of the 6
following days-- 7
(a) the day on which the renewal is registered; 8
(b) the day on which the previous term of the tenure expires. 9
10
Note: See division 6 for renewal.
(2) The term of a renewal of a tenure ends at the end of the period 11
specified in the notice under section 246.88 12
13
Note 1: For the maximum term of renewal see section 246(3).
14
Note 2: The tenure may be surrendered at any time (see section 264).
(3) The period runs from the day on which the previous term of the 15
tenure expires. 16
(4) In working out the period referred to in subsection (3), section 234 17
must be disregarded. 18
of application for renewal on term of mining lease 19
Effect
234.(1) If-- 20
(a) a mining lease holder applies to renew the tenure under 21
section 236; and 22
(b) the current term of the tenure expires; and 23
(c) a renewal of the tenure does not take effect immediately after the 24
current term expires; 25
the tenure remains in force after the current term expires until-- 26
(d) a renewal of the tenure takes effect; or 27
88 Section 246 (Applicant must be notified)
s 235 129 s 237
Offshore Minerals
(e) a provisional renewal of the tenure lapses; or 1
(f) the application for renewal is withdrawn or refused. 2
5--Voluntary surrender of part of mining lease area 3
Division
surrender of sub-blocks if discrete area remains 4
Voluntary
235.(1) A mining lease holder may surrender a sub-block or some of the 5
sub-blocks covered by the tenure if the remaining sub-blocks in the tenure 6
area form a discrete area. 7
8
Note: See section 264 for the surrender of the whole tenure.
(2) A surrender under subsection (1) must-- 9
(a) be made in writing; and 10
(b) identify the sub-blocks surrendered; and 11
(c) be given to the Minister. 12
13
Note: The surrender takes effect when it is registered under section 337 (see section
14
337(5)).
Division 6--Application for and grant of renewal of mining lease 15
for renewal of mining lease 16
Application
236. A mining lease holder may apply to the Minister to renew the 17
tenure. 18
19
Note: At each renewal, the tenure conditions are reviewed (see section 254).
application to be made 20
When
237.(1) Subject to subsection (2), the application must be made at least 21
6 months before the day on which the tenure is to expire. 22
(2) The Minister may accept an application that is made later than 23
6 months before the day on which the tenure is to expire if-- 24
s 238 130 s 239
Offshore Minerals
(a) the application is made before the day on which the tenure 1
expires; and 2
(b) the Minister believes that there are reasonable grounds for 3
accepting the application. 4
to apply for renewal 5
How
238.(1) The application must-- 6
(a) be made in accordance with the approved form; and 7
(b) be made in the approved way; and 8
(c) include details of-- 9
(i) the activities carried out by the applicant under the tenure 10
during its current term; and 11
(ii) the amount of money spent by the applicant in relation to the 12
sub-blocks covered by the tenure during its current term; and 13
(iii) the activities that the applicant intends to carry out under the 14
tenure during the term applied for; and 15
(iv) the amount of money that the applicant intends to spend in 16
relation to activities authorised by the tenure during the term 17
applied for. 18
19
Note: For paragraphs (a) and (b) see section 41.
(2) The applicant may include in the application any other information 20
that the applicant considers relevant. 21
for further information 22
Request
239.(1) The Minister may ask the applicant to provide further 23
information about the application. 24
(2) The request must-- 25
(a) be in writing; and 26
(b) be given to the applicant; and 27
(c) specify the time within which the information must be provided. 28
s 240 131 s 244
Offshore Minerals
(3) Information requested under subsection (1) must be provided-- 1
(a) in writing; and 2
(b) within the time specified in the request. 3
of fee 4
Payment
240.(1) The applicant must pay the application fee prescribed under a 5
regulation. 6
(2) The fee must be paid when the application is made. 7
(3) The Minister may refund any fee paid under subsection (1) but only if 8
the Minister is satisfied that special circumstances exist that justify the 9
refund of the fee. 10
number not used 11
Section
241. See note 2 to section 3(1). 12
renewal of mining lease 13
Provisional
242. The Minister may-- 14
(a) provisionally renew the tenure; or 15
(b) subject to section 245, refuse to renew the tenure. 16
17
Note 1: Under section 233, the renewal of the tenure can not be effective before it is
18
registered (see section 334 for registration). The renewal will not be
19
registered until it has been properly accepted (see section 250 for "proper
20
acceptance").
21
Note 2: Under section 254, new conditions may be imposed on renewal.
number not used 22
Section
243. See note 2 to section 3(1). 23
that may be taken into account 24
Matters
244. In deciding whether to renew a mining lease, the Minister may have 25
s 245 132 s 246
Offshore Minerals
regard to whether the applicant has complied with-- 1
(a) this Act; and 2
(b) the regulations; and 3
(c) any tenure conditions. 4
of application for renewal 5
Refusal
245.(1) If the Minister proposes to refuse to renew the tenure, the 6
Minister must give the applicant notice of the proposed refusal. 7
(2) The notice must-- 8
(a) specify the reason for the proposed refusal; and 9
(b) invite the holder to make written submissions about the proposed 10
refusal; and 11
(c) specify the day by which submissions may be given to the 12
Minister; and 13
(d) specify an address where submissions are to be lodged. 14
(3) The day specified under subsection (2)(c) must be not less than 15
30 days after the day on which the notice is given. 16
(4) The Minister may refuse to grant the application only if-- 17
(a) the holder has been given a notice under subsection (1); and 18
(b) the Minister has considered any submission made by the 19
applicant; and 20
(c) the Minister is satisfied that no special circumstances exist that 21
justify the renewal being granted. 22
must be notified 23
Applicant
246.(1) The Minister must give the applicant notice of the Minister's 24
decision under section 242. 25
(2) If the Minister provisionally renews the tenure under section 242, the 26
notice must contain notification-- 27
(a) of the term of the renewal; and 28
s 247 133 s 247
Offshore Minerals
(b) of the conditions of the renewed tenure; and 1
(c) of any decision under section 399 89 that the applicant must lodge 2
a security or a further security; and 3
(d) that the provisional renewal will lapse unless the applicant, before 4
the end of the primary payment period-- 5
(i) gives the Minister a written acceptance of the renewal; and 6
(ii) lodges any security required under section 399; and 7
(iii) pays the fee that must be paid for the renewal under 8
section 425.90 9
10
Note: Section 254 provides for renewals to be granted subject to conditions.
(3) The term specified under subsection (2)(a) must not be more than 11
21 years. 12
of conditions 13
Amendment
247.(1) If the tenure holder-- 14
(a) has been provisionally granted a renewal of the tenure under 15
section 242; and 16
(b) is notified of the tenure conditions; and 17
(c) is dissatisfied with the conditions; 18
the holder may ask the Minister to amend the conditions. 19
(2) The request must be made within 30 days after the day on which the 20
holder is given notice under section 246. 21
(3) If a request is made under subsection (1), the Minister may amend 22
the tenure conditions and, with the consent of the holder, otherwise amend 23
the conditions. 24
(4) The Minister must give the holder notice of a decision under this 25
section. 26
89 Section 399 (Decision about requirement to lodge security)
90 Section 425 (Tenure fees)
s 248 134 s 250
Offshore Minerals
of security requirements 1
Amendment
248.(1) If the tenure holder-- 2
(a) has been provisionally granted a renewal of the tenure under 3
section 242; and 4
(b) is notified of a security requirement for the tenure; and 5
(c) is dissatisfied with the amount of the security required; 6
the holder may ask the Minister to make a new decision under 7
section 399.91 8
(2) The request must be made within 30 days after the day on which the 9
holder is given notice under section 246. 10
(3) If a request is made under subsection (1), the Minister may make a 11
new decision under section 399. 12
(4) The Minister must give the holder notice of the new decision. 13
of primary payment period 14
Extension
249.(1) If the tenure holder makes a request under section 247 or 248, the 15
holder may ask the Minister to extend the primary payment period. 16
(2) The request must be made within 30 days after the day on which the 17
holder is given notice under section 246. 18
(3) If the Minister agrees to the request, the Minister must-- 19
(a) decide the period of the extension; and 20
(b) give the holder a notice informing the holder of the period of the 21
extension. 22
of renewal of mining lease 23
Acceptance
250.(1) The provisional renewal of a mining lease is properly accepted by 24
the tenure holder if, before the required time, the holder-- 25
(a) gives the Minister a written acceptance of the renewal; and 26
91 Section 399 (Decision about requirement to lodge security)
s 251 135 s 253
Offshore Minerals
(b) lodges any security required under section 399;92 and 1
(c) pays the fee that must be paid under section 425.93 2
(2) The required time under subsection (1) is the end of the primary 3
payment period or, if the provisional holder has been granted an extension 4
of the primary payment period under section 249, the end of the secondary 5
payment period. 6
7
Note: Under section 233, the renewal of the tenure can not be effective before it is
8
registered (see section 334 for registration).
applicable to tenure on renewal 9
Conditions
251. If the provisional renewal is properly accepted under section 250, 10
the renewed tenure is subject to-- 11
(a) the conditions specified in the notice given to the tenure holder 12
under section 246; or 13
(b) if the Minister amended those conditions under 14
section 247--those conditions as amended. 15
of provisional renewal of mining lease 16
Lapse
252. If the provisional renewal of a mining lease is not properly accepted 17
under section 250, the provisional renewal lapses. 18
Division 7--Obligations associated with mining lease 19
20
General
253.(1) The sources of obligations associated with a mining lease are-- 21
(a) the tenure conditions; and 22
92 Section 399 (Decision about requirement to lodge security)
93 Section 425 (Tenure fees)
s 254 136 s 254
Offshore Minerals
(b) obligations arising from directions under section 387 or 39294 1
given by the Minister; and 2
(c) obligations imposed by this Act and the regulations. 3
4
Note: For paragraph (a) see sections 254 to 256. For paragraph (c) see sections 44,
5
259 to 262, 372 and 391(1).
