63—Extractive Areas Rehabilitation Fund
(1) The Minister shall
establish a fund entitled the "Extractive Areas Rehabilitation Fund".
(2) From the royalty
received or recovered by the Minister on extractive minerals, the Minister
will pay the prescribed rate into the fund.
(3) Subject to
subsection (4), the Minister may expend any portion of the fund for any
of the following purposes:
(a) the
rehabilitation of land disturbed by authorised operations for the recovery of
extractive minerals (or any costs associated with ensuring that such land is
rehabilitated in accordance with the requirements under this Act); and
(b) the
implementation of measures designed to prevent, or limit, damage to or
impairment of, any aspect of the environment by authorised operations for the
recovery of extractive minerals (or any costs associated with ensuring that
such measures are implemented or with monitoring such measures); and
(c) the
promotion of research into methods of mining engineering and practice by which
environmental damage or impairment resulting from authorised operations for
the recovery of extractive minerals may be reduced.
(4) The total
expenditure in a single financial year of costs associated with ensuring that
the land referred to in subsection (3)(a) is rehabilitated in accordance
with the requirements under this Act must not exceed an amount equal to 4
cents per tonne for each tonne of extractive minerals on which royalty is
payable into the fund for the financial year preceding that year.
(5) In this
section—
"prescribed rate" means 25 cents per tonne of extractive minerals, or such
lesser amount as may be prescribed by the regulations.