Although the last decade has seen the growth of many
new licencing and approval requirements for the
exploration and mining industries, there remains in each
State of Australia and the Northern Territory a
predominant "Mining Act" containing provisions for the
grant of exploration and mining tenements. What then are the rights and duties of tenement
holders either by virtue of a Mining Act or through other
approval and licencing mechanisms? What rights and
duties does a person acquire when he is granted an
exploration licence or a mining lease? In this paper I will attempt to cover these types of
questions using in particular examples from New South
Wales. I will also refer to a range of other subordinate
approvals and licences which today's society requires
and the need for ethics and recognition of liabilities.