Mining Act 1978

Subject to this Act the holder of a miner’s right is authorised to do all or any of the following things —

pass and repass over Crown land or conservation land with such employees and agents, vehicles, machinery and equipment as may be necessary or expedient for the purpose of prospecting and marking out any land which may be made the subject of an application for a mining tenement;

prospect for minerals and conduct tests for minerals on available land for the purpose of determining whether to mark out or apply for a mining tenement in respect of any part of the land;

extract or remove from available land samples or specimens of rock, ore or minerals with as little damage to the surface of the land as possible, in quantities, in total or on occasions, not exceeding the prescribed limits;

keep as the holder’s property or use for testing or evaluation purposes any samples and specimens of any mineral found by the holder on available land;

for the purpose of prospecting and for domestic purposes and subject to the Rights in Water and Irrigation Act 1914, or any Act amending or replacing the relevant provisions of that Act —

take and use water from any natural spring, lake, pool or watercourse situated in or flowing through available land; and

sink a well or bore on available land and take and use water from the well or bore;

for the purpose of prospecting, camp on Crown land or conservation land in such manner and subject to such conditions as may be prescribed;

fossick by prescribed means on Crown land or conservation land with the prior written consent of —

any occupier of that land; and

if the land is subject to a mining tenement, the holder of the mining tenement.

Every miner’s right is to be regarded as having been issued subject to the conditions that the holder of the miner’s right or any other person acting in the exercise or purported exercise of an authorisation conferred or alleged to be conferred by subsection (1) —

must not, on conservation land, do any of the things referred to in that subsection unless authorised to do so under the Conservation and Land Management Act 1984; and

must not use explosives or tools, other than tools prescribed for the purposes of this paragraph or hand tools; and

must cause to be filled in or otherwise made safe —

all holes, pits, trenches and other disturbances on the surface of the land which were made by the person while acting in the exercise or purported exercise of the authorisation and which are likely to endanger the safety of any person or animal; and

such other holes, pits, trenches and other disturbances made, wholly or in part, by the person as the Minister may from time to time direct;

must take all necessary steps to prevent damage or injury to property or livestock whether resulting from fire, the presence of dogs, the discharge of firearms, the use of vehicles or any other cause.

The holder of a miner’s right is liable to pay compensation in accordance with section 123, as may be agreed or as may be determined by the warden’s court on the application of the owner or occupier of the land or of the holder of any mining tenement affected, for any loss or damage caused by, and not made good by, the holder or any other person acting in the exercise or purported exercise of an authorisation conferred or alleged to be conferred by subsection (1).

A determination made by the warden’s court under subsection (3) is, for the purposes of section 147(1), a final determination of the warden’s court.