Part 7Exploration licences

Part 7—Exploration licences 23—Application for licence (1) For the purposes of section 29A(1)(c) of the Act, the following information is prescribed: (a) a statement— (i) outlining the exploration operations that the tenement holder intends to carry out under the exploration licence during— (A) the first 2 years of operations under the licence; or (B) a period determined by the Minister; and (ii) declaring the amount of expenditure that is estimated to occur in carrying out those operations; (b) a statement of the technical, operational and financial capabilities and resources available to the applicant for the purpose of carrying out operations under the exploration licence; (c) a statement nominating the principal mineral or minerals that the applicant is seeking under the exploration licence and the exploration model that the applicant intends to employ for the purposes of exploring for that mineral or those minerals; (d) a statement by the applicant or a related body corporate outlining any contravention of, or failure to comply with, a provision of a corresponding law or designated Act in connection with authorised operations carried out by them within the preceding period of 5 years that resulted in— (iv) the issuing of a notice, direction or order that required the suspension or discontinuance of any authorised operations or the rectification of any harm to the environment or the rehabilitation of any land, place or other aspect of the environment; (e) a statement outlining whether the applicant or a related body corporate has, within the preceding period of 3 months, held an exploration licence (or an interest in an exploration licence) in relation to any area in respect of which the exploration licence is being sought. (2) Any information provided under subregulation (1) must be in a form determined by the Minister, be supported by such evidence as the Minister may determine, and comply with any requirement of the Minister relating to the amount or detail of information that must be provided. 24—Notification of grant of licence For the purposes of section 29B of the Act, notice of the grant of an exploration licence will be given in the manner prescribed by regulation 88. 25—Expenditure For the purposes of section 30AAA of the Act— (a) the period applying under subsection (3)(a)(i) of that section is— (i) unless subparagraph (ii) applies—every 2 years (with the first period commencing on the date on which the exploration licence is granted); or (ii) a period determined by the Minister; and (b) the period applying under subsection (3)(b)(i) of that section is— (i) unless subparagraph (ii) applies—every ensuing period of 2 years (with the period commencing on the second anniversary of the date on which the exploration licence is granted); or (ii) a period determined by the Minister; and (c) the time within which a return must be furnished under subsection (3) of that section is within 60 days of the end of each period applying in accordance with paragraphs (a) and (b). 26—Application for retention status For the purposes of section 33B(2)(c) of the Act, the following information is prescribed: (a) in the case of a tenement holder who applies for the grant of retention status in relation to the exploration licence under section 33B(3)(a) of the Act— (i) a statement of the approval or approvals under another Act or Acts that the tenement holder has been unable to obtain, and details of any attempts to obtain such approvals; and (ii) a statement summarising the exploration operations undertaken under the exploration licence; and (iii) an estimate of the expenditure that has been incurred in respect of exploration operations undertaken on the area of land to which the application relates; and (iv) an estimate of the time that the applicant considers will be required to obtain the approvals under another Act or Acts that are required before the tenement holder can commence or continue exploration operations in relation to the land to which the application relates; (b) in the case of a tenement holder who applies for the grant of retention status in relation to the exploration licence under section 33B(3)(b) of the Act— (i) details of the mineral resource located in, on or under the land to which the application relates; and (ii) a statement declaring that the mineral resource has been appropriately identified and estimated; and (iii) a statement outlining the reasons the applicant considers it unreasonable to expect an application to be made for a mining lease or a retention lease because it is not commercially viable to spend time and money on developing the resource; and (iv) a statement outlining the reasons the applicant considers that mining the relevant land will become commercially viable within the next 6 years; (c) in the case of a tenement holder who applies for the grant of retention status in relation to the exploration licence under section 33B(3)(c) of the Act— (i) a statement summarising the exploration operations undertaken under the exploration licence; and (ii) an estimate of the expenditure that has been incurred in respect of exploration operations undertaken on the area of land to which the application relates; and (iii) a statement of the circumstances that the applicant considers justify the application, including details of any steps taken by the applicant to resolve those circumstances by other means; 27—Division of area of licence For the purposes of section 30AA(4)(b) of the Act, the following information is prescribed: (a) a description of the area that is to be surrendered in accordance with the requirements of section 56E of the Act; (b) an application that complies with the requirements of section 29A of the Act as if the designated party were applying for a new exploration licence in relation to the land to which the application relates and as if the land were open ground (subject to any necessary modifications); (c) a statement, in the form of a statutory declaration, declaring that— (i) the designated party is not, in relation to the tenement holder, a related body corporate; and (ii) the designated party or a related body corporate has not, within the preceding period of 2 years, held a mineral tenement in respect of the land to be surrendered; (d) a statement that there are no outstanding obligations or liabilities in respect of the land to which the application relates or, if there are any such obligations or liabilities, a commitment from the designated party to assume responsibility for those obligations and liabilities; (e) if the exploration licence falls within the ambit of regulation 77(1)(b)—a final compliance report as if the land to which the application relates were a tenement that was being surrendered by the tenement holder; 28—Renewal of licence (1) For the purposes of section 30A(4a)(a) of the Act, the following information is prescribed: (b) a statement— (i) outlining the exploration operations that the tenement holder intends to carry out under the exploration licence during— (A) the first 2 years of operations under the renewed licence; or (B) a period determined by the Minister; and (ii) declaring the amount of expenditure that is estimated to occur in carrying out those operations; (c) a statement nominating the principal mineral or minerals that the applicant is seeking over the next term of the licence and the exploration model that the applicant intends to employ for the purposes of exploring for that mineral or those minerals; (d) a statement of the technical, operational and financial capabilities and resources available to the applicant for the purposes of carrying out operations under the renewed licence; (e) a statement by the applicant or a related body corporate outlining any contravention of, or failure to comply with, a provision of a corresponding law or designated Act in connection with authorised operations carried out by them within the preceding period of 5 years that resulted in— (iv) the issuing of a notice, direction or order that required the suspension or discontinuance of any authorised operations or the rectification of any harm to the environment or the rehabilitation of any land, place or other aspect of the environment; (2) Any information provided under subregulation (1) must be in a form determined by the Minister, be supported by such evidence as the Minister may determine, and comply with any requirement of the Minister relating to the amount or detail of information that must be provided. (3) An application under section 30A(4) of the Act must be accompanied by the prescribed fee. 29—Excise of land for public purposes (1) For the purposes of section 30AB of the Act, the Minister may excise land by notice in the Gazette in a form determined by the Minister. (2) If the Minister gives a notice under subregulation (1), the Minister must serve a copy of the notice on the tenement holder.