MINING AMENDMENT BILL 2001

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This is a Bill, not an Act. For current law, see the Acts databases.

MINING AMENDMENT BILL 2001

Western Australia

Mining Amendment Bill 2001

CONTENTS

1. Short title 1
2. Commencement 2
3. The Act amended 2
4. Section 8 amended 2
5. Section 20 amended 4
6. Section 43 inserted 4
7. Section 44 amended 4
8. Section 45 amended 5
9. Section 56A amended 5
10. Section 57 amended 6
11. Section 58 amended 6
12. Section 65 amended 6
13. Section 67A amended 7
14. Section 69 amended 8
15. Section 70 amended 8
16. Section 85A amended 9
17. Section 85B amended 10
18. Section 91 amended 10
19. Section 94A amended 10
20. Section 95A inserted 11
21. Section 96 amended 11
22. Section 100 amended 12
23. Section 101 amended 13
24. Section 102 amended 13
25. Section 102A amended 13
26. Section 105A amended 13
27. Section 140 amended 14
28. Various penalties amended 14

page i
56--1
Western Australia

LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY

Mining Amendment Bill 2001

A Bill for

An Act to amend the Mining Act 1978.

The Parliament of Western Australia enacts as follows:

1. Short title
This Act may be cited as the Mining Amendment
Act 2001.

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Mining Amendment Bill 2001

s. 2

2. Commencement
(1) This Act, other than section 23, comes into operation on a day
fixed by proclamation.
(2) Different days may be fixed under subsection (1) for different
5 provisions.
(3) Section 23 is deemed to have come into operation immediately
after the Corporations Act 2001 of the Commonwealth came
into operation.

3. The Act amended
10 The amendments in this Act are to the Mining Act 1978*.
[* Reprinted as at 7 September 2001.]

4. Section 8 amended
(1) Section 8(1) is amended as follows:
(a) by deleting the definition of "minerals" and inserting the
15 following definition instead --
"
"minerals" means naturally occurring substances
obtained or obtainable from any land by mining
operations carried out on or under the surface of
20 the land, but does not include --
(a) soil;
(b) a substance the recovery of which is
governed by the Petroleum Act 1967 or the
Petroleum (Submerged Lands) Act 1982;
25 (c) a meteorite as defined in the Museum
Act 1969; or
(d) any of the following substances if it occurs
on private land --
(i) limestone, rock or gravel;

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Mining Amendment Bill 2001

s. 4

(ii) shale, other than oil shale;
(iii) sand, other than mineral sand, silica
sand or garnet sand; or
(iv) clay, other than kaolin, bentonite,
5 attapulgite or montmorillonite;
";
(b) in the definition of "mining registrar" by deleting "the
office of Director, Mining Registration Division, of "
and inserting instead --
10 " a prescribed office or position in ";
(c) by inserting in the appropriate alphabetical position the
following definition --
"
"related" has a meaning affected by subsection (4);
15 ".
(2) After section 8(3) the following subsection is inserted --
"
(4) For the purposes of this Act a person is related to --
(a) an individual, if the person is --
20 (i) the spouse or de facto spouse (as
defined in section 9 of the Corporations
Act);
(ii) a parent or remoter linear ancestor;
(iii) a son, daughter or remoter issue; or
25 (iv) a brother or sister,
of the individual; and
(b) a body corporate, if the person is a related
entity (as defined in section 9 of the
Corporations Act) in relation to the body
30 corporate.
".

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Mining Amendment Bill 2001

s. 5

5. Section 20 amended
Section 20(5) is amended by deleting "unless the warden in
relation to any land other than land referred to in paragraph (c)
by order otherwise directs, but" and inserting instead --
5 "
unless --
(ea) the warden in relation to any land other than
land referred to in paragraph (c) by order
otherwise directs; or
10 (eb) in the case of mining, it is carried out not less
than 30 metres below the lowest part of the
natural surface of the land,
but
".
15 6. Section 43 inserted
After section 42 the following section is inserted --
"
43. Prospecting licence not to include land already the
subject of a mining tenement
20 (1) Where an application for a prospecting licence relates
to land that is, or was when the application was made,
the subject of a mining tenement, any prospecting
licence granted in respect of that application shall not
include that land.
25 (2) Subsection (1) does not apply in relation to a special
prospecting licence under section 56A.
".

7. Section 44 amended
Section 44 is amended by deleting "A" and inserting instead --
30 " Subject to section 43, a ".

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Mining Amendment Bill 2001

s. 8

8. Section 45 amended
Section 45(2) is amended as follows:
(a) after paragraph (a) by deleting "or";
(b) after paragraph (b) by deleting the comma and
5 inserting --
"
; or
(c) by or on behalf of any person who is related to
a person referred to in paragraph (a) or (b),
10 ".
9. Section 56A amended
(1) Section 56A(1) is amended as follows:
(a) by deleting "and whether or not the primary tenement is
converted into a retention licence or a mining lease
15 pending the determination of the application for a
special prospecting licence";
(b) in paragraphs (a) and (b) by deleting "prospecting
licence" and in each case inserting instead --
" primary tenement ".
20 (2) After section 56A(9) the following subsection is inserted --
"
(9a) Where, before the determination of an application for a
special prospecting licence in respect of land, the
primary tenement is surrendered or forfeited or expires,
25 the application is, by virtue of this subsection,
converted into an application for a prospecting licence
in respect of that land and the provisions of this Act
relating to such applications apply accordingly.
".
30 (3) Section 56A(12) is amended by deleting "Subsection (10) does"
and inserting instead --
" Subsections (9a) and (10) do ".

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Mining Amendment Bill 2001

s. 10

10. Section 57 amended
Section 57(2e) is amended by inserting after "tenement" --
" (other than a miscellaneous licence) ".

11. Section 58 amended
5 (1) Section 58(1)(b)(iv) is amended by inserting after "and" --
" , subject to subsection (1aa), ".
(2) After section 58(1) the following subsection is inserted --
"
(1aa) The statement under subsection (1)(b) does not have to
10 specify the financial resources available to the
applicant if --
(a) the applicant is a natural person;
(b) the application is in respect of not more than
4 blocks; and
15 (c) the statement specifies that the applicant
intends to utilise his or her own labour to carry
out the programme of work referred to in
subsection (1)(b)(ii).
".

20 12. Section 65 amended
Section 65(6) is repealed and the following subsection is
inserted instead --
"
(6) Notwithstanding that a surrender has taken effect under
25 this section any land the subject of the surrender shall
not be --
(a) marked out in connection with a mining
tenement unless and until notification has been
given in the prescribed manner of the proposed

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Mining Amendment Bill 2001

s. 13

endorsement of plans for the purposes of
paragraph (b); or
(b) included in an application for a mining
tenement unless and until the plans referred to
5 in subsection (5) have been endorsed in the
prescribed manner.
".

13. Section 67A amended
(1) Section 67A(2) is amended by deleting the passage beginning
10 "secondary tenement --" and ending "any other person." and
inserting instead --
"
secondary tenement was surrendered or forfeited, or
expired, after the application for the exploration licence
15 was made but before the exploration licence was
granted.
".
(2) Section 67A(3) is amended by deleting the passage beginning
"secondary tenement --" and ending "any other person." and
20 inserting instead --
"
secondary tenement is surrendered or forfeited, or
expires.
".
25 (3) After section 67A(6) the following subsection is inserted --
"
(6a) Section 105A applies, with all necessary changes, in
relation to a person who makes an application under
subsection (2) or (3) as if a reference in that section --
30 (a) to an applicant included a reference to such a
person;

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Mining Amendment Bill 2001

s. 14

(b) to an application for a mining tenement
included a reference to an application under
subsection (2) or (3);
(c) to compliance with the initial requirement
5 included, in relation to an application under
subsection (2) or (3), a reference to lodging the
application at the office of the mining registrar.
".