(2) If a mining lease has 2 or more holders, all the holders are jointly and 6
severally bound by the obligations that attach to the tenure. 7
of mining lease 8
Conditions
254.(1) The Minister may grant or renew a mining lease subject to 9
whatever conditions the Minister considers appropriate. 10
(2) If the Minister grants or renews a mining lease subject to conditions, 11
the conditions must be specified in the tenure. 12
(3) Without limiting subsection (1), the Minister may attach conditions to 13
the grant or renewal of a mining lease requiring the tenure holder to do the 14
following types of things-- 15
(a) take out insurance as required by the Minister; 16
(b) carry out certain work in or in relation to the tenure area during the 17
term of the tenure; 18
(c) lodge a security with the Minister; 19
(d) keep specified information; 20
(e) give to the Minister, on request, specified information; 21
(f) take steps to protect the environment of the tenure area, including 22
conditions about-- 23
(i) protecting wildlife; or 24
(ii) minimising the effect on the environment of the tenure area 25
and the area surrounding the tenure area of activities carried 26
out in the tenure area; 27
94 Section 387 (Minister may give directions) or section 392 (Power to give
directions after tenure etc. ends)
s 255 137 s 256
Offshore Minerals
(g) repair any damage to the environment caused by activities in the 1
tenure area; 2
(h) pay a specified penalty to the State if the holder does not comply 3
with a tenure condition. 4
(4) A condition under subsection (3)(c) must specify-- 5
(a) the amount of the security required; and 6
(b) the kind of security required; and 7
(c) the way and the form in which the security is to be lodged. 8
(5) Without limiting subsection (3)(c), a condition under that provision 9
may require the lodgment of a security in the form of a guarantee and, if a 10
guarantee is required, the condition may specify-- 11
(a) the kind of person who is to give the guarantee; and 12
(b) the terms of the guarantee. 13
conditions requiring payment of money 14
No
255. Except for a condition requiring the payment of a penalty or 15
lodgment of security, a tenure condition must not require the payment of 16
money to the State. 17
of conditions 18
Variation
256.(1) If-- 19
(a) a mining lease holder requests the Minister in writing to vary the 20
tenure conditions; or 21
(b) part of the tenure area of a mining lease is surrendered under 22
section 235;95 23
the Minister may vary the tenure conditions. 24
(2) If the Minister gives-- 25
95 Section 235 (Voluntary surrender of sub-blocks if discrete area remains)
s 257 138 s 257
Offshore Minerals
(a) a direction under section 387;96 or 1
(b) an approval, consent or exemption under a regulation; 2
to a mining lease holder, the Minister may vary the tenure conditions to the 3
extent necessary to avoid inconsistency between the tenure conditions and 4
the direction, approval, consent or exemption. 5
(3) The Minister may vary the tenure conditions subject to whatever 6
conditions the Minister considers appropriate. 7
(4) If the Minister varies the tenure conditions, the Minister must give the 8
tenure holder a notice that-- 9
(a) informs the holder of the variation; and 10
(b) specifies the conditions that have been varied; and 11
(c) specifies any conditions to which the variation is subject. 12
from or suspension of conditions 13
Exemption
257.(1) If-- 14
(a) a mining lease holder requests the Minister in writing to-- 15
(i) suspend a tenure condition; or 16
(ii) exempt the holder from complying with a tenure condition; 17
or 18
(b) part of the tenure area of a mining lease is surrendered under 19
section 235;97 20
the Minister may-- 21
(c) suspend a tenure condition; or 22
(d) exempt the holder from complying with a tenure condition. 23
(2) If the Minister gives-- 24
(a) a direction under section 387; or 25
(b) an approval, consent or exemption under a regulation; 26
96 Section 387 (Minister may give directions)
97 Section 235 (Voluntary surrender of sub-blocks if discrete area remains)
s 258 139 s 258
Offshore Minerals
to a mining lease holder, the Minister may suspend a tenure condition, or 1
exempt the holder from compliance with a tenure condition, to the extent 2
necessary to avoid inconsistency between the tenure conditions and the 3
direction, approval, consent or exemption. 4
(3) The Minister may-- 5
(a) suspend a tenure condition; or 6
(b) exempt the tenure holder from complying with a tenure condition; 7
subject to whatever conditions the Minister considers appropriate. 8
(4) If the Minister-- 9
(a) suspends a tenure condition; or 10
(b) exempts the tenure holder from complying with a tenure 11
condition; 12
the Minister must give the holder a notice that-- 13
(c) informs the holder of the exemption or suspension; and 14
(d) specifies the conditions that have been suspended or affected by 15
the exemption; and 16
(e) specifies any conditions to which the suspension or exemption is 17
subject. 18
19
Note: A suspension or exemption of a condition does not take effect until registered
20
(see section 337).
suspension of conditions if tenure rights are suspended 21
Automatic
258. If-- 22
(a) the Minister suspends particular rights conferred by a mining 23
lease under section 195;98 and 24
(b) a tenure condition is affected by the suspension; 25
the tenure condition is suspended for the period of the suspension of the 26
rights. 27
98 Section 195 (Tenure rights may be suspended)
s 259 140 s 261
Offshore Minerals
practices 1
Work
259. A person who is a mining lease holder or an associate of the holder, 2
in carrying out activities in the tenure area that are authorised by the tenure, 3
must take all reasonable steps-- 4
(a) to ensure that the activities are carried out at a standard that is 5
accepted as reasonable and proper in the mining industry; and 6
(b) to maintain in good repair all structures and equipment erected in, 7
or brought into, the tenure area by the person; and 8
(c) to remove from the tenure area any structure, equipment or other 9
property that-- 10
(i) belongs to the person, or is under the person's control; and 11
(ii) is not being used, or is not going to be used, in connection 12
with the activities. 13
Maximum penalty--267 penalty units. 14
15
Note: The safety of offshore exploration activities is governed by the Mines
16
Regulation Act 1964--see the definition "mine" in section 5 of that Act.
holder must pay royalty 17
Tenure
260. A mining lease holder must comply with part 4.4, division 2.99 18
holder must keep specified records 19
Tenure
261. A mining lease holder must-- 20
(a) keep whatever records and samples; and 21
(b) give whatever records and samples to the Minister for inspection; 22
and 23
(c) make whatever returns; 24
are necessary to comply with-- 25
(d) the regulations; or 26
(e) the tenure conditions; or 27
99 Part 4.4 (Tenure fees and royalty), division 2 (Royalty)
s 262 141 s 264
Offshore Minerals
(f) a direction given by the Minister under section 387.100 1
2
Note: Under section 386 and 387 the Minister may direct a person to keep records
3
and samples, to give records and samples to the Minister, and to make returns.
Maximum penalty--134 penalty units. 4
holder must help inspectors 5
Tenure
262. A mining lease holder must provide an inspector with reasonable 6
facilities and help so that the inspector is able to carry out compliance 7
inspections. 8
9
Note: See sections 377 to 384 for compliance inspections.
Maximum penalty--67 penalty units. 10
Division 8--Expiry of mining lease 11
12
General
263. A mining lease expires if-- 13
(a) the term of the tenure ends without the tenure being renewed; or 14
(b) the tenure holder surrenders the tenure; or 15
(c) the tenure is cancelled. 16
17
Note: For paragraph (a) see division 6. For paragraph (b) see section 264. For
18
paragraph (c) see section 265.
surrender of mining lease 19
Voluntary
264. A mining lease holder may surrender the tenure. 20
21
Note 1: See division 5 for voluntary surrender of part of a tenure area.
22
Note 2: The surrender takes effect when it is registered under section 337 (see
23
section 337(5)).
100 Section 387 (Minister may give directions)
s 265 142 s 265
Offshore Minerals
of mining lease 1
Cancellation
265.(1) Subject to subsection (5), the Minister may cancel a mining lease 2
if the tenure holder-- 3
(a) breaches a tenure condition; or 4
(b) contravenes a provision of this Act or the regulations; or 5
(c) breaches a condition attached to an approval under 6
section 365(2).101 7
(2) If the Minister proposes to cancel a tenure under subsection (1), the 8
Minister must give the tenure holder a notice that informs the holder of the 9
proposed cancellation. 10
(3) The notice must-- 11
(a) specify the reason for the proposed cancellation; and 12
(b) invite the holder to make submissions about the proposed 13
cancellation; and 14
(c) specify the day by which submissions may be made to the 15
Minister; and 16
(d) specify an address where submissions are to be lodged. 17
(4) The day specified under subsection (3)(c) must be not less than 18
60 days after the day on which the notice is given. 19
(5) The Minister may cancel the tenure only if-- 20
(a) the holder has been given a notice under subsection (2); and 21
(b) the Minister has considered-- 22
(i) any submission made by the holder as provided by the 23
notice under subsection (3); and 24
(ii) any steps taken by the holder to remedy the breach or 25
contravention that led to the proposal to cancel the tenure and 26
to prevent any similar breach or contravention from 27
happening again; and 28
101 Section 365 (Minister's response to application for approval)
s 266 143 s 266
Offshore Minerals
(c) the Minister is satisfied that no special circumstances exist that 1
justify the tenure not being cancelled. 2
of former mining lease holders and former associates 3
Obligations
266.(1) Subject to subsection (4), if-- 4
(a) a person was-- 5
(i) a mining lease holder; or 6
(ii) an associate of a mining lease holder; and 7
(b) the tenure-- 8
(i) expires; or 9
(ii) is cancelled; or 10
(iii) is surrendered; and 11
(c) an obligation associated with the tenure arising out of-- 12
(i) a tenure condition; or 13
(ii) a direction given under section 387;102 or 14
(iii) this Act or the regulations; 15
has not been discharged; and 16
(d) the person was bound by that obligation when the person was the 17
tenure holder or an associate; 18
the person remains bound by the obligation until the obligation is 19
discharged. 20
(2) Subsection (1) does not continue an obligation to carry out 21
exploration or recovery activities. 22
(3) Subsection (1) continues an obligation that a person had to carry out 23
exploration or recovery activities in a particular way if the person carries 24
them out. 25
(4) The Minister may decide that the person is not subject to-- 26
(a) a particular obligation under this section; or 27
102 Section 387 (Minister may give directions)
s 267 144 s 267
Offshore Minerals
(b) all the person's remaining obligations under this section. 1
(5) A decision under subsection (4) must be in writing. 2
PART 2.5--WORKS LICENCES 3
Division 1--General 4
licences 5
Works
267.(1) This part provides for the grant of works licences over 6
sub-blocks in coastal waters. 7
8
Note: A works licence allows tenure-related activities to be carried out on
9
sub-blocks that are outside the tenure area of the exploration permit, mineral
10
development licence or mining lease concerned.
