Part 7Retention leases

Part 7—Retention leases 42—Preliminary (1) Subject to this Act, the Minister may grant a retention lease to the holder, or to a related body corporate of the holder, of— (a) a registered mineral claim, in respect of the whole or part of land comprised in the claim; or (b) an exploration licence, in respect of the whole or part of land comprised in the licence; or (c) a mining lease, in respect of the whole or part of land comprised in the lease. (2) If a registered mineral claim or exploration licence relates to a particular stratum, the retention lease must, if granted, relate to the same stratum. (3) A retention lease is not required to be registered under the Real Property Act 1886. 43—Nature of retention lease (1) A retention lease is a mineral tenement that is granted in 1 of the following cases: (a) where the applicant seeks an authorisation to carry out authorised operations to obtain information required to support an application for a mining lease where those authorised operations are not suited to being conducted under an exploration licence; (b) where the Minister is acting under section 37(2) after a mining proposal has been the subject of an application for a mining lease under Part 6; (c) where for economic or other reasons the applicant for the lease is, in the opinion of the Minister, justified in not proceeding immediately to mine the land under a mining lease. (2) A retention lease— (a) confers an exclusive right on the tenement holder to prospect for minerals on the land comprised in the lease; and (b) confers on the tenement holder such other rights to conduct authorised operations in respect of the land comprised in the lease as may be specified in the lease; and (c) confers on the tenement holder an exclusive right to apply for a mining lease in respect of the land comprised in the lease. (3) A retention lease is subject to— (b) such additional terms and conditions (if any) as the Minister thinks fit and specifies in the lease. 44—Application for retention lease (1) An application for a retention lease— (b) must identify the boundaries of the land in respect of which the lease is being sought in accordance with the requirements of section 56E; and (c) except as provided by the regulations, must be accompanied by a retention proposal— (i) specifying the operations or steps that are proposed to be carried out in order for the applicant to be in a position to make an application for a mining lease; and (A) an assessment of the environmental impacts of any proposed authorised operations to be carried out under the lease; and (iii) incorporating a draft statement of the criteria to be adopted to measure those environmental outcomes, in a form prescribed by the regulations; and (iv) setting out the results of the consultation undertaken in connection with any proposed operations in accordance with the regulations; and (2) The Minister may require the applicant to furnish the Minister with any additional information specified by the Minister (and that information must be furnished within any period specified by the Minister). (3) The Minister may exempt an applicant from complying with specified requirements of this section if the retention lease is to be granted under section 37(2). 45—Approval of application and registration (1) Without limiting any other provision, and except as provided by the regulations, the Minister must not grant a retention lease unless the Minister is satisfied that appropriate environmental outcomes will be able to be achieved. (2) If the Minister decides to grant a retention lease, the lease will be taken to be granted under this Act when the lease is registered on the mining register (and the term of the lease will be taken to commence from the date of registration). 46—Term and renewal of retention lease (1) A retention lease may be granted for such term, not exceeding 5 years, as may be determined by the Minister and specified in the lease. (2) The holder of a retention lease may apply for the renewal of the lease before the expiration of the term of the lease. (3) An application for the renewal of a retention lease— (a) must be made to the Minister in a manner and form determined by the Minister; and (4) The Minister may require the applicant to furnish the Minister with any additional information specified by the Minister (and the information must be furnished within any period specified by the Minister). (5) If an application for the renewal of a retention lease is not decided before the date on which the lease is due to expire, the lease continues in operation until the application is decided and, if the lease is renewed, the renewal dates from the date on which the lease would, but for this subsection, have expired. (6) If the Minister decides to grant a renewal, the retention lease will be renewed for a term determined by the Minister and specified in the lease.