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Glossary of NT terminology

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Terminology

References to the Mineral Titles Act

  • business day: a day that is not a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday.
  • caveat: a caveat lodged under section 131(1).
  • claimant: a person who has given a notice of claim under section 110(1).
  • commencement day: see section 193(1).
  • conditions of a mineral title: the conditions for the title mentioned in section 85.
  • corresponding application: for Part 12: see section 193(1).
  • corresponding mineral title for Part 12: see section 193(1).
  • corresponding title in relation to a mineral authority: see section 118(2)(a).
  • council road: a road vested in, or under the care, control and management of, a local government council.
  • declared fossicking area: an area of land declared to be a fossicking area under section 136(1).
  • declared park or reserve: see section 15(3).
  • EL: a mineral exploration licence.
  • ELR: a mineral exploration licence in retention.
  • EMEL: an extractive mineral exploration licence.
  • EML: an extractive mineral lease.
  • EMP: an extractive mineral permit.
  • excluded land in an Aboriginal community living area: see section 185(1).
  • existing application for Part 12: see section 193(1).
  • existing interest for Part 12: see section 193(1).
  • existing proposed title area: see section 65(4).
  • existing title area: see section 65(4).
  • exploration for minerals or extractive minerals: all methods of searching for or evaluating deposits of minerals or extractive minerals (excluding by fossicking).
  • extractive mineral: see Extractive mineral
  • extractive mineral exploration licence: see section 46(1).
  • extractive mineral lease: see section 54(1).
  • extractive mineral permit: see section 50(1).
  • fossick: see section 135(2).
  • fossicker: a person who fossicks.
  • GDA 94: the national datum known as Geocentric Datum of Australia 1994 used for surveying, mapping and spatial referencing of geographical data.
  • general reserved land: see section 113(2).
  • guidelines: the guidelines made under section 169(1).
  • improvements on land: any of the following:
    • a building used as a residence, or for a business or an agricultural purpose, and any other building or structure;
    • a road constructed by or for the landowner of the land;
    • a yard, fence, wall and any other barrier (for example, a gate);
    • a pipe, tank, trough, pump and any other thing for storing or raising water or another liquid;
    • a garden, orchard, plantation and any other similar land use.
  • information: includes documents.
  • infrastructure: includes electricity lines, telecommunication facilities, railways, roads, pipelines and ship loading facilities.
  • Land Council for Aboriginal land: the Land Council established under the ALRA for the land.
  • land of the Territory: see section 5(2).
  • land register: the land register as defined in section 4 of the Land Title Act.
  • landowner: see section 14.
  • MA: a mineral authority.
  • mineral: see Minerals.
  • mineral authority: see section 118(2).
  • mineral exploration licence: see section 26(1).
  • mineral exploration licence in retention: see section 34(3).
  • mineral lease: see section 40(1).
  • mineral rights interests: see section 121(2)(e).
  • mineral title: see section 11(1).
  • mineral title application: an application made under:
    • Part 3 or 4; or
    • Part 5, Division 5; or
    • section 118 or 119.
  • mining: see Mining
  • ML: a mineral lease.
  • native title land: land for which, under the NTA, there is an approved determination of native title that native title exists in the land.
  • necessary criteria in relation to a mineral title application: the criteria specified in section 58(2).
  • non-compliant existing interest for Part 12: see section 193(1).
  • non-compliant title for Part 12: see section 193(1).
  • NTA: the Native Title Act 1993 (Cth).
  • official: one of the following:
    • the Minister;
    • a person assisting the Minister to take an action under section 172(2);
    • an authorised officer;
    • a person assisting an authorised officer in the exercise of a power or performance of a function under this Act as mentioned in section 180.
  • operational year for a mineral title:
    1. the period of 12 months immediately after the title comes into force; and
    2. each subsequent period of 12 months.
  • park or reserve: see section 15(1).
  • pastoral land: land held under a pastoral lease as defined in section 3 of the Pastoral Land Act.
  • preliminary exploration: preliminary exploration of land for minerals or extractive minerals as mentioned in section 17.
  • prescribed substance: see section 5(1) of the Atomic Energy Act.
  • private land: land in relation to which a person is entitled to:
    • a fee simple interest; or
    • a lease from the Crown under the Crown Lands Act or Special Purposes Leases Act.
  • proposed title area in relation to a mineral title application: the title area described in the application.
  • Ranger Project Area: see section 4 of the Uranium Royalty Act.
  • register: the Mineral Titles Register kept under section 121(1).
  • registration: the entry in the register of information mentioned in section 121(2).
  • relevant offence for Part 10, Division 3: see section 182.
  • repealed Act : see section 193(1).
  • representative, for Part 9, Division 3, see section 155.
  • reserved land: special reserved land, general reserved land or land reserved under section 115.
  • seized thing for Part 10, Division 3: see section 182.
  • special reserved land: see section 112(2).
  • technical work program: see section 13.
  • term, of a mineral title: the period for which the title is granted or renewed.
  • Territory road: a road vested in, or under the care, control and management of, the Territory.
  • title: a mineral title.
  • title area:
    • generally – the area to which a mineral title relates; or
    • in relation to a specified type of mineral title – the area to which that type of mineral title relates.
  • title holder:
    • generally – a person who is granted or issued with a mineral title; or
    • in relation to a specified type of mineral title – a person who is granted or issued with that type of mineral title.
  • tourist fossicking: a commercial venture that:
    1. is conducted by the holder of a mineral lease; and
    2. offers fossicking as an activity that may be conducted by individuals in the title area of the mineral lease.
  • Tribunal: the Civil and Administrative Tribunal.
  • Uranium Royalty Act: the Uranium Royalty (Northern Territory) Act 2009 (Cth).
  • vacant Crown land: land in relation to which no person is recorded in the land register as a registered owner or registered proprietor.