(2) A works licence can only authorise activities that-- 11
(a) are directly connected with activities that are carried out, or are to 12
be carried out, under an exploration permit, mineral development 13
licence or mining lease; and 14
(b) are necessary or desirable for the exploration permit, mineral 15
development licence or mining lease holder to effectively-- 16
(i) exercise the tenure rights; or 17
(ii) perform the tenure obligations. 18
(3) A works licence can be granted over a particular sub-block even 19
though the sub-block is a reserved sub-block or is in someone else's tenure 20
area. 21
(4) More than 1 works licence can be granted over a particular sub-block. 22
(5) A works licence may be granted so as to allow activities that are 23
connected with 2 or more tenures. 24
s 268 145 s 271
Offshore Minerals
authorised by a works licence 1
Activities
268. A works licence holder may carry out in the tenure area the activities 2
that are specified in the tenure. 3
may cancel or not renew works licence without compensation 4
Minister
269. No compensation is payable because of the cancellation or 5
non-renewal of a works licence by the Minister. 6
7
Note 1: The Minister may cancel the tenure under section 313.
8
Note 2: The Minister may refuse to renew the tenure under section 294.
Division 2--Application for and grant of works licence 9
for works licence 10
Application
270. A person may apply to the Minister for a works licence over a 11
sub-block. 12
ow to apply 13
H
271.(1) The application must-- 14
(a) be made in accordance with the approved form; and 15
(b) be made in the approved way; and 16
(c) include details of the activities that the applicant proposes to carry 17
out; and 18
(d) be accompanied by a map that shows the proposed location of the 19
activities; and 20
(e) specify an address for service of notices under this Act and the 21
regulations. 22
23
Note: For paragraphs (a) and (b) see section 41.
(2) The applicant may include in the application any other information 24
that the applicant considers relevant. 25
s 272 146 s 274
Offshore Minerals
of fee 1
Payment
272.(1) The applicant must pay the application fee prescribed under a 2
regulation. 3
(2) The fee must be paid when the application is made. 4
(3) The Minister may refund any fee paid under subsection (1) but only if 5
the Minister is satisfied that special circumstances exist that justify the 6
refund of the fee. 7
to notify tenure holders affected by the application 8
Applicant
273.(1) The applicant must notify interested tenure holders of the 9
application. 10
(2) The notice must-- 11
(a) be given to the interested tenure holder; and 12
(b) give details of the works licence applied for; and 13
(c) invite the interested tenure holder to give comments to the 14
Minister within 30 days after the day on which the notice is given. 15
(3) For this section, a tenure holder is interested if-- 16
(a) a sub-block covered by the application is inside the tenure area; 17
and 18
(b) the holder is not the applicant. 19
must be advertised 20
Application
274.(1) The applicant must advertise the application in a newspaper 21
circulating throughout the State. 22
(2) The advertisement must contain-- 23
(a) the applicant's name and address; and 24
(b) a map and description of the sub-blocks covered that are sufficient 25
for the sub-blocks to be identified; and 26
(c) details of the activities that the applicant proposes to carry out; and 27
(d) a map showing the proposed location of those activities; and 28
s 275 147 s 276
Offshore Minerals
(e) the address of the Minister; and 1
(f) a statement that-- 2
(i) the applicant has applied for a works licence over the sub- 3
blocks described in the notice; and 4
(ii) invites comment from the public on the application; and 5
(iii) requests that comments be sent to the applicant and to the 6
Minister specified in the notice within 30 days after the day 7
on which the advertisement is published. 8
(3) The advertisement must be published-- 9
(a) as soon as possible after the applicant makes the application; and 10
(b) in any case, subject to subsection (4), within 14 days after the day 11
on which the applicant makes the application. 12
(4) If-- 13
(a) the applicant applies to the Minister within the 14 day period 14
referred to in subsection (3) for an extension of the period; and 15
(b) the Minister extends the period; 16
the advertisement must be published within the period as extended by the 17
Minister. 18
number not used 19
Section
275. See note 2 to section 3(1). 20
may provisionally grant tenure 21
Minister
276. If the applicant does what is required by sections 271 to 274, the 22
Minister may-- 23
(a) provisionally grant a works licence to the applicant; or 24
(b) refuse the application. 25
26
Note: Under section 286, the grant of the tenure can not be effective before it is
27
registered (see section 333 for registration). The grant will not be registered
28
until it has been properly accepted (see section 283 for "proper acceptance").
s 277 148 s 279
Offshore Minerals
number not used 1
Section
277. See note 2 to section 3(1). 2
to be specified in the tenure 3
Matters
278.(1) The tenure must specify-- 4
(a) the sub-blocks covered by the tenure; and 5
(b) the activities authorised by the tenure; and 6
(c) the area in which the activities are to be carried out; and 7
(d) the term of the tenure; and 8
(e) the tenure conditions. 9
(2) The term specified under subsection (1)(d) must not be more than 10
5 years. 11
must be notified 12
Applicant
279.(1) The Minister must give the applicant notice of a decision under 13
section 276. 14
(2) If the Minister provisionally grants a works licence-- 15
(a) the Minister must give the tenure to the provisional holder; and 16
(b) the notice under subsection (1) must contain notification-- 17
(i) of any decision under section 399103 that the provisional 18
holder must lodge a security; and 19
(ii) that the provisional grant will lapse unless the provisional 20
holder, before the end of the primary payment period-- 21
(A) gives the Minister a written acceptance of the grant; and 22
(B) lodges any security required under section 399; and 23
(C) pays the fee that must be paid for the tenure under 24
section 425.104 25
103 Section 399 (Decision about requirement to lodge security)
104 Section 425 (Tenure fees)
s 280 149 s 282
Offshore Minerals
of conditions 1
Amendment
280.(1) If the provisional holder is dissatisfied with the tenure conditions, 2
the provisional holder may ask the Minister to amend the conditions. 3
(2) The request must be made within 30 days after the day on which the 4
provisional holder is given the tenure under section 279. 5
(3) If a request is made under subsection (1), the Minister may amend 6
the tenure conditions as requested and, with the consent of the provisional 7
holder, otherwise amend the conditions. 8
(4) The Minister must give the provisional holder notice of a decision 9
under this section. 10
of security requirements 11
Amendment
281.(1) If the provisional holder-- 12
(a) is notified of a security requirement; and 13
(b) is dissatisfied with the amount of the security required; 14
the provisional holder may ask the Minister to make a new decision under 15
section 399.105 16
(2) The request must be made within 30 days after the day on which the 17
applicant is given notice under section 279. 18
(3) If a request is made under subsection (1), the Minister may make a 19
new decision under section 399. 20
(4) The Minister must give the provisional holder notice of the new 21
decision. 22
of primary payment period 23
Extension
282.(1) If the provisional holder makes a request under section 280 or 24
281, the provisional holder may ask the Minister to extend the primary 25
payment period. 26
(2) The request must be made within 30 days after the day on which the 27
provisional holder is given notice under section 279. 28
105 Section 399 (Decision about requirement to lodge security)
s 283 150 s 284
Offshore Minerals
(3) If the Minister agrees to the request, the Minister must-- 1
(a) decide the period of the extension; and 2
(b) give the provisional holder a notice of the period of the extension. 3
of grant of works licence 4
Acceptance
283.(1) The provisional grant of a works licence is properly accepted by 5
the provisional holder if, before the required time, the provisional holder-- 6
(a) gives the Minister a written acceptance of the grant; and 7
(b) lodges any security required under section 399;106 and 8
(c) pays the fee that must be paid for the tenure under section 425.107 9
(2) The required time under subsection (1) is the end of the primary 10
payment period or, if the provisional holder has been granted an extension 11
of the primary payment period under section 282, the end of the secondary 12
payment period. 13
14
Note: Under section 286, the grant of the tenure can not be effective before it is
15
registered (see section 333 for registration).
applicable to works licence on grant 16
Conditions
284. If the provisional grant of the tenure is properly accepted under 17
section 283, it is subject to-- 18
(a) the conditions specified in the tenure given to the applicant under 19
section 279;108 or 20
(b) if the Minister amended those conditions under 21
section 280109--those conditions as amended. 22
106 Section 399 (Decision about requirement to lodge security)
107 Section 425 (Tenure fees)
108 Section 279 (Applicant must be notified)
109 Section 280 (Amendment of conditions)
s 285 151 s 287
Offshore Minerals
of provisional grant of works licence 1
Lapse
285. If the provisional grant of the tenure is not properly accepted under 2
section 283, the provisional grant lapses. 3
Division 3--Duration of works licence 4
term of works licence 5
Initial
286.(1) A works licence comes into force on-- 6
(a) the day on which the grant of the tenure is registered; or 7
(b) if a day later than the day on which the grant of the tenure is 8
registered is specified in the tenure as its commencement 9
day--that specified day. 10
(2) The initial term of a works licence expires at the end of the period 11
specified in the tenure under subsection 278(1).110 12
13
Note 1: For the maximum initial term see section 278(2).
