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NATIVE TITLE ACT 1993 - SECT 26B

Approved gold or tin mining acts

  (1)   If the conditions in this section are satisfied, the Commonwealth Minister may, by legislative instrument, determine that each act included in a class of acts done by a State or Territory is an approved gold or tin mining act .

First condition

  (2)   The first condition is that the relevant State Minister or Territory Minister has requested the Commonwealth Minister in writing to make such a determination in relation to acts in the class.

Second condition

  (3)   The second condition is that acts included in the class consist of the creation or variation of rights to mine, where the rights as so created or varied are rights to mine gold, or tin, in surface alluvium.

Third condition

  (4)   The third condition is that, by or under a law of the State or Territory, the only way in which the gold or tin may be recovered from the material that is mined is by a washing or an aeration process.

Fourth condition

  (5)   The fourth condition is that, by or under a law of the State or Territory, the persons given the rights to mine will be required to rehabilitate any area of land or waters, in which the mining takes place and in relation to which native title rights and interests may exist, for the purpose of minimising the impact of the mining on the land or waters.

Fifth condition

  (6)   The fifth condition is that the Commonwealth Minister has:

  (a)   notified any relevant representative Aboriginal/Torres Strait Islander bodies, and notified the public in the determined way, of the proposed determination; and

  (b)   invited submissions from them about the proposed determination; and

  (c)   considered any submissions made in response to the invitation.

Sixth condition

  (7)   The sixth condition is that the Commonwealth Minister is satisfied that, if the determination is made:

  (a)   all:

  (i)   registered native title bodies corporate; and

  (ii)   registered native title claimants; and

  (iii)   representative Aboriginal/Torres Strait Islander bodies;

    in relation to any land or waters that will be affected by the acts will have a right to be notified that each act included in the class is to be done; and

  (b)   any such persons or bodies will have a right to be heard by an independent person or body about:

  (i)   whether the act is to be done; and

  (ii)   any matter relating to the doing of the act;

    unless no other person would have such a right, assuming the person had an interest of any kind in relation to the land or waters; and

  (c)   either:

  (i)   the person, or one of the persons, who will do any thing authorised by the act will have a legal obligation to consult appropriately any person or body covered by subparagraph   (a)(i) or (ii), unless the person or body indicates that the person or body does not wish to be so consulted; or

  (ii)   procedures will be in place under which such consultation will be required;

    for the purpose of minimising the impact of the act on land or waters, in relation to which native title rights and interests may exist, that will be affected by the act, and in particular about the matters set out in subsection   (8).

Matters relevant to sixth condition

  (8)   The matters are:

  (a)   the protection and avoidance of any area or site, on the land or waters to which the native title rights and interests relate, of particular significance to the persons holding the native title in accordance with their traditional laws and customs; and

  (b)   any access to the land or waters to which the native title rights and interests relate by:

  (i)   those persons; or

  (ii)   any person who will do any thing that is authorised because of, results from, or otherwise relates to, the doing of the act; and

  (c)   the way in which any rehabilitation or other thing that is authorised because of, results from, or otherwise relates to, the doing of the act is to be done.

Revocation of determination

  (9)   If, at any time after making the determination, the Commonwealth Minister considers that circumstances have changed to the extent that the conditions in this section would not be satisfied if he or she were making the determination at that time, the Commonwealth Minister must:

  (a)   advise the State Minister or the Territory Minister concerned in writing of the fact; and

  (b)   if at the end of 90 days, or such longer period as the Commonwealth Minister allows, after doing so, the conditions in this section would still not be satisfied--by legislative instrument, revoke the determination.


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