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Mineral Resources Tasmania

Lease application approval process

The process for granting mining leases, production licences and exploration licences requires the applicant to supply details relating to their exploration, production or mining program, their technical capacity to complete the work and their financial resources. Tenement applications are assessed by appropriately qualified and experienced MRT staff in order to ensure positive outcomes for both the state and the applicants.

The responsibility for granting a new lease or licence falls to the Minister, who makes his decision under advisement from the Director of Mines. Once an assessment is complete, the Director of Mines will make a recommendation to the Minister based upon the assessment which the Minister may choose to act on.

The time taken to grant a tenement is greatly reduced when the applicant supplies all relevant data, and pays fees in a timely fashion.

Mining leases

The first step toward the granting of a mining lease is for the applicant to complete an application form and pay the prescribed fee. An application must include the following:

  • A description of the mining to be carried out;
  • Sketch map/s or other graphic representation setting out:
    • The boundaries of the land subject of this application,
    • The location of the Datum Post;
  • Evidence that the specified persons have agreed to assist with the mining activity;
  • Evidence of the financial and technical resources available to the applicant;
  • Proof of identity of applicant;
  • Evidence that the person signing this application is authorised to do so;
  • Permission from the Exploration Licence (EL) or Retention Licence (RL) holder if application is over an EL or RL held for the same category of minerals;
  • Prescribed fee;
  • Six months rent in advance;
  • Marking out notice;

Those with an estate in lands, or a proprietary interest in lands within the tenement boundary, including other tenement holders, may object to the granting of the lease within the 28 day period following the marking out of the lease area.

Once the application has been completed and submitted to Mineral Resources Tasmania the area of the application will be considered in relation to existing tenements and land tenure to ensure the land is available. The application will then be assessed by tenement administration for completeness before being assigned to a Mines Inspector for assessment.

If all is in order the application is accepted and entered into the mining register. The applicant has 12 months from this point to ensure that all extraneous data is supplied to MRT in order for the Director to make a recommendation to the Minister to grant the lease. Further documentation will include:

  • A Compensation Agreement if the application is on private land and the applicant is not the owner;
  • Evidence of Public Liability Insurance for and amount of $10 million or $20 million as determined by an Inspector;
  • A Completed Mining Plan.

The applicant must arrange for an inspector to make an assessment of the tenement in order to determine the amount of the security deposit to be paid, as well as assessing whether special conditions should be applied to the lease.

Once the security deposit has been paid and all fees and documentation are in order and there are no unresolved objections, the Director of Mines may make a recommendation to the Minister that the lease be granted. Once the Minister receives a recommendation from the Director he may act on that recommendation, or he may act contrary to the recommendation. The lease is considered granted on the date it is signed by the Minister.