South Australian Consolidated Acts South Australian Consolidated Acts28—Grant of exploration licence
(1) Subject to this
Act, the Minister may grant an exploration licence to any person.
(2) An exploration
licence authorises the licensee to carry out exploratory operations of a kind
described in the licence in respect of land described, or referred to, in the
licence.
(2a) However, an
exploration licence does not (and cannot) authorise the licensee to carry out
exploratory operations for precious stones on land within a
precious stones field that is outside an opal development area, or on land
within an exclusion zone under the Opal Mining Act 1995 .
(3) An exploration
licence shall not be granted in respect of extractive minerals.
(5) At least 28 days
before the Minister grants an exploration licence, a notice describing the
land over which the licence is to be granted and, if the licence is to relate
to a particular stratum, specifying the stratum, must be published by the
Minister—
(a) in
the Gazette; and
(b) in a
newspaper circulating generally in the State; and
(c) if
there is a regional or local newspaper circulating in the part of the State in
which the licence area is situated—in the regional or local newspaper.
(7) The Minister must
not grant an exploration licence that authorises the licensee to carry out
exploratory operations for precious stones if to do so would be inconsistent
with a public undertaking by the Minister to the mining industry.
(8) If an application
for an exploration licence relates to an area within the Murray-Darling Basin,
the Minister must, in considering the application, take into account the
objects of the River Murray Act 2003 and the Objectives for a Healthy
River Murray under that Act.
(9) If an application
for an exploration licence relates to an area within a
River Murray Protection Area, the Minister must, before making his or her
decision on the application, refer the application to the
Minister for the River Murray and consult with that Minister in relation to
the matter.
(10) If an application
for an exploration licence is referred to the Minister for the River Murray
under subsection (9) and the Minister to whom the administration of this
Act is committed and the Minister for the River Murray cannot agree—
(a) on
whether an exploration licence should be granted; or
(b) if
an exploration licence is granted, on the conditions to which the exploration
licence should be subject,
the Ministers must take steps to refer the matter to the Governor and the
Governor will determine the matter (and any decision taken by the Governor
will be taken to be a decision of the Minister under this Act).
(11) If an application
for an exploration licence relates to an area within or adjacent to the
Adelaide Dolphin Sanctuary, the Minister must, before making his or her
decision on the application, refer the application to the
Minister for the Adelaide Dolphin Sanctuary and consult with that Minister in
relation to the matter.
(12) If an application
for an exploration licence is referred to the
Minister for the Adelaide Dolphin Sanctuary under subsection (11) and the
Minister to whom the administration of this Act is committed and the Minister
for the Adelaide Dolphin Sanctuary cannot agree—
(a) on
whether an exploration licence should be granted; or
(b) if
an exploration licence is granted, on the conditions to which the exploration
licence should be subject,
the Ministers must take steps to refer the matter to the Governor and the
Governor will determine the matter (and any decision taken by the Governor
will be taken to be a decision of the Minister under this Act).