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Legislative Council - Fifty-First Parliament, Third Session (51-3)
2008-09-25 Daily Xml
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MINERAL EXPLORATION

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER (15:02): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Mineral Resources Development a question about the rights of farmers and landowners balanced against the rights of mineral explorers to access land to search for resources.

Leave granted.

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER: Farming is an integral part of South Australia's economy. However, with mineral commodity prices at record highs, there is an understandable growing interest from mining companies in obtaining exploration leases that require access to some farmland to explore for new resources. While most farmers are able to negotiate access to their land on mutually agreed terms, some landowners and pastoral leaseholders are reluctant to allow mining companies onto their land on any terms. My questions are:

1. Is the minister aware of disputes involving some landholders with regard to access to their land by mining companies to explore for mineral resources?

2. How does the government try to balance the competing rights of landowners and leaseholders and mineral explorers?

The Hon. P. HOLLOWAY (Minister for Mineral Resources Development, Minister for Urban Development and Planning, Minister for Small Business) (15:03): For many farmers, this is quite an emotional issue, and those emotions are especially at play when the land has been in the hands of the same family for generations.

South Australia is fortunate that the vast majority of its mineral projects are in relatively remote regions. However, in some cases, mining companies will seek access to land closer to the rural centres—land that I note may be high rainfall, high production farmland. In these cases, the law seeks to provide access to mining companies to explore for resources, with minimal disruption to primary producers.

In the vast majority of exploration programs, low-impact activities are conducted; for example, the collection of small soil or rock samples for analysis, and explorers undertake this low-impact work at a time that complements farming operations. In the small number of cases where there is likely to be a disruption or loss of income, the law seeks to allow the explorer and farmer to reach a mutually-agreed form of compensation. Where an agreement on access or compensation cannot be reached, the matter can be referred to the Warden's Court.

There are currently about 900 mineral exploration licences and applications in South Australia. A very small number of disputes about land access come before the Warden's Court, which indicates that, in the majority of cases, exploration programs are successfully negotiated between the state's farmers and landholders and the mineral explorers.

In 2007, about 30 Mining Act related matters were considered in the Warden's Court, and only five of these matters were related to access to land for mineral exploration. To date this year, a total of eight Mining Act related matters have been heard in the Warden's Court, and only two are related to access for exploration.

While some land is exempt from exploration under the act, the balance is skewed towards ensuring reasonable access for exploration, and the reason for that is simple: no matter how high the rainfall and how high the productivity as farmland, the mineral wealth under the soil could potentially overshadow any income derived from farming. For example, Olympic Dam has the potential to unearth $1 trillion worth of resources (that is, $1,000 billion).

If this state is to enjoy the maximum benefit from the ongoing mining boom, it is important to make sure that we have access to land—or, at least, for exploration purposes. But, of course, not every explorer will unearth a bonanza of the scale of Olympic Dam. However, where possible, we should not be putting obstacles in the way of the next big discovery or allowing our judgment to be clouded when it comes to determining access to land.

For many farmers, exploration access to land requires minimum disruption to farming schedules and activities, with some surface sampling or low impact surveying or a few drill holes needed to determine the prospectivity of the area. Through Primary Industries and Resources SA, this government has encouraged discussions between the South Australian Chamber of Mines and Energy (SACOME) and the South Australian Farmers Federation to develop a new code of conduct for mineral explorers. This code of conduct is in the final drafting stage, and I compliment SAFF (South Australian Farmers Federation) for providing valuable input to the chamber.

The government is also in the process of drafting amendments to the Mining Act to further encourage the mining industry to engage positively with stakeholders, land-holders and communities.

The South Australian government continues to work closely with mineral departments in other states and territories on best practice regulation of exploration and mining and on principles for open and effective consultation with the community and all stakeholders. The Ministerial Council on Mineral and Petroleum Resources recently published a valuable set of principles on community engagement, designed to encourage the industry to work harmoniously with land-holders, farmers and other land users.

Again, I want to stress that, in the vast majority of cases, exploration will not lead to a mine, so the issue of determining whether to transfer the land use right from a farm to a mine does not arise. However, when it does, the act allows for compensation and rehabilitation of the land at the end of its life as a productive mine.

South Australia currently has 10 (soon to be 11) major mines, and they cover just tens of square kilometres out of the one million square kilometres in the state. So, the footprint of the mining industry is very small compared to that of agriculture. The Mining Act allows the government, by issuing exploration licences, to determine the value of the riches under the ground. Armed with that information, the government can make a decision on whether mining should be allowed to go ahead, based on the best interests of the state. Again, I congratulate SACOME and the Farmers Federation on their work in developing that code of conduct which, hopefully, will further reduce any need to take cases to the Warden's Court.

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