Hi Jeanette,
When we have had new mines commencing in our area, we have used the date of commencement of the mining lease. This was appropriate in our cases, as approvals were already in place and works to start mining were commencing.
It’s important to remember the dominant use test. A mining lease on it’s own with no mining related activities having commenced might not be sufficient to categorise the land as mining. The case Andrew has pointed to is essentially around the determination of dominant use.
I’d suggest carefully examining what activities are actually occurring on the land and what approvals are in place. The development approval should help identify what mining is proposed and the intended timeframes.
Regards,
Ian
