Mining Act 1971

The owner of any land on which authorised operations are carried out under this Act is entitled to receive compensation for any economic loss, hardship or inconvenience suffered by the owner in consequence of authorised operations.

In determining the compensation payable under this section, the following matters shall be considered:

any damage caused to the land by the person carrying out the authorised operations; and

any loss of productivity or profits as a result of the authorised operations; and

any other relevant matters.

The compensation may include an additional component to cover reasonable costs reasonably incurred by an owner of land in connection with any negotiation or dispute related to—

the tenement holder gaining access to the land; and

the activities to be carried out on the land; and

the compensation to be paid under subsection (1).

The amount of the compensation shall be an amount determined by agreement between the owner and the tenement holder or, in default of agreement, an amount determined, upon application by an interested party, by the appropriate court.

The appropriate court, in determining compensation under this section, shall take into consideration any work that the tenement holder has carried out, or undertakes to carry out, to rehabilitate the land.

Upon the hearing of an application for compensation under this section, the appropriate court may order a tenement holder to carry out such work to rehabilitate the land as the Court thinks fit.

In assessing compensation under subsection (2a), costs in connection with any negotiation or dispute will not be taken to be reasonably incurred if they arise during any period when a reasonable offer of compensation is open to be accepted by the relevant owner of land.

It will be a condition of a mineral tenement that the Minister may, at any time, require the tenement holder to pay to any person an amount of compensation, specified by the Minister, to which the person is, in the opinion of the Minister, entitled on account of loss or damage suffered by the person as a result of operations carried out under the tenement.

Subsection (5b) operates in addition to any other provision made by this or any other section.

For the purposes of this section—

a reference to authorised operations will be taken to include a reference to any investigation or survey under section 15; and

a reference to a tenement holder will be taken to include a reference to the Director (in relation to any investigation or survey under section 15).