Mining Act 1992

If the Minister, on application by the holder of a mining lease, is satisfied that the value of publicly owned minerals recovered as a result of mining operations carried on during a royalty period was less than the appropriate amount, no royalty is payable to the Crown under this Act in respect of those minerals.

The Chief Commissioner is to remit the interest or penalty tax on any royalty that ceases to be payable because of a decision of the Minister under this section.

In this section—

appropriate amount, in relation to a royalty period, means—

if the royalty period is 12 months—$2,000, and

if the royalty period is less than 12 months—such amount as bears to $2,000 the same proportion as the number of days in the royalty period bears to 365.

mining operations means mining operations carried on—

on a parcel of land subject to a mining lease held by a person who is not the holder of any other mining lease, or

on 2 or more parcels of land subject to 2 or more mining leases, if the holder of each parcel is the same person and if each parcel adjoins the other or another of those parcels.

royalty period, in relation to a mineral recovered by a person under a mining lease, means—

the period commencing on the day on which the person first became entitled, under the mining lease, to mine the mineral, and ending on the last day of the first period in respect of which the person is required by this Act to pay royalty in respect of the mineral, or

the period commencing on the day after the last day of any period in respect of which the person is required by this Act to pay royalty in respect of the mineral and ending on the last day of the next such period, or

if, during a period referred to in paragraph (b), the person ceases to be entitled to mine the mineral on the land the subject of the mining lease—the period commencing on the day after the last day of the previous royalty period and ending on the day on which the person ceases to be so entitled.