14
Note 2: The tenure may be surrendered at any time (see section 312).
(3) The period runs from-- 15
(a) the day on which the tenure is provisionally granted; or 16
(b) if a day later than the day on which the tenure is provisionally 17
granted is specified in the tenure as the tenure's commencement 18
day--that specified day. 19
of renewal of works licence 20
Term
287.(1) A renewal of a works licence comes into force on the later of the 21
following days-- 22
(a) the day on which the renewal is registered; 23
(b) the day on which the previous term of the tenure expires. 24
25
Note: See division 4 for renewal.
110 Section 278 (Matters to be specified in the tenure)
s 288 152 s 289
Offshore Minerals
(2) The term of a renewal of a tenure expires at the end of the period 1
specified in the notice under section 296.111 2
3
Note 1: For the maximum term of renewal see section 296(3).
4
Note 2: The tenure may be surrendered at any time (see section 312).
(3) The period runs from the day on which the previous term of the 5
tenure expires. 6
of application for renewal on term of works licence 7
Effect
288. If-- 8
(a) a works licence holder applies to renew the tenure under 9
section 289; and 10
(b) the current term of the tenure expires; and 11
(c) a renewal of the tenure does not take effect immediately after the 12
current term expires; 13
the tenure remains in force after the current term expires until the first of the 14
following happens-- 15
(d) a renewal of the tenure takes effect; 16
(e) a provisional renewal of the tenure lapses; 17
(f) the application for renewal is withdrawn or refused. 18
4--Application for and grant of renewal of works licence 19
Division
for renewal of works licence 20
Application
289. A works licence holder may apply to the Minister to renew the 21
tenure. 22
23
Note: At each renewal, the works licence conditions are reviewed (see section 304).
111 Section 296 (Applicant must be notified)
s 290 153 s 292
Offshore Minerals
application to be made 1
When
290.(1) Subject to subsection (2), the application must be made at least 2
30 days before the day on which the tenure is to expire. 3
(2) The Minister may accept an application that is made later than 30 days 4
before the day on which the works licence is to expire if-- 5
(a) the application is made before the day on which the tenure 6
expires; and 7
(b) the Minister believes that there are reasonable grounds for 8
accepting the application. 9
to apply for renewal 10
How
291.(1) The application must-- 11
(a) be made in accordance with the approved form; and 12
(b) be made in the approved way; and 13
(c) include details of-- 14
(i) the activities carried out by the applicant under the tenure 15
during its current term; and 16
(ii) the amount of money spent by the applicant in relation to the 17
sub-blocks covered by the tenure during its current term; and 18
(iii) the activities that the applicant intends to carry out under the 19
tenure during the term applied for; and 20
(iv) the amount of money that the applicant intends to spend in 21
relation to the activities authorised by the tenure during the 22
term applied for. 23
24
Note: For paragraphs (a) and (b) see section 41.
(2) The applicant may include in the application any other information 25
that the applicant considers relevant. 26
of fee 27
Payment
292.(1) The applicant must pay the application fee prescribed under a 28
regulation. 29
s 293 154 s 296
Offshore Minerals
(2) The fee must be paid when the application is made. 1
(3) The Minister may refund any fee paid under subsection (1) but only if 2
the Minister is satisfied that special circumstances exist that justify the 3
refund of the fee. 4
number not used 5
Section
293. See note 2 to section 3(1). 6
renewal of works licence 7
Provisional
294. The Minister may-- 8
(a) provisionally renew the tenure; or 9
(b) refuse to renew the tenure. 10
11
Note 1: Under section 287, the renewal of the tenure can not be effective before it is
12
registered (see section 334 for registration). The renewal will not be
13
registered until it has been properly accepted (see section 300 for "proper
14
acceptance").
15
Note 2: Under section 304, new conditions may be imposed on renewal.
number not used 16
Section
295. See note 2 to section 3(1). 17
must be notified 18
Applicant
296.(1) The Minister must give the applicant notice of the Minister's 19
decision under section 294. 20
(2) If the Minister provisionally renews the works licence under 21
section 294, the notice must contain notification-- 22
(a) of the term of the renewal; and 23
(b) of the conditions of the renewed tenure; and 24
(c) that the provisional renewal will lapse unless the applicant, before 25
the end of the primary payment period-- 26
(i) gives the Minister a written acceptance of the renewal; and 27
s 297 155 s 298
Offshore Minerals
(ii) lodges any security required by the Minister under 1
section 399;112 and 2
(iii) pays the fee that must be paid under section 425.113 3
4
Note: Paragraph (b): section 304 provides for renewals to be granted subject to
5
conditions.
(3) The term specified under subsection (2)(a) must not be more than 6
5 years. 7
of conditions 8
Amendment
297.(1) If the tenure holder-- 9
(a) has been provisionally granted a renewal of the tenure under 10
section 294; and 11
(b) is notified of the tenure conditions; and 12
(c) is dissatisfied with the tenure conditions; 13
the holder may ask the Minister to amend the conditions. 14
(2) The request must-- 15
(a) be made within 30 days after the day on which the holder is given 16
notice under section 296; and 17
(b) be lodged with the Minister. 18
(3) If a request is made under subsection (1), the Minister may amend 19
the tenure conditions as requested and, with the consent of the holder, 20
otherwise amend the conditions. 21
(4) The Minister must give the holder notice of a decision under this 22
section. 23
of security requirements 24
Amendment
298.(1) If the tenure holder-- 25
112 Section 399 (Decision about requirement to lodge security)
113 Section 425 (Tenure fees)
s 299 156 s 300
Offshore Minerals
(a) has been provisionally granted a renewal of the tenure under 1
section 294; and 2
(b) is notified of a security requirement; and 3
(c) is dissatisfied with the amount of security required; 4
the holder may ask the Minister to make a new decision under 5
section 399.114 6
(2) The request must be made within 30 days after the day on which the 7
holder is given notice under section 296. 8
(3) If a request is made under subsection (1), the Minister may make a 9
new decision under section 399. 10
(4) The Minister must give the holder notice of the new decision. 11
of primary payment period 12
Extension
299.(1) If the tenure holder makes a request under section 297 or 298, the 13
holder may ask the Minister to extend the primary payment period. 14
(2) The request must be made within 30 days after the day on which the 15
holder is given notice under section 296. 16
(3) If the Minister agrees to the request, the Minister must-- 17
(a) decide the period of the extension; and 18
(b) give the holder notice informing the holder of the period of the 19
extension. 20
of renewal of works licence 21
Acceptance
300.(1) The provisional renewal of a works licence is properly accepted 22
by the tenure holder if, before the required time, the holder-- 23
(a) gives the Minister a written acceptance of the renewal; and 24
(b) lodges any security required under section 399; and 25
114 Section 399 (Decision about requirement to lodge security)
s 301 157 s 303
Offshore Minerals
(c) pays the fee that must be paid for the tenure under section 425.115 1
(2) The required time under subsection (1) is the end of the primary 2
payment period or, if the provisional holder has been granted an extension 3
of the primary payment period under section 299, the end of the secondary 4
payment period. 5
6
Note: Under section 287, the renewal of the tenure can not be effective before it is
7
registered (see section 334 for registration).
applicable to works licence on renewal 8
Conditions
301. If the provisional renewal is properly accepted under section 300, 9
the renewed tenure is subject to-- 10
(a) the conditions specified in the notice given to the tenure holder 11
under section 296; or 12
(b) if the Minister amended those conditions under 13
section 297--those conditions as amended. 14
of provisional renewal of works licence 15
Lapse
302. If the provisional renewal of the tenure is not properly accepted 16
under section 300, the provisional renewal lapses. 17
5--Obligations associated with works licence 18
Division
19
General
303.(1) The sources of obligations associated with a works licence are-- 20
(a) the tenure conditions; and 21
(b) obligations arising from directions under section 387 or 392116 22
given by the Minister; and 23
(c) obligations imposed by this Act and the regulations. 24
115 Section 425 (Tenure fees)
116 Section 387 (Minister may give directions) or section 392 (Power to give
directions after tenure etc. ends)
s 304 158 s 304
Offshore Minerals
1
Note: For paragraph (a) see sections 304 to 306. For paragraph (c) see sections 44,
2
308 to 310, 372 and 391(1).
