Western Australian Consolidated Acts Western Australian Consolidated Acts (1) Where any land is
the subject of a prospecting licence (in this section called the primary
tenement ) then, notwithstanding section 117, a person may at any time
after the expiry of 12 months from —
(a) in
the case of land which was the subject of a mineral claim or dredging claim
granted under the repealed Act that by the operation of the transitional
provisions set forth in the Second Schedule became subject to the primary
tenement, the date of approval of the claim; and
(b) in
any other case, unless subsection (1aa) applies, the date on which the
primary tenement was granted,
mark out and, in
accordance with section 41, apply for a prospecting licence for gold (in
this section called a special prospecting licence ) in respect of any
part of the land the subject of the primary tenement.
(1aa) If the primary
tenement was granted as a result of an application under section 56B or a
reversion licence application, a special prospecting licence may be marked out
and applied for at any time after the date on which the primary tenement was
granted.
(1a) A special
prospecting licence may only be applied for by, granted to or held by a
natural person.
(2) Unless
subsection (5a) applies, an applicant for a special prospecting licence
shall, within the prescribed period, serve notice of his application on the
holder of the primary tenement as if that holder were the occupier of the land
to which that application relates, and subsections (3) to (5) apply in
respect of that application.
(3) If, after being
served with notice of an application for a special prospecting licence, the
holder of the primary tenement does not lodge an objection against that
application, the mining registrar may, subject to this Act, grant that
application as provided in subsection (6).
(4) If the holder of
the primary tenement lodges an objection to an application for a special
prospecting licence, the warden shall obtain a report from the Director,
Geological Survey, in respect of the prospecting carried on by the holder of
the primary tenement on the land to which the application relates.
(4a) A report prepared
by the Director, Geological Survey for the purposes of subsection (4) is
to be based solely on information contained in reports filed by or on behalf
of the holder of the primary tenement under section 51 or 115A.
(5) After hearing an
objection referred to in subsection (4), the warden may refuse the
application for the special prospecting licence concerned on the ground that
prospecting for gold on the land to which that application relates would
result in undue detriment to the prospecting being carried on by the holder of
the primary tenement or he may recommend that application to the Minister, who
may —
(a)
refuse that application; or
(b)
subject to this Act, grant that application as provided in
subsection (6),
but, if the warden
refuses an application under this subsection, the applicant may within the
time and in the manner prescribed appeal to the Minister against that refusal
and the Minister may dismiss that appeal or uphold that appeal and grant that
application as provided in subsection (6).
(5a) If at the time
when an applicant for a special prospecting licence marked out the land to
which his application relates —
(a) a
special prospecting licence was in force in respect of land the subject of the
primary tenement; or
(b)
another application for a special prospecting licence in respect of land the
subject of the primary tenement had been made, but had not been determined,
under this section,
the applicant shall,
within the prescribed period, lodge at the office of the mining registrar the
written consent of the holder of the primary tenement to the grant of his
application.
(5b) If written
consent to the grant of an application is lodged in accordance with
subsection (5a), the mining registrar may, subject to this Act, grant the
application as provided for in subsection (6).
(6) Subject to this
section, the mining registrar or the Minister may grant an application for a
special prospecting licence on such terms and conditions as he thinks fit, but
a special prospecting licence so granted —
(a)
shall not exceed 10 hectares in area;
(b)
shall authorise the holder thereof to prospect only for gold;
(c)
shall not, unless the Minister otherwise directs, prevent the holder of the
primary tenement from prospecting for minerals other than gold in or on the
land the subject of the special prospecting licence;
(d) does
not authorise the holder thereof to excavate, extract or remove during the
period for which the tenement remains in force a total amount of earth, soil,
rock, stone, fluid or mineral bearing substances in excess of 500 tonnes,
except in so far as the prior written approval of the Minister may otherwise
permit; and
(e) does
not authorise mining to be carried out in any portion of the land that
is —
(i)
below a depth specified in the terms and conditions of
the special prospecting licence, and any depth so specified shall be less than
50 metres below the lowest part of the natural surface of the land the
subject of the special prospecting licence; or
(ii)
if a depth is not so specified, 50 metres or more below
the lowest part of the natural surface of the land the subject of the special
prospecting licence, except in so far as both the prior written consent of the
holder of the primary tenement and the prior written approval of the Minister
may otherwise permit.
(6aa) A special
prospecting licence may be granted for a period of 3 months or for any
period which is a multiple of 3 months but which does not exceed
4 years.
(6a) A special
prospecting licence —
(a)
continues in force notwithstanding that the holder of the primary tenement may
apply for and be granted a retention licence, mining lease or general purpose
lease in respect to the land; but
(b)
ceases (and the land in respect to which it was granted reverts to the primary
tenement holder as an integral part of the tenement held by him) on the
surrender, forfeiture or expiry of that special prospecting licence.
