Western Australian Current Acts Western Australian Current Acts (1) Subject to this
Act the Minister may on the application of any person and after receiving a
recommendation of the mining registrar or the warden in accordance with
section 59, grant to that person a licence to be known as an exploration
licence on such terms and conditions as the Minister may determine.
(2) The area of land
in respect of which an exploration licence may be granted shall be a block or
blocks but shall not be more than 70 blocks unless subsection (2aa) applies.
(2aa) If the area of
land referred to in subsection (2) is in an area of the State designated under
section 57A(1) it shall not be more than 200 blocks.
(2a) Where an
exploration licence is granted in respect of 2 or more blocks the graticular
sections that constitute those blocks shall —
(a)
constitute a single area; and
(b) each
have a side in common with at least one other graticular section in that area.
(2b) Where —
(a) an
application is made for an exploration licence in respect of 3 or more blocks;
and
(b)
before the exploration licence is granted one or more of the blocks applied
for becomes the subject of another mining tenement; and
(c) the
exploration licence is granted in respect of 2 or more of the other blocks
applied for,
the graticular
sections that constitute the blocks in respect of which the licence is granted
need not comply with subsection (2a)(a) and (b) if they form 2 or 3 discrete
areas each consisting of —
(d) a
single graticular section; or
(e) a
number of graticular sections each having a side in common with at least one
other graticular section in that area.
(2c) Where an
application for an exploration licence is made with respect to one block, the
land in respect of which the licence is granted may comprise part of the block
if the rest of the block consists of land that is unavailable for exploration.
(2d) Where an
application for an exploration licence is made with respect to 2 or more
blocks, the land in respect of which the licence is granted may include part
of a block if the rest of the block consists of land that is unavailable for
exploration.
(2e) For the purposes
of subsections (2c) and (2d) land is unavailable for exploration if that land
is, or was when the application for the exploration licence was made, the
subject of a current mining tenement (other than a miscellaneous licence).
(2ea) Where the
application for the exploration licence is a reversion licence application,
the reference in subsection (2e) to a current mining tenement does not include
a continuing licence as defined in section 120AA(1).
(2f) Where the land in
respect of which an exploration licence is granted comprises or includes part
of a block —
(a) the
licence is deemed to be granted in respect of that block for the purposes of
subsections (2), (2a) and (2b); and
(b) that
block is deemed to be subject to the licence for the purposes of section 65;
and
(c) the
boundaries of the land the subject of the licence shall be deemed to be the
same as the boundaries of the block for the purposes of section 67A.
(2g) A person may be
granted more than one exploration licence.
(2h) Where the land in
respect of which an exploration licence is granted comprises or includes part
of a block, no other exploration licence shall be granted in respect of that
block or any part of that block.
(3) The mining
registrar or the warden shall not recommend the grant of an exploration
licence under this section unless he is satisfied that the applicant is able
to effectively explore the land in respect of which the application has been
made.
(4) Where in any
particular area extensive mining is being carried on, the Minister may, from
time to time, by notice published in the Government Gazette declare that no
application for an exploration licence shall be made or granted with respect
to any land comprising the area or any land within such area as is specified
in the notice.
[Section 57 amended: No. 69 of 1981 s. 17; No. 122
of 1982 s. 17; No. 100 of 1985 s. 38; No. 22 of 1990 s. 16; No. 37 of 1993 s.
7; No. 58 of 1994 s. 13 and 15(2) and (3); No. 15 of 2002 s. 10; No. 39 of
2004 s. 12; No. 27 of 2005 s. 7.]