Exploration and mining title administration in the Northern Territory has
changed dramatically over the last 20 years. These changes have
occurred due to legislative amendments, technological developments, and
the changing face of the mining industry. The first legislation to control mining in the Northern Territory was the
Northern Territory Gold Mining Act (1873) of South Australia. In 1911,
control of the Northern Territory was passed from South Australia to the
Commonwealth. As a result of the mining boom which followed the
discovery of gold in Tennant Creek in 1932, the Commonwealth passed
the Mining Ordinance of 1939. This legislation was amended 39 times
and stayed in force until July 1982, when the self-governing Northern
Territory passed the Mining Act 1980. This Act is still in force and is
continuously under review. The first computerised mining titles system, REGIS, was created in
1984/85 and was, to all intents and purposes, just a computerised index.
Various modifications ensued, and in 1989 the Titles Database was
unveiled. The database has developed to be one of the most sophisticated
yet user-friendly mining titles databases in Australia. In excess of 50
companies have access to the database from their own offices. Work
continues on its development and fine-tuning. The paper outlines the
development of the database since inception.