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MINERAL RESOURCES ACT 1989 - SECT 343
Seizure of minerals produced by or vehicles, machinery etc. used in unauthorised mining
343 Seizure of minerals produced by or vehicles, machinery etc. used in
unauthorised mining
(1) If he or she believes on reasonable grounds that any mineral is being or
has been mined without authority by or under this Act, an authorised officer
may, without further authority, seize that mineral, vehicle, machinery,
equipment or thing (the
"subject property" ) whereupon the subject property shall be taken to be in
the custody of the authorised officer.
(2) An authorised officer who seizes
the subject property may— (a) remove, dismantle and do all such things as
the officer thinks necessary to transport the subject property to a place of
safekeeping;
(b) direct that mineral so seized be deposited by the person
from whom it is seized at a place of safekeeping set out in the direction;
(c) if the subject property is not removed to or deposited at a place of
safekeeping, do all such things as are prescribed or, if not prescribed, as
the officer thinks fit to show that the subject property has been so seized
and is in his or her custody;
(d) carry out any improvement restoration the
officer considers appropriate for the land on which the mineral is or has been
mined as if a mining tenement had been granted for the land.
(3) Upon an
application in writing by the owner of the subject property or a person acting
on the owner’s behalf or claiming a right to possession of the
subject property the authorised officer who has the custody of the
subject property may release the subject property to the applicant.
(4) If,
upon the expiration of 3 months from the date of seizure of the
subject property, the subject property is not released under subsection (3)
and the subject property is not required as evidence in proceedings that have
been instituted for a breach of any provision of this Act or of any other Act
relating to mining alleged to have been committed by the person from whom the
subject property was seized then, as soon as practicable thereafter, the
authorised officer who seized the subject property shall cause to be served by
post upon the owner of the subject property, if the owner can be ascertained,
at the owner’s last place of address known to the officer who seized the
subject property notice in writing that the subject property may be collected.
(5) The authorised officer who seized the subject property may, if the officer
considers it desirable, give public advertisement to the owner in 1 or more
newspapers circulating in the locality in which the subject property was
seized or in other localities that the subject property may be collected.
(6)
If the subject property is required as evidence in any proceedings instituted
for a breach of any provision of this Act or any other Act relating to mining
and is not forfeited, the authorised officer who seized the subject property
shall, upon the final determination of those proceedings give the notice or
advertisement referred to in subsection (4) .
(7) If within 20 business days
from the date of service or advertisement of the notice, whichever shall last
occur, the owner of the subject property or a person acting on the owner’s
behalf or claiming a right to the possession of the subject property has not
obtained possession of the subject property in accordance with the provisions
of this section, the authorised officer who seized the subject property may—
(a) by notice published in a newspaper circulating in the locality in which
the subject property was seized and, if the officer considers it desirable, in
a newspaper circulating in any other locality, advertise that the officer will
offer the subject property for sale at the place and time stated in the
advertisement;
(b) at the time on the day stated in the advertisement (which
day shall be not earlier than 10 business days after the date when the
advertisement was first published) and at the place stated in the
advertisement, offer the subject property for sale unless the owner thereof or
a person acting on the owner’s behalf or claiming a right to possession
thereof has sooner obtained possession of the subject property in accordance
with the provisions of this section.
(8) Subject property sold pursuant to
subsection (7) shall be sold by public auction unless the Minister otherwise
directs.
(9) The proceeds of the sale or disposal of the subject property
shall be applied as follows— (a) firstly, in payment of the expenses of the
sale or disposal;
(b) secondly, in payment of the cost of seizure of, removal
of and holding the subject property and the service and advertisement of any
notice served or advertised under this section;
(c) thirdly, in payment of
the cost of any improvement restoration that is, or is likely to be, carried
out under subsection (2) (d) ;
(d) fourthly, in payment of the cost of
rehabilitation of land required as a result of the use of the subject property
in contravention of this Act or any authority granted under this Act or any
other Act relating to mining or under the Environmental Protection Act ;
(e)
fifthly, in payment of the balance of the proceeds to the owner of the
subject property or, if after reasonable inquiry, the owner can not be
ascertained, to the public trustee as unclaimed moneys and the provisions of
the Public Trustee Act 1978 with respect to unclaimed moneys shall apply
thereto.
(10) Subject property in the custody of the authorised officer who
seized it shall not be delivered to the owner thereof, or to another person
acting on the owner’s behalf or claiming a right to the possession thereof
unless— (a) the owner or person acting on the owner’s behalf or claiming a
right to possession of the subject property has applied in writing signed by
the owner to the authorised officer for the release of the subject property;
(b) the applicant has furnished proof to the satisfaction of the authorised
officer of ownership or right to possession of the subject property and, in
the case of the applicant being a person acting on behalf of the owner, has
furnished proof to the satisfaction of the authorised officer, of the
person’s authority to so act;
(c) the applicant has paid all expenses
incurred by the authorised officer and not waived pursuant to the provisions
of this subsection in connection with the seizure of, removal of and holding
the subject property and the service or advertisement of any notice served or
advertised by the authorised officer in relation to the availability for
collection or intended sale of the subject property;
(d) the applicant has
signed a receipt for the delivery of the subject property to the applicant.
(11) If the authorised officer who seized the subject property considers that
special circumstances exist, the officer may recommend to the chief executive
that the chief executive waive payment of the whole or part of the expenses
referred to in subsection (10) (c) .
(12) A person who takes delivery, or
obtains possession of or removes or attempts to remove from or interferes in
any way with subject property which is in the custody of an authorised officer
who seized the property except in accordance with the provisions of this
section commits an offence against this Act.
(13) In this section—
"subject property" includes any part of the subject property.
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