Mining Regulation 2016

This Regulation is the Mining Regulation 2016.

This Regulation commences on the day on which it is published on the NSW legislation website.

In this Regulation—

affected coal mining region means an area of the State prescribed by clause 89A.

agricultural lime means limestone sold or used for the purposes of application to land for agricultural purposes to improve the chemical and physical characteristics of the soil on that land.

appointed member means a member of a board who is appointed by the Minister.

area of operations of a board means the area for which the board is constituted.

block means a graticular section referred to in clause 10 or, if the Minister so directs in a particular case, part of such a graticular section.

board means a board of management constituted by the Minister under section 359 of the Act.

clay/shale does not include structural clay or clay or shale used in road making or as fill.

dimension stone means any rock, other than sandstone, that is quarried in blocks or slabs for building, decorative or other purposes.

excluded helium means helium in a naturally occurring mixture with 1 or more hydrocarbons, whether the mixture is in a gaseous, liquid or solid state.

Note—

Because excluded helium is not prescribed as a mineral it is a form of petroleum and is subject to the Petroleum (Onshore) Act 1991 instead of the Mining Act 1992. See—

the Mining Act 1992, Dictionary, definitions of mineral and petroleum, and

the Petroleum (Onshore) Act 1991, section 3(1), definition of petroleum, paragraph (c).

Expert Panel means a Royalties for Rejuvenation Expert Panel established by the Minister under the Act, section 292X.

geothermal energy means the heat energy contained or stored in rock, geothermal water or any other material occurring naturally within the earth.

grant anniversary date means the anniversary, each year, of the date on which an authorisation is granted.

Map Grid of Australia means a rectangular coordinate system using a Transverse Mercator projection with zones 6 degrees wide and based on the Geocentric Datum of Australia.

marker post means—

a steel star picket, or

a post with a diameter of at least 75 millimetres,

that is fixed in the ground and projects at least 1 metre above the ground.

other relevant legislation means the Acts (and the regulations and other instruments made under those Acts) specified in Schedule 5.

Panel Member, for Schedule 7A—see Schedule 7A, clause 1.

quartzite does not include sandstone.

rehabilitation cost estimate means an estimate of the rehabilitation costs in relation to any land or water, prepared and calculated in accordance with guidelines approved by the Secretary.

security deposit condition has the same meaning as in the Act, Part 12A.

standard map—see clause 9.

statutory surveying requirements means the requirements of the Surveying and Spatial Information Act 2002, and the regulations under that Act, in relation to the conduct of surveys.

structural clay means clay or shale used in the manufacture of fired clay building or construction products, such as bricks, pipes and quarry tiles.

survey mark includes a survey mark placed by the Secretary for the purpose of surveying or placed in accordance with the statutory surveying requirements.

the Act means the Mining Act 1992.

unit means a unit into which a block is divided as referred to in clause 10 (2) or, if the Minister so directs in a particular case, part of such a unit.

Note.

The Act and the Interpretation Act 1987 contain definitions and other provisions that affect the interpretation and application of this Regulation.

In this Regulation, protected reserve means a reserve—

constituted under the Act, section 367(1), and

subject to a direction under the following—

for an exploration licence—the Act, section 367(2)(a),

for an assessment lease—the Act, section 367(2)(b),

for a mining lease—the Act, section 367(2)(c),

for a mineral claim—the Act, section 367(2)(d).

In this Regulation, protected reserve also includes a reserve—

constituted under the Mining Act 1973 before its repeal, and

taken, under the Act, Schedule 6, clause 34, to be a reserve over which there is taken to be an order prohibiting the granting of—

an authority, or

a mineral claim.

Note.

For the purposes of comparison, a number of provisions of this Regulation contain bracketed notes in headings drawing attention (“Former”) to equivalent or comparable (though not necessarily identical) provisions of the Mining Regulation 2010 (“2010 Reg”).

(Former clause 5 of 2010 Reg)

The substances listed in Schedule 1 are prescribed as minerals for the purposes of the definition of mineral in the Dictionary to the Act.

