Minerals Development Act 2017

Interpretation

2. In this Act—

“Act of 1979” means Minerals Development Act 1979 ;

“ancillary surface rights” means the rights described in section 102 (2);

“ancillary surface rights licence” means a licence granted under section 113 (1);

“ancillary underground rights” means the rights described in section 102 (1);

“associated company”, in relation to another company, means—

(a) a subsidiary or a holding company (within the meaning given to each respectively by section 7 and section 8 of the Companies Act 2014 ) of that other company, or

(b) a body corporate that is a subsidiary of the same company of which the other company is a subsidiary;

“company” means—

(a) a body corporate incorporated under the laws of the State, or

(b) an EEA company (within the meaning of Part 21 of the Companies Act 2014 );

“competing applications” shall be read in accordance with section 20 ;

“exclusive mining right” means a right to work minerals that is vested in any person exclusive of any other person;

“extractive waste” means waste resulting from the extraction, treatment and storage of minerals and waste resulting from the operation of quarries of stone, gravel, sand or clay;

“grant”, in relation to a licence, includes the renewal of a licence;

“inspector” means an inspector appointed under section 191 ;

“land” includes extractive waste in or on land;

“lithological log”, in relation to a borehole, shaft or other excavation, means a description of the geological characteristics of the rock units in which the borehole is drilled, or the shaft is sunk, or such other excavation takes place, derived from an examination of core or chip samples or from the shaft or trench walls;

“local authority” means a local authority for the purposes of the Local Government Act 2001 ;

“market price” means the amount that would be obtained in a sale in the open market between a willing seller and a willing buyer;

“minerals” means all substances, including scheduled minerals, that occur naturally in or on land, or that occur in extractive waste, and includes, if the substances are worked, the cubic space formerly occupied by those substances but does not include—

(a) topsoil,

(b) turf or peat,

(c) water,

(d) petroleum, or

(e) stone, gravel, sand or clay, other than a type of stone, gravel, sand or clay that is a scheduled mineral;

“mineral waste” means waste resulting from the working of minerals;

“Mining Board” means the Mining Board continued by section 154 ;

“mining facilities acquisition order” means an order under section 112 ;

“mining licence” means a licence granted under section 65 ;

“Minister” means Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment;

“petroleum” includes—

(a) any mineral oil or relative hydrocarbon, natural gas or other liquid hydrocarbons or gaseous hydrocarbons and their derivatives or constituent substances, existing in its natural condition in strata (including, without limitation, distillate, condensate, casinghead gasoline and such other substances that are ordinarily produced from oil and gas wells), and

(b) any other mineral substance contained in oil or natural gas brought to the surface with such oil or natural gas in the normal process of extraction,

but does not include coal and bituminous shales and other stratified deposits from which oil can be extracted by distillation;

“prescribed” means prescribed by regulations made by the Minister under this Act;

“private land” means land other than State land;

“private minerals” means minerals other than State minerals and excepted minerals and excludes all mines of gold and silver;

“prospecting”, in relation to minerals, means searching for mineral deposits of economic value occurring in or on land and includes carrying out geological, geochemical and geophysical surveys, sampling, bulk sampling, drilling and trenching, but does not include carrying out airborne surveys for minerals within the meaning of section 52 (1);

“prospecting licence” means a licence granted, or deemed to be granted, under section 17 ;

“regulations” means regulations made by the Minister under this Act;

“rehabilitation”, in relation to land that has been affected by prospecting for or working minerals, means the treatment of land in such a way as to restore the land to a satisfactory state, with particular regard to soil quality, wildlife, natural habitats, freshwater systems, landscape and appropriate beneficial uses;

“rehabilitation acquisition order” means an order under section 149 ;

“retention licence” means a licence granted under section 22 ;

“scheduled mineral” means any substance referred to in the Schedule ;

“specified land”, in relation to a licence or proposed licence, means the area of land to which the licence or proposed licence relates;

“State land” has the same meaning as in the State Property Act 1954 ;

“State minerals” means—

(a) minerals,

(b) the exclusive right of mining or taking minerals, or

(c) the right to exploit minerals,

that belong to, are the property of, are acquired by or are vested in the State or a Minister of the Government and includes all mines of gold and silver, but does not include an exclusive right of working minerals vested in the Minister under section 12 of the Act of 1979;

“stone, gravel, sand or clay” means any type of stone, gravel, sand or clay commonly extracted for use in construction or for agricultural purposes without further processing other than size reduction, grading or washing or for use in the manufacture of cement or lime;

“surface”, in relation to land, includes any buildings or works erected or constructed on the land and anything growing on the land;

“tax clearance certificate” means a tax clearance certificate under section 1095 of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 ;

“working”, in relation to minerals, has the meaning given to it by section 5 .