Access and entry to land

Access roads and access land

In their application, the miner will need to specify how they will get to and from the mining claim or lease area.

They will need an access whenever the claim or lease does not directly adjoin a public road. The access land generally applies for the duration of the mining claim or lease.

In some cases only the access for a mining claim or lease will run over your land, not the claim or lease itself.

Both you and the miner can use the access and cannot adversely affect each other's activities.

The miner can use the access for road transport of:

  • items reasonably necessary to carry out authorised activities
  • minerals mined by the miner.

If a road isn't present they can construct one if it's reasonably necessary to allow transport of the items or mined minerals.

Entering land

New mining leases or claims

Before the grant

If the miner has an existing resource authority over the land, such as an exploration permit or mineral development licence, they may be able to continue to access the land under the land access rules that apply to these authorities. They can do this until the mining claim or lease is granted.

However, any entry under an exploration permit or mineral development licence does not allow them to conduct mining activities.

After the grant

The miner can access the mining claim or mining lease after the tenure has been granted.

The miner is not required to notify you when they enter the land, unless the compensation agreement requires it.

You are only allowed to enter the area of the mining claim or mining lease with the miner's permission, unless this permission has been given in the compensation agreement.

Renewal applications

The miner is able to continue accessing their mining claim or mining lease to conduct authorised activities, unless their renewal application is refused.

This is the case even if the expiry date for the mining claim or lease has passed and a new compensation agreement has not been filed with the Department of Resources.