Section 62A is intended to cover the situation where compensation is insufficient to fully compensate the landowner for the disturbance and loss of profits caused by mining. In essence, Section 62A provides that where the extent of the disturbance caused by the activities of a mining operator is so significant that it “significantly affects the use and enjoyment of the land by the owners”,” the landowner may apply to the court for an order requiring the mining company to purchase its land. If you have asked the Regional Court to rule on compensation, the Regional Court will make its compensation provision directly available to the Ministry and the parties. The Mining Act establishes a procedure that mining companies must follow to legally access private land for exploration and mining purposes. The state has an incentive to mine because when minerals are mined, significant royalties are paid to the state by the mining company in question. However, a landowner is not entitled to royalties on minerals mined under his land, so he has little incentive to allow a mining company on his land to engage in exploration or mining activities, as this will significantly disrupt his agricultural activities. Benefits in kind may mean that the miner agrees to build a fence or irrigation system for you, or to dig a dam. The regional court can only award monetary compensation, not a benefit in kind. Regional Court member Stilgoe OAM briefly summed up her task of calculating compensation by asking: “What value should be attached to the surface of the property?” To answer this question, a decision had to be made about competing valuation methods and to take into account the “risk issues” that could affect the value of the land. The court cited a 1983 decision of the LandVocation Court, according to which “the best value test in the sale of comparable real estate, preferably unregistered or slightly improved, can be found on the open market as close as possible to the valuation date”. This approach is called the direct comparison method and was the approach of the evaluator hired by the miners. The relatively unique nature of the land and land use meant that there was a lack of easily comparable sales. Nevertheless, the miners` appraiser had considered, to the extent possible, comparable sales of land with existing housing and sales of land purchased with the intention of building mining shelters.

His assessment, which was finally accepted by the Court, included: there is no time limit within which the compensation must be completed. You can negotiate with the minor until an agreement has been reached. Hail Creek Coal Holding Pty Limited & Ors v Michelmore [2021] QLC 19 concerned compensation paid to a landowner by Hail Creek Coal Holdings Pty Ltd and other mining (mining) companies. This is the second decision in the ongoing dispute between the companies and the landowner regarding this mining lease application. The parties had not been able to agree on the compensation to be paid, and their appraisers had determined significantly different figures: before a mining claim, a mining lease or access to one of the two properties of a landowner`s land could be granted, compensation for landowners must be paid. This can be either: the use of the phrase “another amount that the court considers only as compensation for the disturbances” arguably introduces the “Just Cause” Act under the Australian Constitution. If this is the case, the compensation payable to an affected landowner under section 62A could be substantial. If you have negotiated a compensation agreement directly with the miner, you or the miner must submit the signed compensation agreement to the Ministry of Resources through the Coal or Minerals Assessment Hub or your nearest district office. Clelands Lawyers has negotiated a number of MACAs between landowners and mining companies, including for the Prominent Hill mine operated by OzMinerals in the far north of South Australia and the central Eyre Iron project on the Eyre Peninsula. If you have any questions about the planned rail corridor on the Eyre Peninsula, please contact us.

This is a very specialized area of law and we are fortunate to have extensive experience in this area. The general description of the compensation to be paid means that very specific types of losses and disruptions can be compensated. For example, compensation can range from payment for each exploration hole drilled to compensation for the net loss of profit for an entire paddock if mining activities prevent the use of the paddock. .