Mining industry is developing progressively due to advancement in technologies used in mining process. In order to get permission or license for a particular mining project, specific standards are to be measured to check its impact on environmental factors and local authority. The firm to undergo mining exploration has to apply for an exploration license ie. tenement to get authentication for execution of exploration. This special permit ensures that there is no disturbance to the ecosystem and no conflictions with the land owner.
Under Mining Act 1978(Australian Government, Department of Mines:Industry Regulation and Safety)), mining tenement system is of following type :
-Prospecting Licence: This license is valid for four years;can be extended for four more years and is applicable for an area of 400 hectares. There is limit of extracting or disturbing around 500 tonnes of material from the ground that can be increased with the permission of the Minister for Mines and Petroleum. A minimum security fee of $5000 is applicable per licence.
-Special Prospecting Licence(SPL) for Gold: It allows a permit over 10 hectare area only and is limited to 10 SPL grants at one time. It is generally granted with primary licence of exploration.
-Exploration Licence: It is applicable over an area of minimum 70 and maximum 100 blocks. There is no limit of grants for this licence at one time and requires $5000 as security fee. The limit of material to be extracted from ground is 1000 tonnes.
-Retention Licence: This is applicable to the area which is holding mineral resource but is not able to get explored. It can cover whole area or a small part within the boundaries of a primary tenement. It has no limit of area and is valid for five years with a further provision of extension of five years after renewal.
-Mining Leases: It covers the area identified with mineral resources and selected for infrastructural requirements. It covers a maximum of 1000 hectares of area for before February 6, 2006. It is valid for 21 years and can be renewed. It covers all the processes of mining from material extraction and mineral removal.
-General Purpose Lease: It allows permission on 10 hectares of area only. The exploration depth can be maximum 15 metres. It is required for operating machinery and recovery process in exploration. Its term period is 21 years and can be renewed.
These tenements are provided by local mining tenement system offices. An application is to be raised after ensuring all legal formalities from the end of applicants.
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