(2) If a works licence has 2 or more holders, all the holders are jointly 3
and severally bound by the obligations that attach to the tenure. 4
of works licence 5
Conditions
304.(1) The Minister may grant or renew a works licence subject to 6
whatever conditions the Minister considers appropriate. 7
(2) If the Minister grants or renews a works licence subject to conditions, 8
the conditions must be specified in the tenure. 9
(3) Without limiting subsection (1), the Minister may attach conditions to 10
the grant or renewal of a works licence requiring the tenure holder to do the 11
following types of things-- 12
(a) take out insurance as required by the Minister; 13
(b) carry out certain work in or in relation to the tenure area during the 14
term of the tenure; 15
(c) lodge a security with the Minister; 16
(d) keep specified information; 17
(e) give the Minister, on request, specified information; 18
(f) take steps to protect the environment of the tenure area, including 19
conditions about-- 20
(i) protecting wildlife; or 21
(ii) minimising the effect on the environment of the tenure area 22
and the area surrounding the tenure of activities carried out in 23
the tenure area; 24
(g) repair any damage to the environment caused by activities in the 25
tenure area; 26
(h) pay a specified penalty to the State if the holder does not comply 27
with a tenure condition. 28
(4) A condition under subsection (3)(c) must specify-- 29
(a) the amount of the security required; and 30
s 305 159 s 306
Offshore Minerals
(b) the kind of security required; and 1
(c) the way and the form in which the security is to be lodged. 2
(5) Without limiting subsection (3)(c), a condition under that provision 3
may require the lodgment of a security in the form of a guarantee and, if a 4
guarantee is required, the condition may specify-- 5
(a) the kind of person who is to give the guarantee; and 6
(b) the terms of the guarantee. 7
conditions requiring payment of money 8
No
305. Except for a condition requiring the payment of a penalty or 9
lodgment of a security, a tenure condition must not require the payment of 10
money to the State. 11
of conditions 12
Variation
306.(1) If a works licence holder requests the Minister in writing to vary 13
the tenure conditions, the Minister may vary the conditions. 14
(2) If the Minister gives-- 15
(a) a direction under section 387;117 or 16
(b) an approval, consent or exemption under a regulation; 17
to a works licence holder, the Minister may vary the tenure conditions to the 18
extent necessary to avoid inconsistency between the tenure conditions and 19
the direction, approval, consent or exemption. 20
(3) The Minister may vary the tenure conditions subject to whatever 21
conditions the Minister considers appropriate. 22
(4) If the Minister varies the tenure conditions, the Minister must give the 23
tenure holder a notice that-- 24
(a) informs the holder of the variation; and 25
(b) specifies the conditions that have been varied; and 26
(c) specifies any conditions to which the variation is subject. 27
117 Section 387 (Minister may give directions)
s 307 160 s 307
Offshore Minerals
from or suspension of conditions 1
Exemption
307.(1) If a works licence holder requests the Minister in writing to-- 2
(a) suspend a tenure condition; or 3
(b) exempt the holder from complying with a tenure condition; 4
the Minister may-- 5
(c) suspend a tenure condition; or 6
(d) exempt the holder from complying with a tenure condition. 7
(2) If the Minister gives-- 8
(a) a direction under section 387;118 or 9
(b) an approval, consent or exemption under a regulation; 10
to a works licence holder, the Minister may suspend a tenure condition, or 11
exempt the holder from compliance with a tenure condition, to the extent 12
necessary to avoid inconsistency between the tenure conditions and the 13
direction, approval, consent or exemption. 14
(3) The Minister may-- 15
(a) suspend a tenure condition; or 16
(b) exempt the tenure holder from complying with a tenure condition; 17
subject to whatever conditions the Minister considers appropriate. 18
(4) If the Minister-- 19
(a) suspends a tenure condition; or 20
(b) exempts the tenure holder from complying with a tenure 21
condition; 22
the Minister must give the holder a notice that-- 23
(c) informs the holder of the exemption or suspension; and 24
(d) specifies the conditions that have been suspended or affected by 25
the exemption; and 26
(e) specifies any conditions to which the suspension or exemption is 27
subject. 28
118 Section 387 (Minister may give directions)
s 308 161 s 309
Offshore Minerals
1
Note: A suspension or exemption of a condition does not take effect until registered
2
(see section 337).
practices 3
Work
308. A person who is a works licence holder or an associate of the 4
holder, in carrying out activities in the tenure area that are authorised by the 5
tenure, must take all reasonable steps-- 6
(a) to ensure that the activities are carried out at a standard that is 7
accepted as reasonable and proper in the mining industry; and 8
(b) to maintain in good repair all structures, equipment and other 9
property erected in, or brought into, the tenure area by the person; 10
and 11
(c) to remove from the tenure area any structure, equipment or other 12
property that-- 13
(i) belongs to the person, or is under the person's control; and 14
(ii) is not being used, or is not going to be used, in connection 15
with the activities. 16
Maximum penalty--267 penalty units. 17
18
Note: The safety of offshore exploration activities is governed by the Mines
19
Regulation Act 1964--see the definition "mine" in section 5 of that Act.
holder must keep specified records etc. 20
Tenure
309. A works licence holder must-- 21
(a) keep whatever records; and 22
(b) give whatever records to the Minister for inspection; and 23
(c) make whatever returns; 24
are necessary to comply with-- 25
(d) the regulations; or 26
(e) the tenure conditions; or 27
s 310 162 s 312
Offshore Minerals
(f) a direction given by the Minister under section 387.119 1
2
Note: Under sections 386 and 387 the Minister may direct a person to keep records
3
and to make returns.
Maximum penalty--134 penalty units. 4
holder must help inspectors 5
Tenure
310. A works licence holder must provide an inspector with reasonable 6
facilities and help so that the inspector is able to carry out compliance 7
inspections. 8
9
Note: See sections 377 to 384 for compliance inspections.
Maximum penalty--67 penalty units. 10
6--Expiry of works licence 11
Division
12
General
311. A works licence expires if-- 13
(a) the term of the tenure ends without the tenure being renewed; or 14
(b) the tenure holder surrenders the tenure; or 15
(c) the tenure is cancelled. 16
17
Note: For paragraph (a) see division 4. For paragraph (b) see section 312. For
18
paragraph (c) see section 313.
surrender of works licence 19
Voluntary
312. The holder of a works licence may surrender the tenure. 20
21
Note: The surrender takes effect when it is registered under section 337 (see
22
section 337(5)).
119 Section 387 (Minister may give directions)
s 313 163 s 313
Offshore Minerals
of works licence 1
Cancellation
313.(1) Subject to subsection (5), the Minister may cancel a works 2
licence if the tenure holder-- 3
(a) breaches a tenure condition; or 4
(b) contravenes a provision of this Act or the regulations; or 5
(c) breaches a condition attached to an approval under 6
section 365(2).120 7
(2) If the Minister proposes to cancel a works licence under 8
subsection (1), the Minister must give the tenure holder a notice that 9
informs the holder of the proposed cancellation. 10
(3) The notice must-- 11
(a) specify the reason for the proposed cancellation; and 12
(b) invite the holder to make submissions about the proposed 13
cancellation; and 14
(c) specify the day by which submissions may be made to the 15
Minister; and 16
(d) specify an address where submissions are to be lodged. 17
(4) The day specified under subsection (3)(c) must be not less than 18
60 days after the day on which the notice is given. 19
(5) The Minister may cancel a works licence only if-- 20
(a) the holder has been given a notice under subsection (2); and 21
(b) the Minister has considered-- 22
(i) any submission made by the holder as provided by the 23
notice under subsection (3); and 24
(ii) any steps taken by the holder to remedy the circumstances 25
that led to the proposal to cancel the tenure and to prevent 26
any similar breach or contravention from happening again; 27
and 28
120 Section 365 (Minister's response to application for approval)
s 314 164 s 314
Offshore Minerals
(c) the Minister is satisfied that no special circumstances exist that 1
justify the tenure not being cancelled. 2
of former works licence holders and former associates 3
Obligations
314.(1) Subject to subsection (2), if-- 4
(a) a person was-- 5
(i) a works licence holder; or 6
(ii) an associate of a works licence holder; and 7
(b) the tenure-- 8
(i) expires; or 9
(ii) is cancelled; or 10
(iii) is surrendered; and 11
(c) an obligation associated with the tenure arising out of-- 12
(i) a tenure condition; or 13
(ii) a direction given under section 387;121 or 14
(iii) this Act or the regulations; 15
has not been discharged; and 16
(d) the person was bound by that obligation when the person was the 17
works licence holder or an associate; 18
the person remains bound by the obligation until the obligation is 19
discharged. 20
(2) The Minister may decide that the person is not subject to-- 21
(a) any particular obligation under this section; or 22
(b) all the person's remaining obligations under this section. 23
(3) A decision under subsection (2) must be in writing. 24
121 Section 387 (Minister may give directions)
s 315 165 s 316
Offshore Minerals
PART 2.6--SPECIAL PURPOSE CONSENTS 1
purpose consents 2
Special
315.(1) A special purpose consent may be granted over-- 3
(a) a standard sub-block; or 4
(b) a reserved sub-block; or 5
(c) a tender sub-block. 6
(2) A special purpose consent may be granted over a sub-block even if 7
the sub-block is in the tenure area of a tenure or the consent area of another 8
special purpose consent. 9
(3) A special purpose consent can only be granted for-- 10
(a) a scientific investigation; or 11
(b) a reconnaissance survey; or 12
(c) the collection of small amounts of minerals. 13
(4) For subsection (3)(b), a reconnaissance survey is the exploration of 14
an area to work out whether the area is sufficiently promising to justify 15
more detailed exploration under an exploration permit. 16
authorised by a special purpose consent 17
Activities
316.(1) A special purpose consent holder may, under the consent-- 18
(a) explore for minerals in the consent area; and 19
(b) take samples of or recover minerals in the consent area. 20
21
Note 1: Under section 23(1) the concept of "exploration" extends to activities that
22
are directly related to exploration.
23
Note 2: Under section 24(1) the concept of "recovery" extends to activities that are
24
directly related to the recovery of minerals.
