South Australian Current Acts South Australian Current Acts (1) Subject to this
section, it will be a condition of an exploration licence that the
tenement holder will achieve at least a level of expenditure specified in or
in relation to the licence on operations carried out under the licence in
accordance with the requirements of this section (an
"expenditure commitment").
(2) The initial
expenditure commitment will be based on information furnished to the Minister
as part of the application for the exploration licence (and may be varied from
time to time by the Minister taking into account the operation of this
section).
(3) The tenement
holder must, at such times as may be prescribed by the regulations, furnish a
return in a manner and form determined by the Minister that contains—
(i)
outlining the exploration operations carried out under
the exploration licence within a period prescribed by the regulations; and
(ii)
declaring the amount of expenditure incurred in carrying
out those operations; and
(i)
outlining the exploration operations that the
tenement holder intends to carry out under the exploration licence over an
ensuing period prescribed by the regulations; and
(ii)
declaring the amount of expenditure that is estimated to
be incurred in carrying out those operations.
(4) A statement under
subsection (3)(a)—
(a) must
be accompanied by such information or evidence required by the Minister; and
(b) will
be registered by the Mining Registrar on the mining register.
(5) Any
expenditure commitment under a preceding subsection must at least be at a
monetary level set by or under a policy developed and published by the
Minister from time to time for the purposes of this section.
(6) A statement under
subsection (3)(a), and any information or evidence required under
subsection (4)(a), must, if the Minister so requires, be verified by an
independent person with qualifications, and in a manner, specified by the
Minister.
(7) Any cost
associated with a requirement under subsection (6) will be borne by the
tenement holder.
(8) A report provided
under subsection (6) will, if the Minister so determines, be registered
on the mining register.
(9) If—
(a) a
person fails to comply with a preceding subsection; or
(b) the
Minister has reason to believe that an amount of expenditure that has actually
been incurred is less than an expenditure commitment,
the Minister may (without consultation with the tenement holder) alter the
relevant exploration licence by reducing the licence area by an amount
determined by the Minister.
(10) The Minister may,
on application under this subsection, allow a tenement holder or tenement
holders to amalgamate their expenditure commitments in relation to 2 or more
exploration licences in such manner or to such extent as the Minister may
determine.
(11) The Minister may,
in assessing an application under subsection (10), take into account such
matters as the Minister thinks fit, including—
(a) the
relationship between any tenement holders who are parties to the application;
and
(b) the
proximity of the relevant exploration licences to each other.
(12) If an
amalgamation of expenditure commitments is allowed under subsection (10),
the exploration licences to which the amalgamations relate will be altered by
reducing their licence areas by an amount or amounts determined by the
Minister after consultation with the tenement holders.
(13) The Minister may,
on application by the tenement holder—
(a)
approve the deferment of an amount of expenditure under an expenditure
commitment; or
(b)
approve the variation of an amount of expenditure that would otherwise be
required under an expenditure commitment.
(14) This section
applies subject to any variation to an expenditure commitment under
section 33B.