17A—Reduced royalty for new mines
(1) The Treasurer may,
after consultation with the Minister and on the application of a person liable
to pay royalty (other than on extractive minerals), by notice in the
Gazette, declare that a mine will be taken to be a "new mine" for the purposes
of this section.
(1a) An application
may not be made by a person under subsection (1) on or after
1 July 2020.
(2) Despite
section 17, for the prescribed period, royalty payable in relation to
minerals (other than extractive minerals) recovered from mineral land at a new
mine will be equivalent to 2 per cent of the value of the minerals (as
assessed in accordance with the royalty assessment principles under
section 17).
(2a) In
subsection (2), the "prescribed period" is the period commencing on the
day on which the first royalty payment under this Act is due and payable and
ending—
(a) on
the day falling 5 years after that day; or
(b) on
30 June 2026,
whichever occurs first.
(3) The Treasurer may,
after consultation with the Minister and by subsequent notice in the Gazette,
vary or revoke a declaration under subsection (1).
(4) An application
under this section must be made in a manner and form determined by the
Treasurer after consultation with the Minister and must be lodged with
the Director of Mines.
(5) An applicant must
provide any information reasonably required by the Treasurer to determine the
application.
(6) In determining
whether or not to make a declaration under this section, the Treasurer may
have regard to the following matters (insofar as they may be relevant):
(a) the
extent to which the authorised operations to be carried on at the mine can be
viewed as constituting an extension of existing authorised operations, or the
revival of authorised operations that have been previously carried on;
(b) the
nature of the authorised operations to be carried on at the mine when compared
to any existing operations carried on, or previously carried on, at the same
tenement, or a tenement within the vicinity of the relevant mine;
(c) the
relationship of the applicant to any other person carrying on
authorised operations within the vicinity of the relevant mine (including, in
the case of a body corporate, authorised operations carried on by a
related body corporate);
(d) such
other matters as the Treasurer thinks fit.