MINING ACT 1978 - SECT 6

MINING ACT 1978 - SECT 6

6 .         Operation of this Act

        (1)         This Act shall be read and construed subject to the Environmental Protection Act 1986 , to the intent that if a provision of this Act is inconsistent with a provision of that Act, the first-mentioned provision shall, to the extent of the inconsistency, be deemed to be inoperative.

        (1a)         Notwithstanding subsection (1) and section 5 of the Environmental Protection Act 1986 , in the case of an application for a mining lease accompanied by the documentation referred to in section 74(1)(ca)(ii) —

            (a)         only the applicant can refer a proposal to which the application relates under section 38(1) of that Act; and

            (b)         section 38(4) of that Act does not apply to such a proposal.

        (1b)         In subsection (1a) —

        proposal has the meaning given to that term in section 3(1) of the Environmental Protection Act 1986 .

        (1c)         Subsection (1a) does not apply to an application for a mining lease made pursuant to a Government agreement as defined in section 2 of the Government Agreements Act 1979 .

        (1d)         If a mining lease is granted on an application referred to in subsection (1a), nothing in that subsection affects the application of section 38 or 38A of the Environmental Protection Act 1986 to —

            (a)         a programme of work lodged by the holder of the mining lease in compliance with the condition referred to in section 82(1)(ca); or

            (b)         a mining proposal lodged by the holder of the mining lease in compliance with the condition referred to in section 82A.

        (2)         Notwithstanding anything in this Act —

            (a)         a local government is not required to hold a mining tenement to —

                  (i)         exercise the power given to it by section 3.27 of, and clause 3 of Schedule 3.2 to, the Local Government Act 1995 ; or

                  (ii)         remove from local government property (as defined in that Act), rock, stone, clay, sand or gravel for use in the construction of local government facilities;

                and

            (b)         if a local government leases local government property to another person, that person is not required to hold a mining tenement to remove from that land, rock, stone, clay, sand or gravel for use in the construction of local government facilities, unless the Minister requires that person to hold a tenement.

        (3)         Whenever a provision of the Contaminated Sites Act 2003 is inconsistent with a provision of this Act or a mining tenement, the provision of the Contaminated Sites Act 2003 prevails.

        (4)         The operation of this Act is subject to the Alumina Refinery (Mitchell Plateau) Agreement Act 1971 sections 5B and 5C.

        [Section 6 amended: No. 100 of 1985 s. 4; No. 77 of 1986 s. 8; No. 14 of 1996 s. 4; No. 39 of 2004 s. 26; No. 12 of 2010 s. 4; No. 31 of 2015 s. 9; No. 40 of 2020 s. 116(2).]

[ 7.         Deleted: No. 122 of 1982 s. 4.]