Minerals Development Act 2017
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Refusal to grant prospecting licence or retention licence before public notice | ||
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24. (1) If the Minister determines, before giving public notice under section 25 , that— | ||
(a) any of the requirements of paragraphs (a) to (h) and paragraphs (l) and (m) of section 17 (1) have not been met in respect of an application to grant a prospecting licence, | ||
(b) any of the requirements of paragraphs (a) to (g) of section 21 have not been met in respect of an application to renew a prospecting licence, | ||
(c) any of the requirements of paragraphs (a) to (h) of section 22 (1) have not been met in respect of an application to grant a retention licence, or | ||
(d) any of the requirements of paragraphs (a) to (g) of section 23 have not been met in the case of an application to renew a retention licence, | ||
then the Minister shall notify the applicant— | ||
(i) of the requirements (if any) that have not been met, | ||
(ii) that the applicant may submit written representations to the Minister within 30 days after the date on which the notice was sent. | ||
(2) If, after considering any written representations that have been submitted to the Minster under subsection (1)(ii), the Minister still considers that any requirements have not been met then the Minister shall send to the applicant a notice of refusal with reasons. | ||
(3) If, in the case of competing applications for a prospecting licence, the Minister determines that an application is not, in his or her opinion, the best application based on factors set out in section 20 (3), the Minister shall send to the applicant a notice of refusal with reasons. | ||
(4) If the Minister sends an applicant a notice of refusal, the Minister shall not grant a prospecting licence to the applicant unless a new application is submitted. |