Mineral Resources Development Act 1995

The Act affects a wide range of persons and entities:

Exploration companies and individuals seeking to identify and evaluate mineral deposits must hold exploration licences (Part 2) or special exploration licences (Part 2A). Geological consultants and contractors working on licences must comply with the relevant conditions.

Mining companies that wish to develop and produce minerals must progress from exploration to a retention licence (Part 3), production licence (Part 3A, covering geothermal and certain other resources), or mining lease (Part 4). Each stage has its own application, grant, and renewal requirements.

Recreational prospectors are covered by Part 5. Individuals may hold prospecting licences authorising hand-tool collection on Crown land not subject to another mineral tenement, or on tenement land with the holder's written consent. Tour operators may hold group prospecting licences.

Landowners and occupiers of private land are affected whenever a tenement holder wishes to enter or carry out mining operations on their land. The Act requires either a compensation agreement under Part 8 or a Mining Tribunal determination before entry on private land under a mining lease (section 84(1)(c)).

Crown land managers (including the Crown, Crown lessees, and forestry rights holders) are subject to the Crown land compensation provisions in Part 8 Division 2.

Landowners near fossicking areas and geological significance areas may find their land subject to Ministerial orders under sections 163, 164, or 164A.

Licence and lease conditions. Every tenement is granted subject to conditions. Licensees and lessees must comply with all conditions. Failure triggers variation, suspension, or revocation powers. Joint holders are jointly and severally liable for condition compliance (sections 18A, 55, 77).

Work programmes. Exploration licensees must submit annual returns by the anniversary of grant (section 28A). The Director may require additional information by notice. Returns must be in approved form and may include audited reports. Failure to submit attracts a fine of up to 50 penalty units.

Rehabilitation. All tenement holders must rehabilitate land disturbed by their operations consistent with applicable Codes of Practice. Abandonment of mining land is separately addressed in Part 10 Division 2, where the Crown may carry out rehabilitation works and recover costs from responsible persons.

Compensation agreements. Before a mining leaseholder enters private land, a compensation agreement must be in place or the Mining Tribunal must have determined compensation under section 150. Compensation is payable for all items of "compensable loss" defined in section 3, including surface damage, loss of amenity, impact on stock, and diminution in market value.

Drill core retention. Part 6 creates obligations on licensees and lessees to retain drill core and cuttings for specified periods and to offer material to the Director. Failure to comply is a breach of licence conditions.

Reporting on minerals sold from construction activities. Under section 164B, the Director may require persons who sell minerals obtained from construction activities to provide information about those sales.

Ministerial grant and refusal. The Minister has a broad discretion to grant or refuse any application for a tenement. Criteria are set out for each tenement type but the Minister's ultimate decision is reviewable only by appeal to the Mining Tribunal within the specified period.

Variation. The Minister may vary any licence or lease at the lessee's request, by consent, or unilaterally where the holder has breached conditions (sections 31, 53, 91 and equivalents). Before unilateral variation, the Minister must give notice and an opportunity to make submissions.

Revocation. The Minister may revoke a tenement for non-compliance with conditions or provisions of the Act, or where land is required for a public purpose (section 34 and equivalents). If revocation is for public purpose, compensation is payable under Part 8 Division 3 (section 149).

Inspection powers. Section 8A and related provisions empower inspectors to enter tenement land, inspect records, require production of documents, and issue directions to address non-compliance. Obstruction of an inspector carrying out authorised functions is an offence.

Landslip areas. Part 9A enables the Minister to declare landslip areas and impose restrictions on activities in those areas. This is a precautionary power with significant practical implications for tenements in hillside or coastal terrain.

Fossil sites and geological significance. The Minister may declare areas as fossil sites (section 163) or areas of geological significance (section 164A). Collecting fossils or conducting any prospecting, exploration, or mining in a declared area without the Director's written approval attracts a fine of up to 50 penalty units.

Aerial geophysical surveys. No aerial geophysical survey may be conducted without the Director's approval (section 165). Proceeding without approval attracts a fine of up to 500 penalty units. After a survey, the person who carried it out must offer to sell or provide data and reports to any tenement holder whose land was surveyed.

Register. Part 10 Division 5 requires the Registrar to maintain a public register of all mineral tenements, caveats, transfers, mortgages, and related instruments. The register is the authoritative public record of who holds what rights in what areas.

Penalties are expressed in penalty units under the Penalty Units and Other Penalties Act 1987 (Tas). Key penalty levels include:

• 10 penalty units: minor procedural failures (section 28A subsection 7 and analogues)
• 50 penalty units: common licence-related offences including unlicensed fossicking in designated areas, obstruction of water encroachment surveys, and reporting failures (sections 28A(7), 163(2), 164, 167(4))
• 100 penalty units: exploration or mining without a licence (section 30), obstruction of tenement operations (section 84(2)), geological investigation authorisation breaches (section 161F(8)), and seller of minerals information failures (section 164B)
• 500 penalty units: unapproved aerial geophysical surveys (section 165(1)) and unlicensed transfer or disposal of a licence with intent to deceive (section 48(5) and equivalents)

Revocation is available as an additional or alternative consequence for serious breaches. The Mining Tribunal may also order specific performance of mining-related contracts and make orders about the use of land under a tenement.

Applications. Applications for tenements must be in an approved form, accompanied by prescribed fees, and lodged with the Registrar. Priority between competing applications lodged on the same day is determined by the Minister (section 162).

Caveats. Under Part 10 Division 3, a person with an interest in a mineral tenement may lodge a caveat to prevent dealings such as transfers. If a transfer application is lodged and a caveat is on the register, the Registrar must notify the caveator by certified mail within 14 days (section 32(5)). The caveator then has 14 days to object to the Mining Tribunal.