14. Section 69 amended
10 Section 69(1) is amended by deleting the passage beginning
"exploration licence by" and ending "that date." and inserting
instead --
"
exploration licence --
15 (a) by or on behalf of the person who was the
holder of the exploration licence immediately
prior to the date of the surrender, forfeiture or
expiry;
(b) by or on behalf of any person who had an
20 interest in the exploration licence immediately
prior to that date; or
(c) by or on behalf of any person who is related to
a person referred to in paragraph (a) or (b),
within a period of 3 months from and including that
25 date.
".

15. Section 70 amended
(1) Section 70(1) is amended by deleting "and whether or not the
primary tenement is converted into a retention licence or a
30 mining lease pending the determination of the application for a
special prospecting licence".

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Mining Amendment Bill 2001

s. 16

(2) After section 70(9) the following subsection is inserted --
"
(9a) Where, before the determination of an application for a
special prospecting licence in respect of land, the
5 primary tenement is surrendered or forfeited or expires,
the application is, by virtue of this subsection,
converted into an application for a prospecting licence
in respect of that land and the provisions of this Act
relating to such applications apply accordingly.
10 ".
(3) Section 70(12) is amended by deleting "Subsection (10) does"
and inserting instead --
" Subsections (9a) and (10) do ".
(4) Section 70 is amended in the provisions listed in the Table to
15 this subsection by deleting "exploration licence" and inserting
instead --
" primary tenement ".
Table
subsection (1)(a) subsection (4)
subsection (1)(b) subsection (5)
subsection (2) subsection (6)(c) (2 places)
subsection (3) subsection (8)(a)

16. Section 85A amended
20 Section 85A(1) is amended as follows:
(a) after paragraph (a) by deleting "or";
(b) after paragraph (b) by deleting the comma and
inserting --
"
25 ; or
(c) any person who is related to a person referred
to in paragraph (a) or (b),
".

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Mining Amendment Bill 2001

s. 17

17. Section 85B amended
(1) Section 85B(1) is amended by deleting "and whether or not the
primary tenement is converted into a retention licence pending
the determination of the application for a special prospecting
5 licence".
(2) After section 85B(9) the following subsection is inserted --
"
(9a) Where, before the determination of an application for a
special prospecting licence in respect of land, the
10 primary tenement is surrendered or forfeited or expires,
the application is, by virtue of this subsection,
converted into an application for a prospecting licence
in respect of that land and the provisions of this Act
relating to such applications apply accordingly.
15 ".
(3) Section 85B(12) is amended by deleting "Subsection (10) does"
and inserting instead --
" Subsections (9a) and (10) do ".

18. Section 91 amended
20 Section 91(9) is amended by deleting "at least 10 days before
that determination" and inserting instead --
" within the prescribed time ".

19. Section 94A amended
(1) Section 94A(1) is amended by inserting after "27" --
25 " , 43 ".
(2) Section 94A(2) is amended by inserting after "section" --
" 43 or ".

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Mining Amendment Bill 2001

s. 20

20. Section 95A inserted
After section 95 the following section is inserted --
"
95A. Exploration licence - surrender of part of block
5 (1) In this section --
"block" has the same meaning as it has in Part IV
Division 2.
(2) The holder of an exploration licence shall not, under
section 95(1), surrender part of a block that is subject
10 to the licence without the prior approval of the Minister
or an officer of the Department authorised by the
Minister to give such approval.
(3) Where part of a block that is subject to an exploration
licence is surrendered under section 95(1), the rest of
15 the block that remains subject to the licence is deemed
to be a block for the purposes of this Act.
".

