Mining exploration resources
As a landholder on the Granite Belt, you might be surprised to learn that your land may be covered by a mining exploration lease.
This is because the Mineral and Energy Resources Act allows the State Government to issue mineral exploration tenement over private land and other tenures without any consultation or consent from land owners.
In short, the Act grants mining companies superior property rights and access should they wish to explore on your land, regardless of land use.
In summary;
A landholder has no right to deny a mining or petroleum tenement holder access to their land.
To conduct preliminary activities, a mining company only needs to issue the landholder with a notice of entry.
To conduct more advanced activities, the landholder has a right to compensation, and must negotiate a Conduct and Compensation Agreement with the tenement holder, but again the landholder has no right to stop the company.
If negotiations are unsuccessful, the Land Court may make a final determination.
Land access is ordinarily permitted by the Land Court. Ability to access or use land is usually not decided in the Land Court; the Land Court decides what level compensation is appropriate to give the landholder in exchange for the access and use of the land.
Landholders on the Granite Belt need to be aware that a large area of the Granite Belt is covered with Exploration leases.
To be clear, exploration is a pre-cursor to full-scale mining should economically viable mineral deposits be identified. As with exploration, landholders have no statutory right to veto mining on their land. To protect their land, landholders have to invest in very expensive, protracted legal battles with companies which almost always enjoy superior financial resources and the power of legislation that backs the mining industry over private property rights.
Rehabilitation?
Mining companies will claim that they will rehabilitate the land they disturb but the industry has an appalling track record in Queensland with even the big, well resourced miners such as BHP failing to rehabilitate their coal mines – for more information go to page 17 in the annual mine rehabilitation commissioners report 2022.
The state is littered with abandoned mines and small mining companies with low capitalization pose a particular risk. The fact is mining companies cannot demonstrate that they have consistently returned land to the pre-mining state in regards to agricultural productivity or biodiversity. The Queensland Government has had to spend millions of dollars of tax payers dollars trying to rehabilitate these abandoned mines.
Find out if your property is affected by mining exploration licences.
To find out if your property is included follow the link: https://georesglobe.information.qld.gov.au/ then:
Tick the terms and conditions box
Then click Get Started.
A map of Queensland will appear zoom in to the Granite Belt region.
Select search on the side menu and then select all current permits enter EPM 27976 and all the EPM’s across the regions will be displayed, you can manipulate the maps to see your property.
For a more comprehensive briefing on the imbalance of rights between landholders and mining companies, access the Environmental Defenders Office Queensland Resources Law: Landholder rights and resource activities factsheet here.
A number of these leases are held by a small exploration company, Stanaurum. The company is based on the Gold Coast and is exploring for tin and a range of “critical minerals” across the Granite Belt. Over the last 2 years Stanaurum has undertaken extensive preliminary activities. It intends to float the company to raise capital to undertake advanced exploration in 2024 and beyond. For more information on Stanaurum, visit their website.
Advanced exploration activities can include heavy equipment such as dozers and excavators to undertake bulk sampling and borrow pits and large drilling rigs needed to drill a grid pattern of holes to define any mineralization. These activities can require significant clearing as well as noise, generation of dust and some disruption to normal landholder activities.
Mining is incompatible with a variety of land uses
GBSAN does not oppose mining per se, but contends that mining is incompatible with a variety of land uses including;
Horticulture and tree crop production
The protection of strategic cropping and prime agricultural land
The protection of areas of locally, regionally and nationally significant biodiversity conservation values
Tourism, and
Community recreation and amenity.
Equally GBSAN believes that the community, in regards to proposed exploration must have;
The right to know including access to information held by decision makers
The right to participate in decision making by government and companies from the very outset
The right to veto exploration and mining on one’s land
The right to challenge proposed mining – full access to the justice system
For more information on community rights see:
In regards to the Stanaurum proposal, we believe any large scale mining is incompatible with our region’s agriculture and tourism industry, as well as our relatively intact, biodiverse landscape. As a minimum the following areas should be quarantined from exploration and mining;
All wine growing, horticulture and tree crop production areas
Designated strategic cropping and prime agricultural land
Areas of locally, regionally and nationally significant biodiversity conservation values including Broadwater State Forest and the remaining natural areas of Passchendaele State Forest
Tourism businesses.
If you’d like more information and would like to be kept in touch with matters relating to Stanaurum’s proposed exploration and mining related activities please register below: