1Objectives

The objectives of these Regulations are—

(a)

to prescribe various procedures, details, royalties, fees, forms, rents, information required in documents and other matters authorised by the Mineral Resources (Sustainable Development) Act 1990; and

(b)

to prescribe certain offences as infringement offences; and

(c)

to set out requirements relating to declared mines; and

(d)

to set out the requirements for persons who are required, under the Mineral Resources (Sustainable Development) Act 1990, to disclose any interests.

2Authorising provision

These Regulations are made under section 124 of the Mineral Resources (Sustainable Development) Act 1990.

3Commencement

These Regulations come into operation on 1 July 2019.

4Definitions

In these Regulations—

Reg. 4 def. of Environment Protection Authority inserted by S.R. No. 97/2022 reg. 5.

Environment Protection Authority has the same meaning as Authority has in the Environment Protection Act 2017;

exploration hazard means any exploration activity and circumstance that may pose a risk to the environment, to any member of the public, or to land, property or infrastructure in the vicinity of work carried out under a licence;

gold means any gold or silver content of ore, concentrates, alloy or metal that is sold as a product from a mine the principal activity of which is the mining of gold;

mining hazard means any mining activity and circumstance that may pose a risk to the environment, to any member of the public, or to land, property or infrastructure in the vicinity of work carried out at a mine;

net market value, of a mineral, means the market value of the mineral at the time it is first sold, transferred or disposed of, less any costs reasonably, necessarily and directly incurred by the licensee in connection with the sale, transfer or disposal (including insurance, freight and marketing expenses);

rehabilitation hazard means any rehabilitation activity and circumstance that may pose a risk to the environment, to any member of the public, or to land, property or infrastructure in the vicinity of the rehabilitation activity;

rehabilitation milestone means a measurable, significant event or step in the process of rehabilitation;

Reg. 4 def. of rehabilitation or closure milestone inserted by S.R. No. 97/2022 reg. 5.

rehabilitation or closure milestone, in relation to a declared mine rehabilitation plan, means a rehabilitation or closure milestone included in that plan in accordance with regulation 64F(2)(c);

Reg. 4 def. of relevant period inserted by S.R. No. 138/2019 reg. 4.

relevant period means—

(a)

a financial year for which royalties must be paid; or

(b)

if the Minister varies the period for which royalties must be paid under regulation 5(2), the varied period;

safe, stable and sustainable means—

(a)

is not likely to cause injury or illness; and

(b)

structurally, geotechnically and hydrogeologically sound; and

(c)

non-polluting; and

(d)

aligns with the principles of sustainable development;

the Act means the Mineral Resources (Sustainable Development) Act 1990;

Reg. 4 def. of work plan area amended by S.R. No. 108/2025 reg. 5(1).

work plan area means the area where work described in the work plan is, or is proposed to be, carried out;

Reg. 4 def. of work plan minor variation inserted by S.R. No. 108/2025 reg. 5(2).

work plan minor variation, in relation to an approved work plan, means a variation to the work plan that the Department Head determines to be a minor variation under section 41AAA of the Act.

5Period for which royalties are payable

(1)

For the purposes of section 12(1)(b) and (2) of the Act––

(a)

royalties are payable in respect of each financial year; or

(b)

if the Minister, under subregulation (2), varies the period in respect of which royalties are payable, royalties are payable in respect of the varied period.

(2)

The Minister, by notice in writing to the licence holder, may vary the period in respect of which royalties are payable.

6Calculation of royalties

(1)

For the purposes of section 12(1)(b) of the Act, royalties for any mineral, other than gold or lignite, are payable by the holder of a mining licence or the holder of a prospecting licence at the rate of 2·75 per cent of the net market value of the mineral produced under the licence.

Reg. 6(1A) inserted by S.R. No. 138/2019 reg. 5.

(1A)

For the purposes of section 12(1)(b) of the Act, royalties for gold are payable by the holder of a mining licence at the rate of 2·75 per cent of the net market value of the gold produced under the licence.

Reg. 6(1B) inserted by S.R. No. 138/2019 reg. 5.

(1B)

Despite subregulation (1A), no royalties for gold are payable in respect of the first 2500 ounces of gold produced under a mining licence during—

(a)

the period beginning on 1 January 2020 and ending on 30 June 2020; or

(b)

any relevant period beginning on or after 1 July 2020.

(2)

For the purposes of section 12(2) of the Act, royalties are payable at the rate of $1.43 per cubic metre for tailings resulting from work under a licence over Crown land disposed of by the holder of––

(a)

a mining licence under section 14(2)(b) of the Act; or

(b)

a prospecting licence under section 14B(2A) of the Act.

7Minister may determine net market value in certain circumstances

(1)

If the Minister is of the opinion that the net market value reported in respect of a particular mineral is not a true or fair net market value of the mineral, the Minister may require the licensee to pay a royalty in relation to that mineral on the basis of the net market value of the mineral as determined by the Minister.

Examples

1 The holder of a mining licence gives the Department Head a production and royalty return under regulation 8. The Minister is of the view that the costs reported in relation to the sale of a mineral are unreasonably high. The Minister makes a determination under this regulation.

2 The holder of a mining licence gives the Department Head a production and royalty return under regulation 8. The Minister is of the view that the reported sale price of a mineral resulted from a transaction between related bodies corporate that was not a genuine commercial transaction. The Minister makes a determination under this regulation.