Appeals. Most Ministerial decisions may be appealed to the Mining Tribunal within 28 days of the decision (sections 31(5), 34(6), 93(5) and equivalents). The Mining Tribunal's decision on appeal may itself be appealed to the Supreme Court of Tasmania on a question of law.

Compensation claims. A claim for compensation in respect of an exploration or retention licence for loss not covered by a compensation agreement must be lodged not later than three months after the last of: cessation of work that caused the loss, expiry of the licence, or the affected land ceasing to be occupied (section 146).

Notification when licence area becomes available. Under section 161E, inserted in 2013, once a relevant licence ceases to be in force, the Director must publish a notice on the departmental website specifying that applications for new tenements may be made from a date that is at least two months after the area ceases to be subject to the expired licence.

Crown Lands Act 1976 (Tas) and Forest Management Act 2013 (Tas). Crown land that is the subject of a mineral tenement remains subject to Crown Lands Act leases and licences. The compensation provisions in Part 8 Division 2 address the rights of Crown lessees and Crown licensees. The Forest Management Act is the basis of Crown leases over State forest land.

Personal Property Securities Act 2009 (Cth). Section 162A explicitly excludes mineral licences under this Act from the definition of personal property in section 8(1)(k) of the PPS Act. This means a mineral licence cannot be subject to a security interest registered on the PPSR.

Native Title Act 1993 (Cth). The grant of mineral tenements over land subject to native title is a "future act" under the Native Title Act. Future acts involving the creation of a right to mine must comply with the right to negotiate procedures in Subdivision P of Part 2, or satisfy one of the exceptions (such as the infrastructure facility exception in section 24MD(6B)). In Harvey v Minister for Primary Industry and Resources [2024] HCA 1, the High Court construed the meaning of "right to mine" in the Native Title Act with reference to sections 3, 84(1)(a), and 106(1) of this Act, as examples of state legislative frameworks conferring rights to carry out mining operations and ancillary storage or access activities.

Living Marine Resources Management Act 1995 (Tas). The Crown lease definition in section 3 refers to this Act, and it is referenced in the Crown land compensation provisions.

Workplaces (Protection from Protesters) Act 2014 (Tas). This Act was declared partially invalid by the High Court in Brown v Tasmania [2017] HCA 43. While that decision did not interpret the Mineral Resources Development Act directly, it is relevant background for tenement holders conducting forestry-related operations in Tasmania, as the Protesters Act applied to "business access areas" on forestry land.

Licence is not personal property. Because of section 162A, a mineral licence under this Act cannot be used as collateral for a PPS Act security interest. Financiers relying on mining licences as security must use other mechanisms.

Priority between same-day applications. Section 162 gives the Minister a discretionary power to determine priority when applications for a lease and a licence are lodged on the same day. There is no automatic first-in-time rule and the Minister's decision is not expressly subject to appeal under this provision alone.

Compensation agreements bind successors. Under section 145(3), inserted in 2017, a compensation agreement between a tenement holder and a landowner or occupier is binding on a subsequent owner or occupier of the land. Purchasers of land subject to active tenements should obtain and review any existing compensation agreements during due diligence.

Storage and access leases are possible. Section 106 allows a lessee or former lessee to apply for a separate lease to store mining equipment or product, or to access the main lease area. This was one of the provisions the High Court examined in Harvey as evidence that state mining law recognises activities ancillary to extraction as part of the mining enterprise.

Caveats on tenements. Mineral tenements can be subject to caveats under Part 10 Division 3. A caveat holder is notified of any proposed transfer but has only 14 days after receiving the notice to object to the Mining Tribunal. Missing that window can result in loss of the ability to challenge the transfer.

Two-month gap before re-application after expiry. Under section 161E, when a licence expires, a waiting period of at least two months applies before new applications for the same land can be lodged. A person who fails to renew in time cannot immediately re-apply.

Example 1: Exploration company applying for an exploration licence. A junior mining company believes a Tasmanian property has prospective copper mineralisation (a Category 1, metallic mineral). The company lodges an application in the approved form with a work programme and the prescribed fee. If the Minister grants the licence, the company must carry out efficient and effective exploration under the conditions (section 29), submit annual returns (section 28A), and rehabilitate any disturbed ground in line with the Mineral Exploration Code of Practice. If the company wants to explore under neighbouring land not included in the licence, it must apply for a licence variation under section 31 or apply to the Mining Tribunal for an encroachment order under section 166.

Example 2: Mining leaseholder entering private land. A company holds a mining lease over an area of Crown land but the most efficient access route crosses a private farm. Before the company can exercise its rights under the lease to cross the private land, it must either negotiate a compensation agreement with the landowner under section 145, or apply to the Mining Tribunal to determine the compensation payable under section 150. Once the agreement or determination is in place and the compensation is paid or secured, the company may enter the private land in accordance with section 84(1)(c).

Example 3: Dispute about royalties. A lessee and the Crown disagree about the correct method for calculating royalty payable under Division 5 of Part 4. Either party may bring a claim to the Mining Tribunal under section 128(ua), which gives the Tribunal specific jurisdiction over royalty disputes. The Director first attempts to resolve the dispute (section 130); if unsuccessful within 28 days the Registrar refers the matter to the Mining Tribunal.

Example 4: Aerial geophysical survey. A geophysical survey company wants to fly a low-level magnetic survey over a large part of northern Tasmania that includes both Crown land and private land subject to existing exploration licences. Before commencing, the company must obtain the Director's approval under section 165(1). After completing the survey, the company must offer to sell or provide data and reports to the holders of any exploration licences within the survey area (section 165(3)).