The Department for Energy and Mining's administration of mineral tenements in South Australia includes:
- maintaining the Mining Register
- registration of mineral claims
- assessment and approval of applications for exploration licences, miscellaneous purposes licences, mining and retention leases
- registration of instruments including transfers, joint venture agreements, caveats, surrenders etc.
- receipting fees, Crown rent and administering rent to landowners
- monitoring court matters
- management of private mines and native title mining agreement registrations.
Mineral tenements and major mines as at 30 June 2023
Exploration licences, mineral tenements, claims and private mines as at 30 June 2023
Popup table version of Exploration licences, mineral tenements, claims and private mines as at 30 June 2023
Number of tenements and private mines (by year)
Popup table version of Number of tenements and private mines (by year)
Table 1.1: Receipt statistics for mineral tenement applications 2022–23 financial year
*Outstanding mineral tenement applications are those in progress as at 30/06/2023
| Application | Received | Granted or registered | Total area granted (ha) | Withdrawn | Refused or invalid | Outstanding* |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exploration | ||||||
| Exploration licence | 68 | 121 | 61,872 | 25 | 33 | 125 |
| Total exploration | 68 | 121 | 61,872 | 25 | 33 | 125 |
| Mining | ||||||
| Mineral claim | 11 | 7 | 390 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| Miscellaneous purposes licence | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Mineral lease | 8 | 6 | 423 | 4 | 1 | 13 |
| Extractive minerals lease | 10 | 4 | 199 | 1 | 0 | 19 |
| Retention lease | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Total mining | 32 | 17 | 1,012 | 6 | 3 | 44 |
| Total (exploration and mining) | 100 | 138 | 62,884 | 31 | 36 | 169 |
Table 1.2: Tenement transactions processed and endorsed 2022–23 financial year
*Applies to exploration licences only
| Exploration | Mining | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Application type | Exploration | Total exploration | Mineral leases | Extractive mineral leases | Other lease types | Total mining | Total exploration and mining |
| Transfer instruments (full and partial) | 17 | 17 | 8 | 17 | 2 | 27 | 44 |
| Renewal | 118 | 118 | 17 | 29 | 2 | 48 | 166 |
| Surrender | 6 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 11 |
| Partial surrender | 5 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 |
| Total | 146 | 146 | 27 | 50 | 5 | 82 | 228 |
Table 1.3: Public notices published 2022–23 financial year
*Multiple notices are made per application
#Legislation changes in 2020–21 removed the requirement to publish notices for exploration licences (ELs). EL applications can be searched in the South Australian Resources Information Gateway (SARIG.)
| Application type | Number of applications advertised | Number of public notices* |
|---|---|---|
| Exploration licence | 2# | 4# |
| Mining lease | 9 | 35 |
| Extractive minerals lease | 8 | 33 |
| Retention lease | 0 | 0 |
| Miscellaneous purposes licence | 1 | 5 |
| Change in operations | 1 | 4 |
Public consultation and transparency are key elements of the department's regulatory principles. The department seeks community feedback on mining applications, including the grant of tenure and changes to operations where there is significant change to environmental impacts. This consultation provides an opportunity for the community to understand and submit comments on the proposed operations.
Public notices are published on the department's website, in the The South Australian Government Gazette and local newspapers.
Affected landowners, the local council and other stakeholders are informed of mining applications that may impact them, or in which they may have an interest.
Table 1.4: Invoices raised across mineral tenements for rent and fees for financial years 2018–19 to 2022–23
| Tenement type | 2018–19 ($ Million) | 2019–20 ($ Million) | 2020–21 ($ Million) | 2021–22 ($ Million) | 2022–23 ($ Million) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exploration licence | 3.4 | 3.8 | 3.5 | 5.8 | 6.6 |
| Mineral lease including SML* | 8.3 | 8.7 | 8.5 | 9.9 | 10.4 |
| Retention lease | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Miscellaneous purposes licence | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 2.8 | 3.2 |
| Extractive minerals lease | 0.6 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 0.6 | 0.6 |
| Total | 15.6 | 16.3 | 15.5 | 19.5 | 21.2 |
Instruments registered on the Mining Register
The department is committed to creating a transparent, accountable system for the state's mineral resources sector. Under the Mining Act, the Mining Registrar must keep a register of particular materials. In 2022–23, 1,524 instruments – transactions that impact the status of a tenement – were registered on the Mining Register against mineral tenements in South Australia.
Mining Register searches
There were 3,045 online Mining Register searches looking for tenement information. This became a free service from 1 January 2021 with the introduction of the new Mining Act.
Court actions
- Three enforcement actions were instigated in the Environment, Resources and Development (ERD) Court in 2022–23.
- Three enforcement actions were instigated in the Supreme Court in 2022–23.
Annual rent and fees
Under the Mining Act, where land is held in freehold title, the department must distribute 95% of Crown rent paid for a mining lease, retention lease or miscellaneous purposes licence granted over the freehold land to the landowners. In 2022–23, $2.04 million was dispersed to 260 freehold landowners.
