Mining Amendment Act 2008.

The object of this Act, consisting of two Schedules, is to make miscellaneous amendments to the Mining Act to, require mining of private minerals to be carried out under the authority of an authorisation and to create a new class of authority for mineral owners (a mineral owner authority); enable the director-general (rather than the mining registrar) to grant mineral claims, opal prospecting licences and mineral owner authorities and to confer functions currently exercised by mining registrars on the director-general; enable more than one authorisation to apply over the same land subject to certain conditions; remove the current limitations on the area of land over which an exploration licence may be granted and to enable regulations to be made with respect to the shape and size of land required; provide for the kinds of prospecting operations permitted under an authorisation to be determined by the minister by order published in the Gazette, with additional operations to be approved on application; require mining subleases to be registered for the purposes of recognition under the Mining Act and to make other provisions with respect to the registration of mining subleases and the payment of royalties by holders of mining subleases, and provide that fees under the Mining Act are to be prescribed by regulation rather than determined by the minister.