(2)

Before making a determination under subregulation (1), the Minister—

(a)

must give the licensee a written notice that—

(i)

states that the Minister is of the opinion that the net market value of the mineral may not be a true or fair net market value of the mineral; and

(ii)

states the reasons for that opinion; and

(iii)

invites the licensee to make a written submission in response to the notice within the time specified by the Minister in the notice; and

(b)

must consider any written submission that is made by the licensee within the time specified in the notice.

(3)

For the purposes of subregulation (2)(a)(iii), the Minister must not specify a period of less than 7 days.

(4)

If the Minister makes a determination under subregulation (1), the licensee must pay the difference between the amount of royalty already paid in respect of the mineral and the amount of royalty that is payable on the basis of the determination within 28 days after the date on which the licensee is given written notice of the determination.

8Production and royalty return

(1)

This regulation applies to production and royalty returns for relevant periods commencing on or after 1 July 2019.

(2)

Within 30 days after the end of each relevant period, the holder of a mining licence or prospecting licence must give the Department Head a production and royalty return for the relevant period that—

(a)

contains the information specified in subregulation (3); and

(b)

is in the form approved by the Department Head.

Penalty: 20 penalty units.

(3)

For the purposes of subregulation (2), the information is—

(a)

the quantity of lignite produced under the licence during the relevant period and the value of the net wet specific energy content of that lignite used for the purpose of the calculation of the royalty; and

(b)

if the licence area includes Crown land, the quantity of tailings resulting from work under the licence on Crown land that were disposed of during the relevant period; and

(c)

the following details for each other mineral produced under the licence (if any)—

(i)

the type and quantity of the mineral produced under the licence during the relevant period;

(ii)

the net market value of the mineral;

(iii)

the costs taken into account in calculating the net market value;

(iv)

any other information used in the calculation of the net market value.

Reg. 8(4) revoked by S.R. No. 138/2019 reg. 6.

* * * * *

9Time of payment

(1)

This regulation applies to payment of royalties for a period commencing on or after 1 July 2019.

(2)

For the purposes of section 12(1)(b) and (2) of the Act, the time by which royalties are to be paid is—

(a)

within 30 days after the date on which the Department Head receives the production and royalty return under regulation 8 for the period for which royalties are to be paid; or

(b)

a later date determined by the Minister under subregulation (3).

(3)

The Minister, by notice in writing to the licence holder, may determine a date by which royalties are to be paid, which must be later than the date by which royalties otherwise are to be paid in accordance with subregulation (2)(a).

10Records relating to royalties

(1)

For the purposes of assessing or verifying the amount of royalties payable, a licensee must retain the books and records of production, disposals, transfers, sales and costs under the licence for at least 5 years.

Penalty: 10 penalty units.

(2)

For the purposes of assessing or verifying the amount of royalties payable by a licensee, the Department Head, or an officer of the Department authorised by the Department Head, may inspect the whole or any part of the books and records retained under subregulation (1).

11Timing and manner of measurement for calculation of a gigajoule unit of lignite produced

(1)

For the purposes of the definition of gigajoule unit of lignite in section 12A(5) of the Act—

(a)

the prescribed manner for measuring a gigajoule unit of lignite, in units of tonnes per gigajoule, is by using the following formula—

1/NWSE

where—

NWSE is net wet specific energy measured in units of gigajoules per tonne, and calculated on the basis of historic drillhole data representative of the lignite for which the royalty is being paid, with gross energy value converted to net energy value using International Organization for Standardization standard ISO 1928:2009(E); and

(b)

the prescribed time at which the measurement is made is a time that is suitable for performing the measurement in the prescribed manner.

(2)

For the purposes of section 12A(2) of the Act, the number of gigajoule units of lignite produced is calculated using the following formula—

NWSE × ρV

where—

NWSE is measured in accordance with subregulation (1);

ρ is the average annual in situ density value of the lignite for which the royalty is being paid, in tonnes/m³, and calculated in accordance with the following formula to 3 decimal places—

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where—

D is the weighted average true density of composite lignite samples taken each month during the period for which the royalty is being paid, with analysis performed using a method involving helium displacement that accords with industry standard, calculated to three decimal places;

M is the average in situ moisture of the lignite which is representative of the lignite for which the royalty is being paid, based on historic drillhole data, expressed as a percentage, and calculated to one decimal place;

V is the volume of the lignite in m³ based on volumetric survey measurements taken for the lignite for which the royalty is being paid.

12Meaning of competent person

(1)

For the purposes of section 15(1BG) of the Act, a person is a competent person to prepare a mineralisation report under section 15(1BE) of the Act if—

(a)

the person has—

(i)

membership of an organisation approved by the Department Head that is of a class approved by the Department Head; and

(ii)

a minimum of 5 years' experience which is relevant to the style of mineralisation or type of deposit and to the activity that is the subject of the report; or

(b)

in the case of a report relating to a mineral deposit that is easily and readily assessed visually at the ground surface, the Minister has determined, on a case-by-case basis, that the person has the relevant experience in mining or mineral exploration to prepare the report.

(2)

For the purposes of subregulation (1), the Department Head may, by notice published in the Government Gazette, approve organisations and classes of membership.

Mineral Resources (Sustainable Development) (Mineral Industries) Regulations 2019

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