(Former clause 6 of 2010 Reg)

The groups of minerals listed in Schedule 2 are prescribed as groups of minerals for the purposes of the definition of group of minerals in the Dictionary to the Act.

In relation to an application for an exploration (mineral owner) licence or to an exploration (mineral owner) licence that is in force, group of minerals means the group containing the privately owned mineral that is the subject of the relevant application or licence.

(Former clause 7 of 2010 Reg)

The following activities are prescribed as ancillary mining activities for the purposes of the definition of ancillary mining activity in the Dictionary to the Act—

the construction, maintenance or use (in or in connection with mining operations) of any one or more of the following—

any building or mining plant,

any road, railway, tramway, bridge or jetty,

any reservoir, dam, drain or water race,

any cable, conveyor, pipeline, telephone line or signalling system,

any bin, magazine or fuel chute,

any plant nursery,

opal puddling,

the removal, stockpiling, management or depositing of overburden, ore or tailings to the extent that it is associated with mineral extraction or mineral beneficiation,

the storage of fuel, machinery, timber or equipment for use in or in connection with mining operations,

the generation and transmission of electricity for use in or in connection with mining operations,

the construction, maintenance and use (in or in connection with mining operations) of any drillhole or shaft for—

drainage of gas, or

drainage or conveyance of water, or

ventilation, or

conveyance of electricity, or

conveyance of materials, or

communications, or

emergency access to underground workings,

the environmental management, protection and rehabilitation of land on which an ancillary mining activity referred to in another paragraph of this clause is being or has been carried out.

For the Act, Dictionary, definition of landholder, paragraph (g)(v), the following persons are prescribed—

Hunter Water Corporation Limited,

other persons responsible for the control and management of water supply works in the Tomago Sandbeds Catchment Area, within the meaning of the Hunter Water Regulation 2015, Part 2.

(Former clause 9 of 2010 Reg)

A map is a standard map for the purposes of this Regulation if it—

shows the alignment of the boundaries of the land to which it relates relative to the Map Grid of Australia (MGA2020) and shows the coordinates of all points where there is a change in the direction of the boundaries, or

if a map referred to in paragraph (a) is not available—is a cadastral map published by a Government Department or public authority, whether of New South Wales or of the Commonwealth, or

if maps referred to in paragraphs (a) and (b) are not available—is an aerial photograph, a satellite image or topographic map of a standard acceptable to the Secretary.

In this clause—

MGA2020 means the Geocentric Datum of Australia 2020 (GDA2020), using the Map Grid of Australia 2020 (MGA2020) standard map projection expressed in Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) projection coordinates with zones 6 degrees wide.

(Former clause 10 of 2010 Reg)

For the purposes of this Regulation, the surface of the Earth is taken to be divided into graticular sections—

by the meridian of Greenwich and by the meridians that are at a distance from that meridian of 5 minutes, or a multiple of 5 minutes, of longitude, and

by the equator and by parallels of latitude that are at a distance from the equator of 5 minutes, or a multiple of 5 minutes, of latitude,

each graticular section being bounded—

by portions of 2 of those meridians that are at a distance from each other of 5 minutes of longitude, and

by portions of 2 of those parallels of latitude that are at a distance from each other of 5 minutes of latitude.

Each graticular section is taken to be divided into 25 units, each unit being bounded—

by portions of 2 meridians (being the meridian of Greenwich or the meridians that are at a distance from that meridian of 1 minute, or a multiple of 1 minute, of longitude) that are at a distance from each other of 1 minute of longitude, and

by portions of 2 parallels of latitude (being the equator or parallels of latitude that are at a distance from the equator of 1 minute, or a multiple of 1 minute, of latitude) that are at a distance from each other of 1 minute of latitude.

(Former clause 11 of 2010 Reg)

The Minister may, by order published in the Gazette, exempt any person or class of persons from the operation of section 6 of the Act with respect to the carrying out of a particular ancillary mining activity, or a class of ancillary mining activities, that is specified for the purposes of that section.