Mining Act 1978

A person who desires to enter on any private land to search for any mineral or to mark out a mining tenement may apply for a permit to enter on the private land.

An application under subsection (1) shall be made in the prescribed manner and be in the prescribed form and shall contain a description of the private land concerned that is sufficient to enable the land to be identified.

A warden or a prescribed official, on being satisfied that an application made under subsection (1) is made in good faith, may grant a permit in writing to enter on the private land concerned —

for such term not exceeding 30 days from the date thereof; and

subject to such conditions, not being conditions preventing the marking out of any mining tenement or the maintenance of any marks or notices relating thereto,

A warden or a prescribed official may, on granting a permit under subsection (3), fix a sum of money and require that sum to be paid to the Director General of Mines by the applicant for the permit before the issue thereof to the applicant.

A sum fixed under subsection (4) shall be a sum that, in the opinion of the warden or prescribed official, would provide reasonable compensation to the owner and the occupier of the private land to which the permit concerned relates for any damage likely to be caused by the holder of the permit during the currency of the permit.

The owner or the occupier of the private land to which a permit relates may apply to the warden’s court within the prescribed period for payment of all or part of a sum paid by the holder of the permit under subsection (4).

If the warden’s court is satisfied, on an application made under subsection (6), that the applicant has suffered damage caused by the holder of the permit during the currency of the permit, the warden’s court may order that all or part of the sum be paid to the applicant.

If an order is made under subsection (6a) that all of the sum be paid to the applicant, the Director General of Mines shall give effect to the order.

If an order is made under subsection (6a) that part of the sum be paid to the applicant, the Director General of Mines shall —

give effect to the order; and

pay the balance of the sum to the holder of the permit.

If —

no application is made under subsection (6); or

an application made under subsection (6) is refused, withdrawn or discontinued,

A permit under subsection (3) shall be deemed to be held subject to the condition that the holder is liable —

in accordance with section 123, in respect of loss or damage arising out of the lawful exercise of the authorisation conferred by the permit; and

generally for any loss or damage arising by reason of any entry on the land effected in purported pursuance of the authorisation conferred by the permit where the exercise of that authorisation contravened conditions to which the permit was subject or the entry was otherwise unlawful.

In this section —