MINING ACT 1978 - SECT 57

MINING ACT 1978 - SECT 57

57 .         Grant of exploration licence

        (1)         Subject to this Act the Minister may on the application of any person and after receiving a recommendation of the mining registrar or the warden in accordance with section 59, grant to that person a licence to be known as an exploration licence on such terms and conditions as the Minister may determine.

        (2)         The area of land in respect of which an exploration licence may be granted shall be a block or blocks but shall not be more than 70 blocks unless subsection (2aa) applies.

        (2aa)         If the area of land referred to in subsection (2) is in an area of the State designated under section 57A(1) it shall not be more than 200 blocks.

        (2a)         Where an exploration licence is granted in respect of 2 or more blocks the graticular sections that constitute those blocks shall —

            (a)         constitute a single area; and

            (b)         each have a side in common with at least one other graticular section in that area.

        (2b)         Where —

            (a)         an application is made for an exploration licence in respect of 3 or more blocks; and

            (b)         before the exploration licence is granted one or more of the blocks applied for becomes the subject of another mining tenement; and

            (c)         the exploration licence is granted in respect of 2 or more of the other blocks applied for,

                the graticular sections that constitute the blocks in respect of which the licence is granted need not comply with subsection (2a)(a) and (b) if they form 2 or 3 discrete areas each consisting of —

            (d)         a single graticular section; or

            (e)         a number of graticular sections each having a side in common with at least one other graticular section in that area.

        (2c)         Where an application for an exploration licence is made with respect to one block, the land in respect of which the licence is granted may comprise part of the block if the rest of the block consists of land that is unavailable for exploration.

        (2d)         Where an application for an exploration licence is made with respect to 2 or more blocks, the land in respect of which the licence is granted may include part of a block if the rest of the block consists of land that is unavailable for exploration.

        (2e)         For the purposes of subsections (2c) and (2d) land is unavailable for exploration if that land is, or was when the application for the exploration licence was made, the subject of a current mining tenement (other than a miscellaneous licence).

        (2ea)         Where the application for the exploration licence is a reversion licence application, the reference in subsection (2e) to a current mining tenement does not include a continuing licence as defined in section 120AA(1).

        (2f)         Where the land in respect of which an exploration licence is granted comprises or includes part of a block —

            (a)         the licence is deemed to be granted in respect of that block for the purposes of subsections (2), (2a) and (2b); and

            (b)         that block is deemed to be subject to the licence for the purposes of section 65; and

            (c)         the boundaries of the land the subject of the licence shall be deemed to be the same as the boundaries of the block for the purposes of section 67A.

        (2g)         A person may be granted more than one exploration licence.

        (2h)         Where the land in respect of which an exploration licence is granted comprises or includes part of a block, no other exploration licence shall be granted in respect of that block or any part of that block.

        (3)         The mining registrar or the warden shall not recommend the grant of an exploration licence under this section unless he is satisfied that the applicant is able to effectively explore the land in respect of which the application has been made.

        (4)         Where in any particular area extensive mining is being carried on, the Minister may, from time to time, by notice published in the Government Gazette declare that no application for an exploration licence shall be made or granted with respect to any land comprising the area or any land within such area as is specified in the notice.

        [Section 57 amended: No. 69 of 1981 s. 17; No. 122 of 1982 s. 17; No. 100 of 1985 s. 38; No. 22 of 1990 s. 16; No. 37 of 1993 s. 7; No. 58 of 1994 s. 13 and 15(2) and (3); No. 15 of 2002 s. 10; No. 39 of 2004 s. 12; No. 27 of 2005 s. 7.]