11Mining operations

#### 11 Mining operations Mining operations (1) Subject to subsection (2), the expression mining operations means: (a) exploration or prospecting for minerals, or the removal of overburden and other activities undertaken in the preparation of a site to enable mining for minerals to commence; or (b) operations for the recovery of minerals, being: (i) mining for those minerals including the recovery of salts by evaporation; or (ii) the beneficiation of those minerals, or of ores bearing those minerals; and includes: (c) a mining transport activity; or (d) a mining rehabilitation activity; or (e) a mining water activity; or (f) a mining construction activity; or (g) a mining waste activity; or (h) a mining vehicle activity; or (i) a sundry mining activity. (2) The expression mining operations does not include: (a) quarrying or dredging operations to the extent that the purpose of the operations is to obtain materials for use in building, road making, landscaping, construction or similar purposes; or (b) the use of a vehicle (other than a fork‑lift, front‑end loader, tractor or other similar vehicle that is specified in the regulations) not exceeding 3.5 tonnes gross vehicle mass, other than such a vehicle that is extensively modified for use underground while it is so used; or (c) the transport, by any means, of people, equipment or goods to or from a place where a mining operation referred to in any of the paragraphs in subsection (1) is, or is to be, carried on, or to or from a place adjacent to that place, other than such transport to the extent that it constitutes the activity described in: (i) the definition of mining transport activity in section 12; or (ii) paragraph (c) of the definition of mining water activity in section 14; or (iii) paragraph (a) of the definition of mining waste activity in section 16. > Note: Examples of quarrying or dredging operations that are covered by paragraph (a) include operations for obtaining materials for use as concrete aggregate, road base materials, railway ballast, fill materials, building stone or monumental stone. (3) For the purposes of the definition of mining operations, operations for the recovery of a mineral cease: (a) when the process of beneficiation ceases; or (b) in the absence of a beneficiation process—when the mineral, or ores bearing the mineral: (i) are first stockpiled or otherwise stored at the place at which the mining operation is carried on; or (ii) if subparagraph (i) does not apply—are removed from the ore body or deposit. (4) The beneficiation of ores bearing manganese minerals ceases when manganese‑mineral concentrates are last deposited in a holding bin, or in a stockpile, at the place where the concentration is carried on, before transportation of those concentrates. (5) In determining whether a particular process to which a mineral, or ores bearing a mineral, are subjected constitutes beneficiation of that mineral or those ores, regard is to be had to the nature of the technical process involved but no regard is to be had to any market considerations that might affect the decision to subject that mineral or those ores to that process. (6) The regulations may provide that, without otherwise affecting the ordinary meaning of beneficiation, a particular process, or a particular process in respect of a particular mineral or of ores bearing a particular mineral, is, for the purposes of this Act, a beneficiation process, or a beneficiation process in respect of that mineral or those ores, as the case requires. (7) For the purposes of determining whether an operation is a mining operation: (a) the operations referred to in: (i) the definition of mining rehabilitation activity in section 13; or (ii) paragraph (a), (b) or (c) of the definition of mining water activity in section 14; or (iii) any of the paragraphs of the definition of mining construction activity in section 15; or (iv) any of the paragraphs of the definition of mining vehicle activity in section 17; or (v) paragraph (c) of the definition of sundry mining activity in section 18; include such operations when they are carried out by a subcontractor of a person contracted to carry out the operations; and (b) paragraphs (1)(c) to (i) and (2)(a) to (c) are, subject to subsections (3), (4) and (5) and paragraph (a) of this subsection, to be construed in their own terms and not by reference to paragraph (1)(a) or (b).