Minerals Development Act 2017
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Royalties | ||
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77. (1) The Minister shall, with the prior consent of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, make regulations (in this section referred to as “royalties regulations”) setting out the minimum and maximum rates of royalties that are payable in respect of minerals over the term of a mining licence and those rates may increase or decrease over that term. | ||
(2) The method of calculating rates of royalties shall be based on the type of minerals to be worked and on one or more of the following factors: | ||
(a) the tonnage of minerals produced and removed from the area of the mining licence; | ||
(b) the revenue (as calculated by reference to the royalties regulations) generated by working the minerals; | ||
(c) the profits (as calculated by reference to the royalties regulations) derived from working the minerals. | ||
(3) Rates of royalty shall be based on the Minister’s estimate of market royalty rates and, without prejudice to the Minister’s ability to consider other factors, the Minister shall have regard to the following factors when determining those rates: | ||
(a) the quality, grade and value of mineral deposits normally found in the State; | ||
(b) general international practice of states in respect of setting royalties or equivalent payments or charges; | ||
(c) existing domestic rates of royalties for similar minerals; | ||
(d) rates of royalties set out in mining leases and licences continued under section 232 . | ||
(4) In setting rates of royalty the Minister may have regard to— | ||
(a) a fair and reasonable return to the State and to private mineral owners for the extraction of minerals, and | ||
(b) the desire of licensees to obtain a commercial return on their investment. | ||
(5) The Minister shall review royalties regulations every 5 years from the date of their making in order to ensure that they reflect market rates. |