General conditions for exploration licence (low impact)

National park, regional park, historic site, nature reserve, karst conservation reserve and Aboriginal area have the meaning given to those terms in the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974.

Related Body Corporate has the same meaning given to that term in the Corporations Act 2001 (Commonwealth).

Relevant authorities have the meaning given to that term in section 148 of the Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997.

Work program means the approved work program identified in Schedule 5 of this licence, as amended from time to time with the approval of the Minister.

The licence holder must carry out the operations, and any other activities, described in the Work Program and comply with any commitments in relation to the conduct of operations specified in the Work Program, as for the time being in force, in respect of this licence.

The licence holder must not carry out any prospecting operations, other than those of the following kind:

(a) aerial surveys

(b) geological and surveying field work that does not involve clearing (as defined below)

(c) sampling by hand methods

(d) ground-based geophysical surveys that do not involve clearing

(e) drilling and activities associated with drilling and the establishment of a drill site that do not involve clearing or excavation (as defined below), other than the minimum necessary to establish a drill site

(f) environmental field work that does not involve clearing.

For the purposes of (e) above, the following are not permitted:

(a) side hill excavation for access or drill pads, as would be necessary on steep slopes

(b) drilling in a watercourse or any stream diversion

(c) cutting down or pushing over trees

(d) clearing or excavation for the purpose of obtaining access to drill sites.

For the purposes of this condition 2, the following definitions apply:

‘Clearing’ in the case of:

• grass, scrub or bush, means the removal of vegetation by disturbing root systems and exposing underlying soil, but does not include: the flattening or compaction of vegetation by vehicles, where the vegetation remains living; the slashing or mowing of vegetation to facilitate access tracks, provided root systems remain in place and vegetation        remains living; or the clearing of noxious or introduced plant species.
• trees, means cutting down, ringbarking or pushing over trees.

‘Excavation’ means the use of machinery to dig below the topsoil horizon, but does not include minor levelling of a site to allow a drill rig to operate on a level surface for safety reasons (e.g. to provide a safe working area or for fire prevention) or the construction of a small sump for operational purposes.

‘Topsoil horizon’ means the top level or layer of soil which is generally less than 30 cm thick.

The licence holder must carry out community consultation in relation to the planning and conduct of activities under this licence in accordance with the Exploration code of practice: Community consultation (PDF, 513.38 KB)(March 2016).

The licence holder must prevent, or if that is not reasonably practicable, minimise so far as is reasonably practicable, any harm to the environment arising from activities carried out under this licence.

The following condition is used for individual securities.

5. The licence holder must provide a security deposit to secure funding for the fulfilment of obligations under this licence (including obligations that may arise in the future) as follows:

(a) Amount: $ [amount]

(b) Licence holder’s entitlement to interest: none.

The following condition is used for group securities.

5. The licence holder must provide and maintain a group security deposit to secure funding for the fulfilment of all obligations under all exploration licences under head title exploration licence no. [Head Title number entered here] (including obligations that may arise in the future) as follows:

(a) Amount: $ [amount]

(b) Licence holder’s entitlement to interest: none

The licence holder must carry out rehabilitation of all disturbance caused by activities carried out under this licence in accordance with the requirements in Part B of the Exploration Code of Practice: Rehabilitation (July 2015) to the satisfaction of the Minister.

The licence holder must provide environmental incident notifications and reports to the Secretary no later than seven days after those notifications and reports are provided to relevant authorities under the Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997.

Unless otherwise approved by the Secretary, the licence holder must submit annual activity reports prepared in accordance with the Exploration guideline: Annual activity reporting for prospecting titles (PDF, 319.51 KB) (July 2015) at the following times:

(a) Annually, within one calendar month following the grant anniversary date of this licence;

(b) On any other date or dates directed by the Secretary in writing; and

(c) Within one calendar month following the cancellation or expiry of this licence.

If the licence holder is a corporation, the Secretary must be notified within 30 days of any:

(a) change in effective control of the licence holder; or

(b) foreign acquisition of substantial control in the licence holder.

Notification is not required where a change in effective control of the licence holder, or a foreign acquisition of substantial control of the licence holder, occurs as a result of the acquisition of shares or other securities on a registered stock exchange.