Mineral

A mineral is:
  • any of the following naturally occurring substances that is obtainable by mining:
    • an inorganic element or compound (for example, an inorganic carbonate compound);
    • an organic carbonate compound; or
  • coal, lignite, oil shale or salt; or
  • another substance prescribed by regulation. However, none of the following is a mineral:
  • an extractive mineral;
  • petroleum as defined in section 5(1) of the Petroleum Act;
  • water;
  • another substance prescribed by regulation.

Extractive mineral

An extractive mineral is:
  • soil, sand, gravel, rock or peat; or
  • another substance prescribed by regulation.

Mineral title

A mineral title is all the documents comprising any one of the following instruments:
  • a mineral exploration licence (an EL);
  • a mineral exploration licence in retention (an ELR);
  • a mineral lease (an ML);
  • an extractive mineral exploration licence (an EMEL);
  • an extractive mineral permit (an EMP);
  • an extractive mineral lease (an EML);
  • a mineral authority (an MA).

Examples
  • A mineral exploration licence may comprise the EL as granted and the documents given by the Minister relating to each reduction of the title area of the EL and each renewal of the EL.
  • An extractive mineral permit may compromise the EMP as granted and a document given by the Minister varying a condition of the EMP.

A mineral title is in force from the time it is granted or issued until:

  • subject to section 68 – the term of the mineral title has ended; or
  • the surrender or cancellation of the mineral title has taken effect; or
  • another mineral title has been granted or issued to the title holder to replace the mineral title; or
  • the mineral title no longer has effect for another reason (for example, because of the compulsory acquisition of the land comprising the title area).

A mineral title gives the title holder the right to conduct activities (authorised activities) mentioned in the following provision:

  • for an EL – section 26(1)(b);
  • for an ELR – section 34(3)(b);
  • for an ML – section 40(1)(b)(i), (ii) or (iii);
  • for an EMEL – section 46(1)(b);
  • for an EMP – section 50(1)(b);
  • for an EML – section 54(1)(b);
  • for an MA – section 118(2)(b).

A reference in this Act to authorised activities includes a reference to the work necessary for conducting the activities.

Mining

  1. Mining is the extraction of minerals or extractive minerals from land of the Territory by one of the following methods:
    1. underground, surface or open-cut workings;
    2. on-site leaching;
    3. dredging;
    4. another method prescribed by regulation.
  2. To avoid doubt, the extraction of extractive minerals from land by a method mentioned in subsection (1), for the extractive minerals to be used in construction work, is mining.
  3. However, the extraction of extractive minerals from land by a method mentioned in subsection (1) is not mining if:
    1. it is incidental to construction work (for example, for the foundation of a building or for a road or rail cutting); or
    2. the extractive minerals are for use elsewhere on the land by the landowner (for example, to build a dam).
  4. In addition, the extraction of extractive minerals from the natural surface of land only, under an extractive mineral permit, is not mining.