Reporting Timeframes

Exploration Licence (EL), Substitution Exploration Licence (SEL) or Exploration Retention Licence (ERL)

Annual reports are required within one month of the start of each year that the title is held. Final surrender reports are mandatory within three months of surrender. Final reports where there is no continuing tenure must summarise the whole history of the operator’s tenure and must include all analytical and geophysical data even if it was previously submitted in annual reports. Note that a single report could be more than one type, for example both the last annual and the final. If so, this needs to be stated. Partial relinquishment reports are required within three months of partial relinquishment, which is normally required each year beginning at the end of Year 2 of tenure. Normally, all analytical and geophysical data pertinent to the relinquished area must be included even if it has been previously submitted in annual reports. However, there are provisions to obviate the need to “cookie-cut” remote-sensed or geophysical data if the data subset is not meaningful or useful. Contact geoscience.info@nt.gov.au prior to the reporting deadline for further information.

Renewal reports that accompany the renewal forms for any form of EL should be sent to geoscience.info@nt.gov.au. Such reports are not a formal requirement under the Mining Act but they greatly assist the Department in evaluating the renewal. They also provide a useful summary of the previous period of tenure and so are important additions to the company reports collection. The report must be in the same digital format as other reports as described herein. If the renewal report contains details not included on the application form, a separate copy needs to be sent to Titles Maintenance tmt.drdpifr@nt.gov.au. Renewal reports do not normally have any accompanying digital data and remain confidential for the life of the title.

If an EL, SEL or ERL is renewed for less than the full area, a partial relinquishment report is required within three months. If one or more SELs or ERLs are granted, such that they only partially overlap the daughter EL(s), the Mining Act requires that two “final” reports be submitted. One, that deals with those areas of the EL that are not to be included in continuing tenure, will become open-file immediately. The second report deals with those ELs or parts thereof that will be subsumed by a higher form of title. This will remain confidential for the life of the higher title. Both final reports are due within three months of the grant of the SEL.

Mineral (Mining) Tenement (ML)

Other than for extractive minerals, a report is required within three months of the start of each year that an ML is held. All exploration conducted on an ML must be reported as per an EL. Grade control drilling need only be reported in a general way, and only representative digital data need to be supplied. Mining activities need to be reported as tonnes and grades in SI units or other appropriate units of measure. Where more than one mine is operating on a single title, production and resources need to be reported separately for each mine/orebody. For listed companies holding an ML, the report to the Department must contain at least as much detail as is supplied to the relevant stock exchange. All resources and reserves must be reported in accordance with the JORC Code and Guidelines or their equivalent in other jurisdictions. Reserves and resources should be reported annually even if they have not changed from the previous year. Annual reports are still required on titles held for ancillary purposes (eg ML to cover infrastructure). A group technical report may be relevant.

A final report is required within three months after an ML is surrendered. The final report details the whole period over which the tenement was held and includes all relevant data, even if it has been previously submitted.

Mineral Claim (MC)

For all MCs other than those held to explore for extractives, an annual report is required within three months after each anniversary of the initial grant. This report must detail all mining, technical work and exploration undertaken during the reporting period. Annual reports are still required on MCs held for ancillary purposes (eg to cover infrastructure).

A final report detailing all work since the claim was granted is also required within three months of the cessation of the claim. This report must contain all relevant data, even if it has been previously submitted.

Authorities

Authorities granted under Section 178 and Authorised Holdings are less common forms of title (not to be confused with an authorisation as part of a Mining Management Plan or an Authority to Occupy). These types of tenure are granted with conditions identical to either an EL or ML. Reporting requirements for Authorities are the same as if they were the other form of title and are specified in the grant documents.

Report of a Significant Discovery

Section S24 (d) of the NT Mining Act requires that the Director of the Geological Survey must be informed in writing within 28 days of confirmation of all minerals discovered on the EL that may amount to economic or scientific interest. This would include, but not be limited to, any discovery reported to a Stock Exchange. Such reporting is particularly relevant where the discovery is other than the originally stated target commodity (eg discovery of coal while drilling for uranium). The discovery is to be reported to the Department with substantiating data using the normal guidelines detailed below. Confidentiality of all or part of material submitted under Section S24 (d) which is not already publicly available is at the discretion of the Department.

Reports relating to material from the Department’s Core Facilities

The Department requires reports describing any chemical, physical, geophysical, biostratigraphic or other studies done on material at, or removed from, its Core Facilities. The results of any non-destructive assaying (eg handheld XRF, spot chemical tests) undertaken on the premises must also be reported. Please ensure that the results can be matched back to the sampled material using original hole numbers and depths. The report must be a text PDF and must include a title page with the mandatory electronic contact details. It must clearly state the rationale behind the sampling and include a summary presenting the results and interpretations. Numerical data (assays etc) must follow the same digital data formats described herein. The report is due within six months of the sampling being undertaken. If a leaseholder is sampling material from what is now their current tenure, this must be stated and the title number given. Unless this is the case, or specifically negotiated otherwise, it should be assumed that the report submitted will be immediately available for public release. Submit reports digitally, either on disc to the GPO box given on page one, or by email to geoscience.info@nt.gov.au. All unused sample residues plus all items derived from the material sampled (eg thin and polished sections) must be returned to the core facility from which they came within six months. All such material must be clearly labelled to match the material in the core facility. Failure to submit reports or return materials may jeopardise further requests for sampling.

Extensions of time to submit a report or expenditure

Requests for extensions of time to submit a report or expenditure under the Mining Act must be sent to tmt.drdpifr@nt.gov.au and are assessed on a case-by-case basis. Extensions are not relevant for reports of a significant discovery and are granted for core sampling reports only in exceptional circumstances.

Last Updated: 22 January 2009