A NSW Government website

NSW Resources

Mining A to Z

A list of terms commonly used in the mining industry

A

  • Aboriginal Cultural Heritage
    Aboriginal cultural heritage refers to places, objects and stories which are significant for Aboriginal people and the story of New South Wales. The National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974 protects Aboriginal cultural heritage in NSW.
  • Aboriginal Land Claim
    A claim made over certain Crown lands by a Local Aboriginal Land Council or the NSW Aboriginal Land Council under the Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1983. Exploration and mining for minerals other than gold, silver, petroleum or coal on certain land vested in an Aboriginal Land Council (ALC), including via a successful claim, will require the consent of the ALC if the right to explore or mine was granted after the land was vested. 
  • Activity Approvals
    An activity approval is required prior to conducting exploration work for all 'assessable prospecting operations.' Holders of an exploration licence or assessment lease can lodge an activity application via the Resources Regulator portal.
  • Assessable prospecting operations
    Any exploration activity that is not exempt development within the meaning of State Environmental Planning Policy (Resources and Energy) 2021.
  • Advertising requirements
    When applying to explore or mine in NSW there are advertising requirements you will need to follow. Please refer to the link provided.
  • Agricultural Impact Statement (AIS)
    The purpose of an AIS is to ensure a focused assessment of the potential impacts of mining and petroleum (including coal seam gas) projects on agricultural resources or industries. An AIS is required for exploration activities that are subject to further approval under the Mining Act 1992 or Petroleum (Onshore) Act 1991, that require submission of a Review of Environmental Factors (REF).
  • Ancillary Mining Activities
    Any activity prescribed by the regulations as an ancillary mining activity (see Part 1, Section 7 Mining Regulation 2016). Please refer to the link provided for full details of the range of activities covered. 
  • Assessment lease (PDF, 304.69 KB)
    An assessment lease is granted under Part 4 of the Mining Act 1992. It is intended to allow a title holder to continue to exercise rights over a designated area without being obligated to conduct any further exploration activities. In effect, it covers the period between exploration and mining.

B

  • Biodiversity assessment
    Under the Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016 (BC Act), before a development, mining or infrastructure project can be approved, a biodiversity assessment must be carried out to ensure the development does not result in unacceptable impacts on native threatened ecosystems or species.
  • Biodiversity offsets
    Biodiversity offsets facilitate development in an environmentally sustainable manner. Biodiversity offsetting is based on the biodiversity values gained at a biodiversity stewardship agreement site compensating for biodiversity values lost at a development site. This is to achieve ‘no net loss’ of biodiversity.
  • Biodiversity credits
    Biodiversity credits are the common unit of measure for offsets in the Biodiversity Offsets Scheme (and the previous BioBanking Scheme). Biodiversity credits, whether for threatened ecosystems or species, represent a gain in biodiversity values.
  • Biodiversity offset scheme
    Under the Biodiversity Offset Scheme (BOS), applications for development or clearing approvals must set out how impacts on biodiversity will be avoided and minimised. The remaining residual impacts can be offset by the purchase and retirement of biodiversity credits or by paying into the Biodiversity Conservation Fund.
  • Biodiversity stewardship agreement
    A biodiversity stewardship agreement (BSA) is an agreement between the landholder and the Minister registered on title that helps conserve habitat for native species and ecosystems and generates biodiversity credits that can be sold to fund management of weeds, pests, fire, and ecological restoration. 
  • Biophysical Strategic Agricultural Land (BSAL)
    Land with high-quality soil and water resources capable of sustaining high levels of productivity.

C

  • Community consultation
    Title holders must engage in adequate, inclusive and appropriate community consultation about planning and conducting exploration activities under a prospecting title, in accordance with the NSW Resources Community Consultation Code of Practice.
  • Critical minerals
    Critical minerals are metallic or non-metallic materials that are essential to our modern technologies, economies and national security, and whose supply chains are vulnerable to disruption. Risks of disruption to critical mineral supply chains are heightened when mineral production or processing is concentrated in particular locations, facilities or companies.