(7) No legal or
equitable interest in or affecting —
(a) a
special prospecting licence; or
(b) a
mining lease in respect of the land or any part thereof the subject of a
special prospecting licence,
is capable of being
created, affected or dealt with, whether directly or indirectly, except with
the prior written consent of the holder of the primary tenement, and no person
shall hold or have any beneficial, legal or equitable interest in —
(c) more
than 10 such special prospecting licences; or
(d) more
than one such mining lease.
(7a) A reference in
subsection (7) to a person includes a reference to any other person who
would, for the purposes of the Corporations Act, be taken to be an associate
of the first-mentioned person.
(7b) No more than one
mining lease in respect of the land or any part thereof which is the subject
of a special prospecting licence shall be granted in respect of the primary
tenement.
(8) The holder of a
special prospecting licence granted for a period of 4 years may make an
application for a mining lease for gold in respect of the land or any part
thereof which is the subject of the special prospecting licence, and on an
application being made the Minister may, subject to subsection (7b),
grant the application for a lease in respect to that portion of the land to
which the special prospecting licence relates that is less than a depth of 50
metres, or such greater depth as the Minister approves with the prior written
consent of the holder of the primary tenement, below the lowest part of the
natural surface of the land and on such terms and conditions as the Minister
thinks fit, and thereupon the area of land in respect of which that mining
lease is granted shall be excised from the primary tenement (whether or not
the primary tenement has in the meantime been converted into a retention
licence or a mining lease).
(8aa)
Sections 74, 74A and 75 apply to an application for a mining lease under
subsection (8).
(8a) A mining lease
granted pursuant to subsection (8) —
(a) has
effect in relation to gold and any minerals occurring in conjunction with that
gold;
(b) does
not authorise the lessee thereof, his agents or employees to excavate, extract
or remove a total amount of earth, soil, rock, stone, fluid or mineral bearing
substances in excess of 750 tonnes in any year, except in so far as both the
prior written consent of the holder of the primary tenement and the prior
written approval of the Minister may otherwise permit;
[(c) deleted]
(d)
ceases to have effect (and the land in respect to which it was granted reverts
to the primary tenement holder as an integral part of the tenement held by
him) on the surrender, forfeiture or expiry of that lease.
(9) Subject to this
section, the provisions of this Act relating to —
(a)
prospecting licences apply to a special prospecting licence; and
(b)
mining leases apply to a mining lease,
granted under this
section.
(9a) Where, before the
determination of an application for a special prospecting licence in respect
of land, the primary tenement is surrendered or forfeited or expires, the
application is, by virtue of this subsection, converted into an application
for a prospecting licence in respect of that land and the provisions of this
Act relating to such applications apply accordingly.
(10) On the surrender,
forfeiture or expiry of the primary tenement, a special prospecting licence in
respect of any land the subject of the primary tenement immediately before the
date of its surrender, forfeiture or expiry is, by virtue of this subsection,
converted into a prospecting licence in respect of that land and, subject to
subsection (11), the provisions of this Act relating to prospecting
licences apply accordingly.
(11) Where a special
prospecting licence is converted into a prospecting licence, the prospecting
licence remains in force, subject to this Act, for the remainder of the period
for which the special prospecting licence was granted.
(12)
Subsections (9a) and (10) do not apply if —
(a) the
primary tenement is amalgamated with an exploration licence under
section 67A(1);
(b)
prior to the surrender, forfeiture or expiry of the primary tenement the
holder of the primary tenement applies for a retention licence, a mining lease
or a general purpose lease and the licence or lease is subsequently granted in
respect of any land the subject of the application for a special prospecting
licence or the special prospecting licence, as the case requires;
(c)
prior to the surrender, forfeiture or expiry of the primary tenement the
holder of the primary tenement makes an application under section 56B and
a prospecting licence is granted as a result of that application in respect of
any land the subject of the application for a special prospecting licence or
the special prospecting licence, as the case requires; or
(d)
prior to the surrender, forfeiture or expiry of the primary tenement the
holder of the primary tenement makes a reversion licence application and a
prospecting licence or an exploration licence is granted as a result of that
application in respect of any land the subject of the application for a
special prospecting licence or the special prospecting licence, as the case
requires.
[Section 56A inserted by No. 122 of 1982
s. 16; amended by No. 100 of 1985 s. 37; No. 22 of 1990
s. 14; No. 21 of 1993 s. 45; No. 37 of 1993 s. 6,
10(2) and 27; No. 58 of 1994 s. 12; No. 52 of 1995 s. 24;
No. 54 of 1996 s. 7 and 23; No. 10 of 2001 s. 131;
No. 15 of 2002 s. 9; No. 39 of 2004 s. 8; No. 27 of
2005 s. 6.]