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Are planning and environmental permits required for exploration licences?

A person or agency intending to conduct exploration on a licence must first gain approval from Mineral Resources Tasmania. Any proposed work must be conducted according to strict environmental standards as set out in the Mineral Exploration Code of Practice.

On receipt of a work program Mineral Resources Tasmania checks the following:

  • Land status;
  • Threatened species;
  • Wilderness Index;
  • Geoconservation site register;
  • Vegetation type;
  • Ramsar Wetlands (protected by the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance, especially wildfowls habitat, as agreed at Ramsar, Iran in 1971);
  • Nationally significant wetlands;
  • Private Reserve under the Regional Forest Agreement;
  • Forest community managed by prescription;
  • Tasmanian Natural Gas Pipeline corridor;
  • Permanent Timber Production Zone (PTPZ) land where the softwoods are privately owned;
  • Phytophthora cinnamomi management area;
  • Archaeologically interesting areas or sites, including mining heritage sites;
  • Any other significant features which have been flagged at the application stage:
    • populations of rare plants or animals;
    • forestry plantations, grazing leases, forest licences;
    • licences for any purpose (e.g. water use permits);
  • The land manager (Sustainable Timber Tasmania/Parks and Wildlife Service) may provide additional advice on:
    • threatened species;
    • Aboriginal archaeological sites and any other archaeological sites;
    • geoconservation matters; and
    • any other relevant management issues.

Some activities on exploration licences, such as bulk sampling, are treated on a case-by-case basis and may require specific planning and environmental approval from the local government authority and Environmental Protection Authority.