D

  • Dam Safety
    Dam Safety NSW is responsible for regulating tailings storage facilities which are declared structures under the Dam Safety Act 2015 due to risk to the community and the environment in the event of a structural failure. 
  • Development Consent
    Development consent means consent under Part 4 of the NSW Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (EP&A Act) to carry out development. Before a mining lease can be approved, development consent must be obtained from the NSW Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure, Local Council, Regional Planning Panel or the Independent Planning Commission as appropriate.
  • Designated Development
    Development that is declared to be designated development by an environmental planning instrument or the regulation.
  • DIGS® (Digital Imaging Geological System)
    DIGS® is a vast document archive which is accessible to the public online, making available non-confidential reports and other important material held by the Geological Survey of NSW.

E

  • Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG)
    Promotes the identification and integration of environmental, social and governance issues, practices and risks to inform sustainable and ethical investment and development decisions. The NSW Government is committed to ensuring the safe and sustainable development of our mineral resources. NSW has some of the world’s strongest ESG performance through our robust legislation, planning and approvals process and regulatory framework. 
  • Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)
    The EIS provides information on the economic, environmental and social impacts of a project. Depending on the size of the project and scale of environmental impact, this is assessed either by the NSW Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure or Local Council.
  • Environmental Protection Licence (EPL)
    The Environment Protection Authority (EPA) issues environmental protection licences to the owners or operators of various mining premises under the Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997 (POEO Act). Licence conditions relate to pollution prevention and monitoring.
  • Exempted Area
    Exempted areas are defined in the Mining Act 1992 and Petroleum (Onshore) Act 1991 as lands set aside for public purposes.
  • Exploration Licence
    Exploration Licences are granted under Part 3 of the Mining Act 1992. An exploration licence gives the holder exclusive rights to explore for specific minerals within a designated area, for terms of up to 6 years.
  • Exploration reporting
    The holder of an authority must prepare and lodge an annual report with the Secretary that complies with clause 59 of the Mining Regulations 2016.

F

  • Fossicking
    Fossicking is a popular recreational activity involving the small-scale search for and collection of minerals, gemstones or mineral bearing material and is a lawful activity in NSW. There are laws in place to protect NSW’s natural environment and the rights of landowners and others with legitimate claims on the land, including native title.

G

  • Gateway Assessment
    An independent assessment of the effects of a proposed state-significant mining or coal seam gas (CSG) project on strategic agricultural land and associated water resources.
  • Groups of minerals (1-12)
    Classification of groups of minerals set out in Schedule 2 of Mining Regulations 2016 for Exploration Licences.

H

 

I

  • Integrated Development
    Certain development applications require approval (such as a permit or license) from a NSW Government agency (also called an approval body) before a determination can be made by the local council (the consent authority).

J

  • Joint Ore Reserves Committee (JORC)
    The Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves ('the JORC Code') is a professional code of practice that sets minimum standards for public reporting of minerals exploration results, mineral resources and ore reserves.

K

 

L

  • Land access
    The purpose of a land access arrangements is to ensure the orderly search for resources, while recognising the rights of landholders to conduct their activities without unreasonable interference or disturbance. 
  • Local Aboriginal Land Council (LALC)
     A Local Aboriginal Land Council as constituted under the Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1983.

M

  • Mineral Allocation Area (MAA)
    Mineral Allocation Areas have been gazetted over limited parts of NSW. The MAAs allow the government to control the release of new exploration titles for certain mineral groups in limited areas to meet government policy goals and objectives.
  • Mine Development Panel (MDP)
    The Mine Development Panel process gives project proponents the opportunity to discuss all aspects of their project with NSW Resources before lodging a development application or modification application with the relevant consent authority.
  • Mine subsidence
    Mine subsidence is the deformation and/or displacement of ground and any surface or subsurface features caused by underground mining operations. 
  • Mineral Prospecting Minimum Standards
    The standards provide the mandatory criteria decision-makers consider when assessing applications for the grant, renewal or transfer of mineral prospecting authorities under the Mining Act 1992. Explorers in NSW must demonstrate a genuine commitment to the sustainable discovery and development of the State’s mineral resources.
  • Mining lease
    A mining lease gives the holder the exclusive right to mine for minerals over a specific area of land.
  • MinView
    MinView is a publicly accessible web mapping application to view, search and download a comprehensive range of geological and geoscientific data for NSW. 
  • Mining Title Register
    This web application provides a range of titles information and statistics.