(2) The grant of a consent does not give the consent holder-- 25
(a) any exclusive or proprietary rights over the sub-blocks covered by 26
the consent; or 27
s 317 166 s 320
Offshore Minerals
(b) any option or preference when it comes to the grant of a tenure 1
over sub-blocks covered by the consent. 2
for a consent 3
Application
317. A person may apply to the Minister for a special purpose consent. 4
ow to apply 5
H
318.(1) The application must-- 6
(a) be made in writing; and 7
(b) include details of the activities for which consent is being sought; 8
and 9
(c) specify the sub-blocks for which the consent is being sought. 10
(2) If the activity involves the collection of only small amounts of 11
minerals as mentioned in section 315(3)(c), the application must also 12
specify-- 13
(a) any mineral to be recovered; and 14
(b) the proposed quantity of any mineral to be recovered. 15
of fee 16
Payment
319.(1) The applicant must pay the application fee prescribed under a 17
regulation. 18
(2) The fee must be paid when the application is made. 19
(3) The Minister may refund any fee paid under subsection (1) but only if 20
the Minister is satisfied that special circumstances exist that justify the 21
refund of the fee. 22
must obtain agreement of exploration permit, mineral 23
Applicant
development licence and mining lease holders affected by the 24
application 25
320.(1) Subject to subsection (3), the applicant must obtain the agreement 26
of interested tenure holders to the application. 27
s 321 167 s 323
Offshore Minerals
(2) The agreement must be in writing. 1
(3) The agreement of an interested tenure holder is not necessary if-- 2
(a) the application is for a scientific investigation; and 3
(b) Australia has obligations under international conventions to allow 4
the investigation. 5
(4) For this section, a tenure holder is interested if-- 6
(a) the holder holds an exploration permit, mineral development 7
licence or mining lease; and 8
(b) the sub-block concerned is inside the tenure area. 9
to notify works licence holders affected by the application 10
Applicant
321.(1) The applicant must notify interested works licence holders of the 11
application. 12
(2) The notice must-- 13
(a) be given to the interested works licence holders; and 14
(b) give details of the special purpose consent applied for; and 15
(c) invite the interested works licence holder to give comments to the 16
Minister within 30 days after the day on which the notice was 17
given. 18
(3) For this section, a works licence holder is interested if the sub-block 19
concerned is inside the works licence area. 20
number not used 21
Section
322. See note 2 to section 3(1). 22
may grant special purpose consent 23
Minister
323. If the applicant does what is required by sections 318 to 321, the 24
Minister may-- 25
(a) grant a special purpose consent to the applicant; or 26
(b) refuse the application. 27
s 324 168 s 327
Offshore Minerals
number not used 1
Section
324. See note 2 to section 3(1). 2
to be specified in the consent 3
Matters
325.(1) The consent must specify-- 4
(a) the sub-blocks covered by the consent; and 5
(b) the activities authorised by the consent; and 6
(c) the period for which the consent is to have effect; and 7
(d) the consent conditions. 8
(2) If the activity involves the collection of only small amounts of 9
minerals122, the consent must also specify-- 10
(a) the minerals to be collected; and 11
(b) the quantities to be collected. 12
(3) The period specified under subsection (1)(c) must not be more than 13
12 months. 14
of consent 15
Duration
326. A consent has effect for the period specified under 16
section 325(1)(c). 17
of consent 18
Conditions
327.(1) The Minister may grant a special purpose consent subject to 19
whatever conditions the Minister considers appropriate. 20
(2) Without limiting subsection (1), the Minister may impose conditions 21
about-- 22
(a) reports to be provided by the consent holder about activities 23
carried out under the consent; and 24
(b) environmental matters. 25
122 see section 315(3)(c).
s 328 169 s 329
Offshore Minerals
CHAPTER 3--REGISTRATION AND DEALINGS 1
PART 3.1--REGISTRATION 2
Division 1--Preliminary 3
to be kept 4
Register
328.(1) The Minister must keep a register for this part. 5
6
Note: The main matters entered in the register are--
7
· the grant or renewal of a tenure (see sections 333 and 334);
8
· details of instruments that affect a tenure (see section 337);
9
· details of instruments that affect an interest in a tenure (see sections 338
10
and 339);
11
· details of interests in a tenure that are acquired by devolution (see section
12
340);
13
· details of caveats (see section 345).
(2) The register is to be known as the State Offshore Mining Register. 14
files to be kept 15
Document
329.(1) The Minister must keep a document file for this part. 16
(2) In the document file are to be kept the documents that the Minister is 17
required to keep under this part. 18
19
Note: The documents to be kept in the document file are--
20
· copies of tenures (see section 333(6));
21
· copies of instruments that affect tenures (see section 337(4));
22
· copies of transfers of tenures (see section 338(6));
23
· copies of other dealings in tenures (see section 339(4));
24
· caveats (see section 345(3));
25
· withdrawals of caveats (see section 346(2));
s 330 170 s 331
Offshore Minerals
1
· consents to dealings given under section 350 (see section 350(6));
2
· copies of court orders (see section 351).
of register and document file 3
Form
330.(1) The offshore mining register must be kept in the form and the 4
way decided by the Minister. 5
(2) Without limiting subsection (1), the offshore mining register may be 6
kept in the form of a computer record. 7
(3) The document file must be kept in the form and the way decided by 8
the Minister. 9
of errors in the register 10
Correction
331.(1) Subject to subsection (4), the Minister may correct the offshore 11
mining register if the Minister is satisfied that-- 12
(a) there is an omission of an entry from the register; or 13
(b) an entry in the register should not have been made; or 14
(c) there is an error or defect in an entry in the register. 15
(2) A person may apply to the Minister for correction of the offshore 16
mining register under subsection (1). 17
(3) The application-- 18
(a) must be in writing; and 19
(b) must specify the correction that is being requested. 20
(4) If-- 21
(a) the Minister intends to correct the offshore mining register under 22
subsection (1); and 23
(b) the correction relates to a tenure; and 24
(c) the correction is not to be made in response to an application 25
under subsection (2) by the tenure holder; 26
the Minister must give the holder notice that the Minister intends to correct 27
the register. 28
s 332 171 s 333
Offshore Minerals
(5) The notice must-- 1
(a) specify the correction the Minister intends to make; and 2
(b) invite the holder to make submissions to the Minister about the 3
proposed correction within the period specified in the notice. 4
(6) The period specified under subsection (5)(b) must be at least 14 days 5
after the day on which the notice is given. 6
(7) If a notice is given under subsection (4)-- 7
(a) the Minister must not correct the register until the period specified 8
in the notice has ended; and 9
(b) the Minister must have regard to any submissions made by the 10
tenure holder before the end of that period in exercising the power 11
under subsection (1) to correct the register. 12
of register and documents 13
Inspection
332.(1) A person may inspect the offshore mining register and the 14
document file if the person pays the fee prescribed under a regulation. 15
(2) The Minister must make the offshore mining register and the 16
document file available for inspection at all convenient times. 17
Division 2--Matters to be entered in register 18
1--Tenures 19
Subdivision
20
Tenures
333.(1) If the provisional grant of a tenure is properly accepted, the 21
Minister must register-- 22
(a) the holder's name; and 23
(b) if there is more than one tenure holder--the share in the tenure 24
held by each holder; and 25
(c) a description of the tenure area, including a map or map reference; 26
and 27
s 334 172 s 334
Offshore Minerals
(d) the term of the tenure; and 1
(e) the date of the provisional grant of the tenure; and 2
(f) the date of registration of the tenure; and 3
(g) an address for the service of notices under this Act on the tenure 4
holder. 5
(2) The address registered under subsection (1)(g) must be the address 6
specified by the tenure holder by notice to the Minister. 7
(3) If the holder has not given a notice under subsection (2), the address 8
to be registered under subsection (1)(g) must be the address specified in the 9
application that the holder made for the tenure. 10
(4) If the Minister registers a tenure under subsection (1)-- 11
(a) the tenure holder must give the tenure to the Minister; and 12
(b) the Minister must endorse the date of registration on the tenure. 13
(5) The Minister may include in the register any other information about 14
the holder or the terms and conditions of the tenure that the Minister 15
considers appropriate. 16
(6) The Minister must keep a copy of the tenure. 17
(7) A tenure is taken to be registered as soon as an entry complying with 18
subsection (1) is made in the register. 19
of tenures 20
Renewal
334.(1) If the Minister receives an application for the renewal of a tenure, 21
the Minister must register the fact. 22
(2) If the provisional renewal of a tenure is properly accepted, the 23
Minister must register-- 24
(a) the renewal; and 25
(b) the term of the renewal; and 26
(c) the date of the provisional renewal; and 27
(d) the date of registration of the renewal. 28
s 335 173 s 336
Offshore Minerals
(3) If the Minister registers the renewal of a tenure under 1
subsection (2)-- 2
(a) the tenure holder must give the tenure to the Minister; and 3
(b) the Minister must endorse on the tenure-- 4
(i) the term of the renewal; and 5
(ii) the date of registration of the renewal. 6
(4) If the Minister refuses to renew a tenure, the Minister must register 7
the refusal. 8
of exploration permits 9
Extension
335.(1) If the Minister receives an application for the extension of the 10
term of an exploration permit, the Minister must register the fact. 11
(2) If the Minister refuses to extend the term of an exploration permit, the 12
Minister must register the refusal. 13
14
Note 1: For extensions of the term of a tenure see sections 94 to 98.
