Mining Act 1992

The holder of an assessment lease may, in accordance with the conditions of the lease, prospect on the land specified in the lease for the mineral or minerals so specified.

If an application for a mining lease or mineral claim made by the holder of an assessment lease is not finally dealt with before the date on which the assessment lease would otherwise cease to have effect, the lease continues to have effect, in relation only to the land to which the application relates, until the application is finally dealt with.

Note.

An assessment lease is designed to allow retention of rights over an area in which a significant mineral deposit has been identified, if mining the deposit is not commercially viable in the short term but there is a reasonable prospect that it will be in the longer term. The holder is allowed to continue prospecting operations and to recover minerals in the course of assessing the viability of commercial mining.