Private mines

When the 1971 Mining Act commenced, ownership of South Australia's minerals was transferred to the state to be managed on behalf of South Australians. In recognition of this significant change, the Mining Act 1971 introduced a process for people who had lost their mineral rights to apply to retain these mineral rights under certain conditions.

It their application was successful, the Governor proclaimed the area to be a private mine. Approximately 316 private mines were proclaimed; a number of which have since been revoked.

Private mine register

On 1 January 2021, changes to the Mining Act 1971 and Mining Regulations 2020 commenced with the aim to improve transparency through the establishment of a register of private mines. While the amendments more closely align the regulatory framework for private mines with other tenement types, private mines remain distinct from other mining tenements.

The interests of a proprietor of a private mine are now required to be registered, in accordance with section 15AA(2) and regulation 76.

DEM continues to audit private mine related data, seeking to ensure the register is kept up to date.

Private mines and MERS

On 21 July 2025, DEM’s Mining Exploration and Regulation System (MERS) launched, marking a significant milestone in DEM’s modernisation journey. The system was developed to streamline regulatory processes, improve user experience, and support efficient interactions between industry and government.

Due to complexities relating to the definition of ‘tenement holder’ and the provision of information relating to private mines under the Mining Act 1971, MERS is not available for all private mines.

Where an operator and/or third party representative has been appointed for the private mine (i.e. a party other than the proprietor), MERS is unable to be accessed for lodgements and information relating to that private mine.

Private mines which have an operator and/or third party representative appointed must use the below forms for any applications, and information relating to the private mine must be requested by contacting the Mineral Tenements team on DEM.privatemines@sa.gov.au

In April 2025, DEM released an Issues Paper on the Mining Act 1971 which, amongst other issues, references an opportunity to reform private mines to align the regulation with other mining tenure. Achieving this alignment is required for all private mines to be accessible via MERS.

Resources

The following resources are provided to assist understanding the current requirements for private mines.

Legislation

Forms

MERS is available for the lodgement of private mine related applications where an operator and/or third party representative (i.e. a party other than the proprietor) has not been appointed for a private mine.

Where an operator and/or third party representative has been appointed, applications relating to private mines must be lodged via a separate form below. Forms must be submitted via iApply.

For the December 2025 return period onwards, royalty returns for private mines that are not able to be lodged using MERS will be posted or emailed to the relevant party.  Those returns are required to be lodged with DEM by the due date via post or email to DEM.Royalty@sa.gov.au

Guidance

Frequently asked questions

Frequently asked questions will be coming soon to this web page.

More resources

For more resources refer to Forms and templates