Commonwealth Consolidated Acts Commonwealth Consolidated Acts(1) An Australian national must not engage in a mining activity in or on an area of the Antarctic other than:
(a) the Territory; or
(b) any area of continental shelf referred to in paragraph 19A(1)(b).
Penalty: Imprisonment for 16 years or 1,000 penalty units, or both.
(2) Subsection (1) does not apply to a mining activity if the activity is the gathering or collecting of a meteorite, or the removal of a rock or meteorite, in accordance with a permit.
Note: The defendant bears an evidential burden in relation to the matters in subsection (2). See subsection 13.3(3) of the Criminal Code .