15
Note 2: The grant of the extension of the term of an exploration permit is registered
16
under section 337(1).
of tenures 17
Expiry
336.(1) If a tenure expires because-- 18
(a) its term ends; or 19
(b) a mineral development licence or mining lease is granted to the 20
tenure holder; 21
the Minister must register the expiry of the tenure. 22
23
Note: Cancellation is dealt with under section 337.
s 337 174 s 337
Offshore Minerals
(2) In subsection (1)(a), the reference to the term of a tenure includes any 1
period during which the tenure is in force under section 90, 91, 92 or 93.123 2
(3) If the Minister registers the expiry of a tenure under subsection (1)-- 3
(a) the tenure holder must give the tenure to the Minister; and 4
(b) the Minister must endorse the expiry and the date of the expiry on 5
the tenure. 6
etc. to tenures 7
Amendments
337.(1) The Minister must register-- 8
(a) the details of any document under this Act that amends, 9
surrenders, cancels or otherwise affects a tenure; and 10
(b) the details of any document that amends or revokes a document 11
referred to in paragraph (a). 12
13
Note: The documents referred to in paragraph (a) are--
14
· suspension of tenure rights (see sections 48 (exploration permit), 135
15
(mineral development licence) and 195 (mining lease));
16
· amendment of tenure conditions between provisional grant and registration
17
(see sections 67 (exploration permit), 148 (mineral development licence),
18
211 (mining lease) and 280 (works licence))--these need to be registered
19
at the same time as the grant is registered because, if the conditions are
20
amended between provisional grant and registration, a replacement tenure
21
reflecting the change in conditions is not issued to the provisional holder;
22
· extension of term (see sections 90, 95 and 97 (exploration permit));
23
· surrender of the whole or a part of a tenure (see sections 99 and 127
24
(exploration permit), 158 and 187 (mineral development licence), 235
25
and 264 (mining lease) and 312 (works licence));
26
· voluntary surrender--special approval (see section 100 (exploration
27
permit));
28
· mandatory reduction of tenure area--special permission (see section 104
29
(exploration permit));
123 Section 90 (Effect of suspension of rights on term of exploration permit)
Section 91 (Effect of application for renewal on term of exploration permit)
Section 92 (Effect of application for mineral development licence or mining
lease on term of exploration permit)
Section 93 (Effect of application for extension on term of tenure)
s 338 175 s 338
Offshore Minerals
1
· amendment of tenure conditions between provisional renewal and
2
registration (see sections 111 (exploration permit), 170 (mineral
3
development licence), 247 (mining lease) and 297 (works
4
licence))--these need to be registered at the same time as the renewal
5
because, if the tenure conditions are amended between provisional
6
renewal and registration, a replacement tenure reflecting the changed
7
conditions is not issued to the holder;
8
· amendment of conditions (see sections 120 (exploration permit), 179
9
(mineral development licence), 256 (mining lease) and 306 (works
10
licence));
11
· exemption from or suspension of conditions (see sections 121 (exploration
12
permit), 180 (mineral development licence), 257 (mining lease) and 307
13
(works licence));
14
· cancellation (see sections 130 (exploration permit), 189 and 190 (mineral
15
development licence), 265 (mining lease) and 313 (works licence));
16
· directions (see sections 387 and 392);
17
· security requirements (see section 399);
18
· approvals of transfers (see section 365).
(2) Subsection (1)(a) applies to a document that suspends the rights of a 19
holder of a tenure. 20
(3) Details of a document may be registered by registering a summary of 21
the contents of the document. 22
(4) The Minister must keep a document referred to in subsection (1), or a 23
copy of the document. 24
(5) A document referred to in subsection (1)-- 25
(a) has no effect until it is registered; and 26
(b) is taken to be registered as soon as an entry complying with 27
subsection (1) is made in the register. 28
of tenures 29
Transfer
338.(1) The Minister must register the transfer of a tenure or a share in a 30
tenure if-- 31
(a) a party to the transfer lodges the instrument of transfer for 32
registration; and 33
s 339 176 s 339
Offshore Minerals
(b) a party to the transfer lodges a copy of the instrument of transfer; 1
and 2
(c) the transfer has been approved by the Minister; and 3
(d) the tenure is lodged with the Minister for annotation under 4
subsection (5); and 5
(e) the fee prescribed under a regulation is paid; and 6
(f) section 341124 does not prevent the registration of the transfer. 7
8
Note: Paragraph (c): the Minister's approval is endorsed on the transfer (see
9
section 365(3)).
(2) The Minister must also register the date and time of registration of the 10
transfer. 11
(3) If an instrument purports to transfer a tenure or a share in a tenure, the 12
Minister must register the instrument under this section without inquiring 13
into or being concerned as to the legal effectiveness of the instrument. 14
(4) If an instrument that transfers a tenure or a share in a tenure is 15
registered, the Minister must register the name of the transferee as a tenure 16
holder. 17
(5) If the Minister registers the transfer of a tenure or a share in a tenure, 18
the Minister must annotate the tenure to show the transferee as a tenure 19
holder. 20
(6) The Minister must-- 21
(a) keep the copy of the transfer; and 22
(b) return the transfer to the person who lodged it; and 23
(c) return the annotated tenure to the person who lodged it. 24
(7) The registration of a document under this section does not give the 25
document any greater effect than it would have had apart from this Act. 26
dealings in tenures 27
Other
339.(1) The Minister must register a document (other than a transfer of a 28
tenure or a share in a tenure) that creates, transfers, affects or otherwise 29
124 Section 341 (Effect of a caveat)
s 340 177 s 340
Offshore Minerals
deals with an interest in a tenure if-- 1
(a) a party to the dealing lodges the document for registration; and 2
(b) a party to the dealing lodges a copy of the document; and 3
(c) the fee prescribed under a regulation is paid; and 4
(d) section 341125 does not prevent the registration of the dealing. 5
(2) The Minister must also register the date and time of registration of the 6
dealing. 7
(3) If a document purports to create, transfer, affect or otherwise deal 8
with an interest in a tenure, the Minister must register the document under 9
this section without inquiring into or being concerned as to the legal 10
effectiveness of the document. 11
(4) The Minister must keep the copy of the document. 12
(5) The Minister must return the document to the person who lodged it. 13
(6) The registration of a document under this section does not give the 14
document any greater effect than it would have had apart from this Act. 15
of tenures 16
Devolution
340.(1) If-- 17
(a) the rights of a tenure holder have devolved to a person by 18
operation of law; and 19
(b) the person applies to the Minister in writing to be registered as a 20
tenure holder; and 21
(c) the tenure is lodged with the Minister for annotation under 22
subsection (3); and 23
(d) the person pays the fee prescribed under a regulation; and 24
(e) the Minister is satisfied that the applicant is entitled to those rights; 25
and 26
(f) section 341 does not prevent the registration of the person as a 27
tenure holder; 28
125 Section 341 (Effect of a caveat)
s 341 178 s 341
Offshore Minerals
the Minister must register the person as a tenure holder. 1
(2) If the Minister registers a person as a tenure holder under 2
subsection (1), the Minister must also register the date and time of 3
registration. 4
(3) If the Minister registers a person as a tenure holder under 5
subsection (1), the Minister must annotate the tenure accordingly. 6
(4) The Minister must return the annotated tenure to the person who 7
lodged it. 8
(5) This section applies to 2 or more persons to whom rights have 9
devolved in the same way as it applies to a single person to whom rights 10
have devolved. 11
2--Caveats 12
Subdivision
of a caveat 13
Effect
341.(1) If a caveat is in force on a tenure, the Minister must not register a 14
dealing in the tenure unless-- 15
(a) the Minister is not required to give the caveat holder notice of the 16
particular dealing; or 17
(b) the caveat holder consents to the registration of the dealing under 18
section 350;126 or 19
(c) the Wardens Court orders the Minister to register the dealing 20
under section 338 or 339 despite the caveat. 21
22
Note 1: For "dealing" see the dictionary.
23
Note 2: Once the caveat holder has been given notice of the dealing, the caveat will
24
lapse at the end of 30 days unless the caveat holder consents to the
25
registration of the dealing or gets a court order extending the life of the
26
caveat (see section 348).
27
Note 3: The Minister may not be required to give the caveat holder notice of the
28
dealing because the caveat holder is a party to the dealing or because the
29
dealing falls outside the class of dealings that the caveat holder has
30
specified under section 343(2) (see section 349(6)).
126 Section 350 (Caveat holder may consent to registration)
s 342 179 s 343
Offshore Minerals
(2) If a caveat is in force on a tenure, the Minister must not register a 1
person under section 340 as a tenure holder unless-- 2
(a) the caveat holder consents to the registration under section 350;127 3
or 4
(b) the Wardens Court orders the Minister to register the person 5
under section 340 despite the caveat. 6
7
Note: Once the caveat holder has been given notice, the caveat will lapse at the end
8
of 30 days unless the caveat holder consents to the registration or gets a court
9
order extending the life of the caveat.