21. Section 96 amended
After section 96(3a) the following subsection is inserted --
20 "
(3b) Where --
(a) a prospecting licence that is the subject of an
application for forfeiture under this section has
continued in force under section 49(2) or
25 70C(6) pending the determination of an
application referred to in that section (the
"tenement application");
(b) the applicant for forfeiture is not the Minister, a
mining registrar or an officer of the Department
30 authorised in writing by the Minister; and

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Mining Amendment Bill 2001

s. 22

(c) the tenement application is withdrawn in
accordance with the regulations before the
application for forfeiture is dealt with by the
warden,
5 the applicant for forfeiture has, from the date on which
the tenement application is withdrawn until the expiry
of a period of 14 days after the date of being served
with written notice of the withdrawal by an officer of
the Department, a right in priority to any other person
10 to mark out or apply for, or both, a mining tenement
upon the whole or any part of the land that was the
subject of the prospecting licence.
".
22. Section 100 amended
15 After section 100(1) the following subsection is inserted --
"
(1a) Where --
(a) an exploration licence or a mining lease that is
the subject of an application for forfeiture under
20 section 98 has continued in force under
section 67(2) or 70C(6) pending the
determination of an application referred to in
section 67(2) or 70C(6), as the case requires
(the "tenement application"); and
25 (b) the tenement application is withdrawn in
accordance with the regulations before the
application for forfeiture is dealt with by the
warden,
the applicant for forfeiture has, from the date on which
30 the tenement application is withdrawn until the expiry
of a period of 14 days after the date of being served
with written notice of the withdrawal by an officer of
the Department, a right in priority to any other person
to mark out or apply for, or both, a mining tenement

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Mining Amendment Bill 2001

s. 23

upon the whole or any part of the land that was the
subject of the licence or lease.
".
23. Section 101 amended
5 Section 101(2) is amended as follows:
(a) by deleting "417B" and inserting instead --
" 471B ".
(b) by inserting after "winding" --
" up ".
10 24. Section 102 amended
(1) Section 102(1) is amended by inserting after "an application" --
" (an "application for exemption") ".
(2) After section 102(1) the following subsection is inserted --
"
15 (1a) An application for exemption may relate to more than
one mining tenement.
".
(3) Section 102(5) is amended by deleting "a certificate of ".
25. Section 102A amended
20 After section 102A(1) the following subsection is inserted --
"
(1a) An application referred to in subsection (1) may relate
to more than one exploration licence.
".
25 26. Section 105A amended
After section 105A(5) the following subsection is inserted --
"
(6) For the purposes of subsection (5) an application for a
mining tenement is to be taken to have been lodged by

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Mining Amendment Bill 2001

s. 27

or on behalf of a party if it is lodged by or on behalf of
a person who is related to that party.
".

27. Section 140 amended
5 After section 140(5) the following subsection is inserted --
"
(6) A warrant of execution issued for the purposes of this
section may be directed to a bailiff of a warden's court
or Local Court.
10 ".

28. Various penalties amended
The provisions listed in the Table to this section are amended as
set out in that Table.
Table
Provision amended Amendment

s. 82(2) Delete "$5 000", insert instead --
" $50 000 ".
s. 96(3)(a) Delete "tenement, not exceeding
$5 000;", insert instead --
"
tenement --
(i) not exceeding
$10 000, in a case
where expenditure
conditions have not
been complied with;
(ii) not exceeding
$50 000, in any other
case;
".

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s. 28

s. 96A(5)(a) Delete "$5 000", insert instead --
" $50 000 ".
s. 97(5)(a) Delete "$5 000", insert instead --
" $50 000 ".
s. 98(4)(a) Delete "$5 000", insert instead --
" $10 000 ".
s. 99(1)(b) Delete "$5 000", insert instead --
" $10 000 ".
s. 154(2) Delete "$5 000", insert instead --
" $10 000 ".
Delete "$500", insert instead --
" $1 000 ".
s. 155(1) Delete "$10 000", insert instead --
" $100 000 ".
Delete "$1 000", insert instead --
" $10 000 ".
s. 157 Delete "$5 000", insert instead --
" $10 000 ".
s. 162(3) Delete "$5 000", insert instead --
" $10 000 ".

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