Section 72
Mining beneath alienated land
—
(1)
Subject to this Ordinance, a mining lease may be granted in respect of any land beneath alienated land or native customary land.
(2)
The provisions of section 44 relating to an application for mining lease shall, with such modifications as may be necessary, apply to an application for mining lease beneath alienated land.
(3)
A mining lease granted beneath any alienated land shall extend downward—
(a)
from the depth specified in the document of title of the alienated land as its lowest boundary; or
(b)
in the case where the document of title of the alienated land does not specify a depth boundary, from the depth to which the owner has the right to use and enjoy the land for the purposes of such title.
(4)
The Authority may, in granting a mining lease beneath any alienated land, in addition to the conditions specified in section 54, impose such other conditions as it deems necessary, including the following:
(a)
that the lessee and every person employed in relation to the mining lease shall use the land specified in the mining lease in the manner least injurious to the owner of the overlying alienated land or occupied land; and
(b)
that the lessee shall, in conducting mining operations, take all reasonable precautions to prevent the occurrence of subsidence of the overlying alienated land or occupied land.
(5)
The Authority may, in granting a mining lease beneath any land subject to claim under native customary rights, in addition to the conditions specified in section 54, impose such other conditions as it deems necessary, including the following:
(a)
that the lessee and every person employed in relation to the mining lease shall use the land specified in the mining lease in the manner least injurious to such claimants; and
(b)
that the lessee shall, in conducting mining operations, take all reasonable precautions to prevent the occurrence of subsidence of the overlying land subject to such claims.
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(6)
The claimant to native customary rights lawfully created over land affected by any mining operation beneath such land shall have the right to make a claim for compensation under section 74.