of caveats 10
Lodgment
342.(1) A person who claims a legal or equitable interest in or affecting a 11
tenure may lodge with the Minister a caveat on the tenure. 12
(2) A person may claim a legal or equitable interest in or affecting a 13
tenure even if the interest claimed arises under a document that has not been 14
registered under section 338 or 339. 15
of caveat 16
Form
343.(1) A caveat must-- 17
(a) be in accordance with the approved form; and 18
(b) state-- 19
(i) the full name and address of the person claiming the interest; 20
and 21
(ii) details of the interest claimed; and 22
(c) be signed by the person claiming the interest; and 23
(d) specify an address for service of notices within the State. 24
(2) A caveat may specify the particular dealings that the caveat holder 25
wants to be given notice of under section 349.128 26
127 Section 350 (Caveat holder may consent to registration)
128 Section 349 (Notice to caveat holder)
s 344 180 s 346
Offshore Minerals
of fee 1
Payment
344. The person lodging a caveat must pay the caveat fee that is 2
prescribed under a regulation. 3
to be registered 4
Caveat
345.(1) If-- 5
(a) a caveat is lodged for registration; and 6
(b) the caveat complies with section 343; and 7
(c) the person lodging the caveat pays the fee required by section 344; 8
the Minister must, subject to subsection (4), register the caveat. 9
(2) The Minister must register the date and time of lodgment. 10
(3) The Minister must keep the original of the caveat and endorse on it 11
the date and time of lodgment. 12
(4) Subsection (1) does not apply if-- 13
(a) the Wardens Court has made an order under section 351(2);129 14
and 15
(b) the order requires the court's consent to the registration of the 16
caveat; and 17
(c) the court has not consented to the registration of the caveat. 18
of caveat 19
Withdrawal
346.(1) A caveat holder may withdraw the caveat at any time by lodging 20
a written withdrawal with the Minister. 21
(2) The Minister must-- 22
(a) register details of the withdrawal; and 23
(b) endorse details of the withdrawal on the original of the caveat; and 24
(c) keep the original of the withdrawal. 25
129 Section 351 (Orders that can be made by Wardens Court in relation to caveats)
s 347 181 s 348
Offshore Minerals
of withdrawal 1
Form
347. A withdrawal of a caveat must-- 2
(a) be in accordance with the approved form; and 3
(b) give details of the caveat; and 4
(c) be signed by the caveat holder. 5
of caveat 6
Duration
348.(1) A caveat that is registered is taken to have had effect from the 7
time at which it is lodged with the Minister. 8
(2) A caveat on a tenure ceases to have effect if-- 9
(a) the Wardens Court makes an order for the removal of the caveat 10
under section 351; or 11
(b) the caveat is withdrawn under section 346; or 12
(c) the caveat holder is given notice under section 349(1), (2) or (3) 13
and 30 days have passed since the caveat holder was given the 14
notice. 15
(3) Subsection (2)(c) does not apply if, before the end of the 30 days, the 16
caveat holder consents to the registration of the dealing or to the registration 17
under section 340.130 18
(4) Subsection (2)(c) does not apply if, before the end of the 30 days-- 19
(a) the caveat holder applies to the Wardens Court for an order under 20
section 351 that the caveat be extended beyond the period; and 21
(b) the court makes an order extending the period. 22
(5) If the court makes an order under section 351(1)(c), the caveat ceases 23
to have effect at the end of the extended period. 24
(6) Subsection (5) does not apply if, before the end of the extended 25
period, the caveat holder consents to the registration of the dealing under 26
section 350 or to the registration under section 340. 27
130 Section 340 (Devolution of tenures)
s 349 182 s 349
Offshore Minerals
to caveat holder 1
Notice
349.(1) If-- 2
(a) a transfer of a tenure or a share in a tenure is lodged with the 3
Minister under section 338;131 and 4
(b) a caveat is in force on the tenure; 5
the Minister must, subject to subsection (6), notify the caveat holder that the 6
transfer has been lodged for registration. 7
(2) If-- 8
(a) a dealing in a tenure (other than a transfer of the tenure or a share 9
in the tenure) is lodged with the Minister under section 339;132 10
and 11
(b) a caveat is in force on the tenure; 12
the Minister must, subject to subsection (6), notify the caveat holder that the 13
dealing has been lodged for registration. 14
(3) If-- 15
(a) a person applies to the Minister under section 340133 to be 16
registered as a tenure holder; and 17
(b) a caveat is in force on the tenure; 18
the Minister must notify the caveat holder that the application has been 19
made. 20
(4) If-- 21
(a) a tenure holder surrenders the tenure or surrenders a sub-block or 22
some of the sub-blocks covered by the tenure; and 23
(b) a caveat is in force on the tenure; 24
the Minister must notify the caveat holder of the surrender. 25
(5) Notice under subsection (1), (2), (3) or (4) must be by certified mail. 26
131 Section 338 (Transfer of tenures)
132 Section 339 (Other dealings in tenures)
133 Section 340 (Devolution of tenures)
s 350 183 s 351
Offshore Minerals
(6) Notice must not be given under subsection (1) or (2) if-- 1
(a) the caveat holder is a party to the transfer or dealing concerned; or 2
(b) the caveat holder has specified the class of dealings the caveat 3
holder wants to receive notice of134 and the transfer or dealing 4
falls outside that class. 5
holder may consent to registration 6
Caveat
350.(1) If a caveat holder is given notice under section 349(1), the caveat 7
holder may consent to the registration of the transfer. 8
(2) If a caveat holder is given notice under section 349(2), the caveat 9
holder may consent to the registration of the dealing. 10
(3) If a caveat holder is given notice under section 349(3), the caveat 11
holder may consent to the registration of the person as a tenure holder. 12
(4) A consent under this section must be in writing and must be lodged 13
with the Minister. 14
(5) A consent under this section is only effective if it is given within 15
30 days after the day on which the caveat holder receives the notice 16
concerned. 17
(6) The Minister must-- 18
(a) register details of the consent; and 19
(b) endorse details of the consent on the original of the caveat; and 20
(c) keep the original of the consent. 21
that can be made by Wardens Court in relation to caveats 22
Orders
351.(1) The Wardens Court may-- 23
(a) order the removal of a caveat from a tenure; or 24
(b) order the Minister to register a dealing despite a caveat; or 25
(c) extend the period provided for by section 348(2)(c). 26
134 See section 343(2) (Form of caveat).
s 352 184 s 353
Offshore Minerals
(2) If-- 1
(a) the court makes an order under subsection (1)(a) or (b) in relation 2
to the tenure; and 3
(b) the court is satisfied that caveats are being used vexatiously to 4
delay the registration of a document; 5
the court may also make an order that the Minister must not register any 6
caveat in relation to the tenure unless the court has consented to the 7
registration. 8
(3) An order under subsection (2) may be for an indefinite period or for a 9
specified period. 10
(4) An order under subsection (2) may provide that the court's consent is 11
not required in any specified case or class of case. 12
(5) If an application is made to the court for an order under 13
subsection (2), the Minister becomes a party to the proceeding. 14
(6) If a court makes an order under this section, the Minister must-- 15
(a) register details of the order; and 16
(b) keep a copy of the order. 17
3--Miscellaneous 18
Division
from stamp duty 19
Exemption
352. Duty under the Stamp Act 1894 is not chargeable on-- 20
(a) a tenure; or 21
(b) any instrument that creates, transfers, affects or otherwise deals 22
with an interest in a tenure.135 23
from legal actions 24
Protection
353.(1) This section applies to-- 25
135 This section is relevant to Queensland only and does not have an equivalent
Commonwealth provision.
s 354 185 s 354
Offshore Minerals
(a) the Minister; and 1
(b) a delegate of the Minister; and 2
(c) a person acting under the direction or authority of the Minister or 3
a delegate of the Minister. 4
(2) A person to whom this section applies is not liable to an action, suit 5
or proceeding in relation to an act or matter if-- 6
(a) the act or matter is done or omitted to be done in the exercise or 7
purported exercise of a power or authority given by this part; and 8
(b) the act or matter is done or omitted to be done in good faith and 9
without negligence. 10
(3) If subsection (2) prevents a civil liability attaching to the person, the 11
liability attaches instead to the State. 12
to court for correction of register 13
Application
354.(1) The Wardens Court, on the application of a person aggrieved 14
by-- 15
(a) the omission of an entry from the offshore mining register; or 16
(b) an entry wrongly existing in the register; or 17
(c) an error or defect in an entry in the register; 18
may make any order it considers appropriate directing correction of the 19
register. 20
(2) In a proceeding under subsection (1), the court may decide any 21
necessary or expedient question concerning the rectification of the register. 22
(3) A copy of the court order may be served on the Minister. 23
(4) In a proceeding under subsection (1)-- 24
(a) the Minister may appear; or 25
(b) if the court so directs--the Minister must appear. 26
(5) If the Minister receives a copy of an order under subsection (3), the 27
Minister must amend the register so that the register accords with the order. 28
s 355356 186 s 359
Offshore Minerals
numbers not used 1
Section
355356. See note 2 to section 3(1). 2
value of register 3
Evidentiary
357.(1) The offshore mining register is admissible in a proceeding as 4
evidence of the matters registered in it. 5
(2) If the register is kept by the use of a computer, the Minister may issue 6
a document containing the details of a matter taken from the register. 7
(3) The document issued under subsection (2) is admissible in a 8
proceeding as evidence of the matter. 9
(4) The Minister may give a person a certified copy of, or extract from, 10
the register if the person pays the fee prescribed under a regulation. 11
(5) The certified copy is admissible in a proceeding without any further 12
proof of, or the production of, the original. 13
copy of document on document file 14
Certified
358.(1) The Minister may give a person a certified copy of a document 15
that is kept on the document file if the person pays the fee prescribed under 16
a regulation. 17
(2) The certified copy is admissible in a proceeding without any further 18
proof of, or the production of, the original. 19
of registration action 20
Certification
359.(1) If a person pays the fee prescribed under a regulation, the 21
Minister may give a person a signed certificate that-- 22
(a) a thing required or allowed by this part has been done; or 23
(b) a thing required or allowed by this part has not been done. 24
(2) The certificate is admissible in a proceeding as evidence of the facts 25
stated in the certificate. 26
s 360 187 s 362
Offshore Minerals
PART 3.2--DEALINGS IN TENURES 1
1--Dealings in tenures to be in writing and registered 2
Division
in tenures to be in writing 3
Dealings
360.(1) An interest in a tenure may be created, transferred, affected or 4
otherwise dealt with only by a written document. 5
6
Note: A transfer must be in writing because it is a dealing.
(2) Subsection (1) does not apply to the rights of a tenure holder that 7
devolve to a person by operation of law. 8
9
Note 1: Rights might devolve to a person, for example, by operation of the laws
10
relating to intestacy or bankruptcy.
11
Note 2: For the registration of rights that devolve to a person by operation of law see
12
section 340.
in interests in tenures not effective until registered 13
Dealings
361. A document that creates, transfers, affects or otherwise deals with 14
an interest in a tenure has no effect until it is registered under part 3.1.136 15
16
Note 1: A transfer is a dealing