Mineral Resources Act 1989

Upon the grant of a mining lease rental shall first be payable thereon with respect to the period from the commencement of the term of the mining lease to 31 August of that year (the first rental period) and shall be paid within 20 business days (or such longer period as the Minister in the particular case approves) of the grant of the mining lease.

The amount of the rental payable in respect of the first rental period shall be an amount that bears to the rental payable for a rental year prescribed pursuant to subsection (4) for the rental year in which the first rental period falls the same proportion that the number of whole calendar months of the first rental period bears to 12.

In respect of each rental year or part thereof of the term of a mining lease (other than the first rental period) a full rental year’s rental shall be payable in advance not later than 31 August of the previous rental year.

If the full rental payable for a rental year is paid in advance, the amount of the rental shall be the amount prescribed under a regulation for that rental year.

If, for a particular rental year, rental is not paid in advance—

the chief executive shall, prior to 30 September of that rental year, notify the holder of and any person holding a recorded interest in the mining lease that the rental has not been paid and of the amount of rental payable as prescribed by paragraph (b); and

the amount of the full rental payable for the rental year shall be payable before 1 December of that rental year and shall be an amount equal to the amount prescribed under a regulation for that rental year plus an amount equal to 15% of that prescribed amount.

Upon the renewal of a mining lease, no further rental shall be payable in respect of the period that, if the renewal was a grant of a mining lease, would be the first rental period, except where that period commences on 1 September.

Except as provided in subsection (9), where in any rental year a mining lease is surrendered or terminated through effluxion of time and is not renewed there shall be refundable to the last holder of the mining lease an amount that bears to the amount of the rental that was paid in respect of that rental year the same proportion that the number of whole calendar months from—

the date of surrender or termination; or

the date of rejection of the application for renewal;

Subsections (3) to (7) apply to a mining lease continued in force under section 286C, with all necessary changes and with any changes prescribed by regulation, in the same way as they would apply if the lease had been renewed on the last day of its term.

No amount shall be refunded pursuant to subsection (7) where a mining lease is surrendered within its first rental period after its original grant.