N

  • National Park
    Exploration and mining is prohibited in National Parks managed by the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service.
  • Native Title
    Native title refers to the traditional rights and interests that indigenous groups have practised, and continue to practice, over land and water. Native title rights are recognised through the native title claim process and formal determinations that native title exists by the Federal Court of Australia.

O

 

P

  • Prospect
    To carry out works on, or to remove samples from, land for the purpose of testing the mineral bearing qualities of the land but does not include any activity declared not to be prospecting by the Mining Act 1992 (section 11A) or by a declaration made under such legislation.

Q

 

R

  • Rehabilitation (mine)
    The treatment or management of land or water that has been disturbed by exploration or mining to ensure a safe, stable environment is established. 
  • Rehabilitation Cost Estimates (PDF, 267.12 KB) (RCE)
    The title holder is required to provide an estimate of rehabilitation costs for consideration by the Regulator when determining the security deposit amount. The amount must be consistent with the stage of the exploration project or mine.
  • Rehabilitation Security Bond
    A rehabilitation security bond must also be provided before exploration and mining activities begin. All exploration and mining title holders are required to lodge a security deposit with the department that covers the full rehabilitation costs.
  • Review of Environmental Factors (REF)
    As part of an application for approval to carry out prospecting operations (exploration) the NSW Resources Regulator may require a title holder to prepare a review of environmental factors (REF), an environmental impact statement (EIS), and/or a species impact statement (SIS).
  • Right to Negotiate (RTN)
    See Native Title

S

  • Secretary Environmental Assessment Requirements (SEARs)
    When an application for approval of a declared State Significant Development (SSD) or Critical State Significant Infrastructure (CSSI) project is made, the Secretary of the Department of Planning and Environment is required to issue environmental assessment requirements (SEARs).
  • Small Scale Title
    Small-scale title means an opal mineral claim or an opal prospecting licence.
  • State Environmental Planning Policy (Resources and Energy) 2021 (SEPP)
    State Environmental Planning Policies (SEPPs) apply across the state regarding mining and petroleum development. Local Environmental Plans (LEP) set planning rules for local government areas.
  • Standard conditions (exploration and mining)
    All exploration licences, assessment leases and mining/production leases granted in NSW under the Mining Act 1992 and Petroleum (Onshore) Act 1991 are subject to a set of general conditions and if applicable, special site-specific conditions.
  • State conservation area
    State conservation areas are lands reserved to protect and conserve significant or representative ecosystems, landforms, natural phenomena or places of cultural significance. Mineral and petroleum exploration and mining may be permitted in state conservation areas, see Exempted Areas.
  • State Significant Development (SSD)
    Some types of development are deemed to have state significance due to the size, economic value or potential impacts.

T

  • Titles Management System
    The Titles Management System (TMS) is the NSW Government’s platform for industry, to support the end-to-end management of exploration and mining titles with increased transparency and accountability.
  • Transfers (DOCX, 103.61 KB)
    The transfer or partial transfer of an authority in New South Wales. This includes exploration licences, assessment leases, mining leases, exploration (mineral owner) licences, assessment (mineral owner) leases and mining (mineral owner) leases.

U

 

V

 

W

  • Water Access Licences (WALs)
    A WAL from WaterNSW is generally required to extract water from rivers or aquifers to use for irrigation and mining purposes.
  • Work programs (PDF, 251.39 KB)
    A work program is a description of the proposed activities to be completed over the term of an exploration licence or assessment lease (prospecting authorities). 

X

 

Y

 

Z