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In forceUpdated to 1 Jan 2013Read it in Bahasa Malaysia

Act of Parliament

Mineral Development Act 1994

Inspection and regulation of mineral exploration and mining

Part I

Preliminary

Official textFrom Laws of Malaysia Online, unchanged

(1)

This Act may be cited as the Mineral Development Act 1994 and shall come into force on such date as the Minister may, by notification in the Gazette, appoint.

(2)

This Act shall apply throughout Malaysia; however the

Minister may by order suspend the operation of the whole or any of the provisions of this Act in any State.

s 2Application to fossicking, panning, etc.

This Act shall apply to the fossicking, panning, prospecting, exploring, mining and processing of minerals and mineral ores and to mines, minerals and mineral ores generally.

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(1)

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires —

“analysis” means the determination of the composition of a specimen or sample by physical or chemical method or by a combination of both methods;

“Assistant Director” means an Assistant Director of Mines appointed under section 4;

“conveyance” includes a ship, train, vehicle, aircraft or any other means of transport by which persons or goods can be carried;

“development work” means any work carried out in relation to the physical construction of a mine;

“Director” means a Director of Mines appointed under section 4

and includes any Deputy Director of Mines;

“Director General” means the Director General of Mines appointed under section 4 and includes any Deputy Director General of Mines;

“Director General of Geological Survey” means the Director

General of Geological Survey appointed under the Geological Survey

Act 1974 [Act 129];

“dulang licence” means a dulang licence for the time being in force issued under any written law relating to panning;

“exploration licence” means an exploration licence for the time being in force issued under any written law relating to exploration;

“explore” means to search for mineral deposits and includes prospecting;

“fossick” means to search for and to extract minerals by using simple implements and to remove the minerals as samples, specimens or lapidary work without any intention to sell the minerals;

“fossicking licence” means a fossicking licence for the time being in force issued under any written law relating to fossicking;

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“individual mining licence” means an individual mining licence for the time being in force issued under any written law relating to mining;

“manager” means the person appointed as manager under section 14;

“mine”, when used as a noun, means any place, excavation or working wherein, whereon or whereby any operation connected with mining is carried on together with all buildings, premises, erections, water reservoirs, tailing ponds, waste, other dumps and appliances belonging or appertaining thereto above or below the ground or in or below the sea for the purpose of winning, obtaining or extracting any mineral by any mode or method or for the purpose of dressing, treating or preparing mineral ores;

“mineral” means any substance whether in solid, liquid or gaseous form occurring—

(a)

naturally;

(b)

as a result of mining in or on the earth; or

(c)

as a result of mining in or under the sea or sea-bed, formed by or subject to a geological process, but excludes water,

“rock material” as defined in the National Land Code [Act 56 of 1965] and “petroleum” as defined in the Petroleum Mining Act 1966

[Act 95];

“mineral ore” means any mineral of economic interest from which one or more valuable constituents may profitably be recovered by treatment;

“mineral processing” means any activity whereby minerals or mineral ores are treated for the beneficiation thereof but excludes smelting and refining;

“mineral tenement” means a fossicking licence, dulang licence, individual mining licence, prospecting licence, exploration licence, proprietary mining licence, mining lease, or any of them for the purpose of exploration or mining of minerals or mineral ores, as the

10 Laws of Malaysia ACT 525

case may be, issued under any Federal or State law regulating mineral tenements;

“mines officer” means the Director General of Mines, any Director of Mines, Assistant Director of Mines, Senior Mining Assistant,

Mining Assistant or any other officer duly authorized in writing by the Director General;

“mining land” means any land in respect of which a proprietary mining licence or mining lease issued or granted under any written law relating to mining is for the time being in force;

“mining lease” means a mining lease for the time being in force granted under any written law regulating mining;

“Minister” means the Minister charged with the responsibility for mining and minerals;

“notice” includes any notification, assessment, instrument or other document authorized or required by this Act to be served on any person or body;

“operational mining scheme” means an operational mining scheme approved under section 10;

“police officer” has the meaning assigned to it in the Police Act 1967 [Act 344];

“prescribed” means prescribed by regulations;

“proprietary mining licence” means a proprietary mining licence for the time being in force issued under any written law relating to mining;

“prospecting licence” means a prospecting licence for the time being in force issued under any written law relating to prospecting;

“sample” means a fraction of naturally occurring matter deemed to be indicative of the mass of which it forms a part;

“specimen” means a fraction of naturally occurring matter not necessarily representative of the mass of which it forms a part;

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“to mine” means intentionally to win minerals and includes any operation directly or indirectly and necessary therefore or incidental thereto, and “mining” shall be construed accordingly;

“to pan” means to wash or sift with a pan, dulang or rake for the purpose of obtaining minerals;

“treat” means to subject to any process whereby chemical or physical change takes place in the substance subjected thereto;

“waste” includes any discarded overburden material, tailing, any intermediate product from mining or mineral processing stockpiled for further operations, water treated or stored in mining or mineral processing, and any chemical substance temporarily or permanently withdrawn from such operations;

“waste retention area” means any area defined for the retention of waste and includes any area where works are employed for the purification of water contained in such waste.

(2)

Subject to subsection (1) and unless the context otherwise requires, all words and expressions used in this Act which are defined in the National Land Code shall be deemed to have the meaning assigned to them by that Code.

Part II

Administration

Part III

Regulation of Exploration and Mining

Part IV

Accident and Inquiry

Part V

Enforcement, Investigation, Evidence, Offences and Penalties

Chapter 1

Enforcement and Investigation

Chapter 2

Evidence

Chapter 3

Offences and Penalties

Chapter 4

General

Part VI

Miscellaneous

Part VII

Regulations

Part VIII