Mineral Royalties Act 2024 (Anc. No. 12 of 2024).

This Act applies in relation to minerals vested in the Crown in right of the Territory that are extracted on or after 1 July 2024. (2) This Act does not apply to the following: (a) subject to subsection (5), any mineral extracted from a production unit: (i) to which the Mineral Royalty Act 1982 applied immediately before 1 January 2024; and (ii) from which a mineral was extracted at any time during the 12 months prior to 1 January 2024; (b) any mineral extracted from a mining tenement, whether granted before or after 1 July 2024, that commenced operations as part of the integrated operation of a production unit mentioned in paragraph (a); (c) any mineral extracted under Special Mineral Lease 11 held by Gove Aluminium Limited and Swiss Aluminium Australia Limited and dated 30 May 1969; (d) any mineral to which any of the following apply: (i) the Merlin Project Agreement Ratification Act 1998; (ii) the McArthur River Project Agreement Ratification Act 1992; (iii) the Uranium Royalty (Northern Territory) Act 2009 (Cth); (iv) the Atomic Energy Act 1953 (Cth). This Act does not apply to soil, or to sand, gravel, clay or stone suitable for use in construction or building works, that: (a) is extracted under an extractive mineral permit; or (b) is extracted under an extractive mineral lease; or (c) is extracted under a mineral authority that corresponds to a permit or lease mentioned in paragraph (a) or (b); or (d) is extracted as a by-product or secondary purpose for a mining operation, or is consumed or used in a mining operation, by the holder of a mining tenement and does not leave the mining operation.
The Act provides criteria for determining the royalty rate; determination date for determining the royalty rate applicable to a mineral is: (a) the day ownership in the mineral is first transferred while in the Territory in a genuine sale on arm's length terms; or Part 1 Preliminary matters Mineral Royalties Act 2024 5 (b) if ownership in the mineral is not transferred while in the Territory in a genuine sale on arm's length terms – the later of the following: (i) the day the mineral leaves the mining operation from which the mineral was extracted; (ii) the day the mineral receives its last treatment in the Territory. The Act also classifies the minerals in different categories.