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Ewamian Small Scale Mining and Exploration Indigenous Land Use Agreement (ILUA)
Date:	7 October 2004
Sub Category:	Indigenous Land Use Agreement (ILUA) (Native Title Act)
Place:	Near Georgetown
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State/Country:	Queensland, Australia
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	The agreement area covers 28,630 square kilometres. It is in the vicinity of Georgetown which is 260 kilometres south-west of Cairns. The area falls within the Shires of Etheridge, Dalrymple and Mareeba and the ATSIC Regional Councils of Cairns & District and Townsville. Specifically, the agreement area comprises the lands and waters covered by native title determination applications Ewamian People #2 (QC99/13) and Ewamian People #3 (QC01/16). This area corresponds with the determinations at the date of this agreement being registered (7/10/2004).
Legal Status:	Registered with the National Native Title Tribunal
Legal Reference:	National Native Title Tribunal file no: Q12003/044
Subject Matter:	Compensation \| Exploration \| Future Act \| Land Use \| Mining and Minerals \| Native Title
Summary Information:
The Ewamian Small Scale Mining and Exploration Indigenous Land Use Agreement (ILUA) allows for the Queensland government to grant Exploration and Mining interests in the prescribed area. The ILUA provides certain terms and conditions which must be adhered to. The parties agree that the right to negotiate provisions of the Native Title Act 1993 (Cth) do not apply, as the alternative consultation provisions are to be followed instead. Without this agreement, the grant would have been invalid and the right to negotiate provisions of the Native Title Act 1993 (Cth) would apply. Under this act any activity, such as a grant of land, that may affect native title rights is defined as a "future act" and must comply with the future act provisions of the act in order to be valid. The parties to the ILUA agree that if the Federal Court determines that Native Title does not exist in any part of the Area (that is, native title is extinguished), the ILUA will not apply to the extinguished area. The ILUA is to be in force for 5 years from the Commencement Date (3 December 2003). The ILUA will continue to apply to any Exploration Interests and Mining Interests granted or renewed in reliance on the ILUA.
Detailed Information:
The ILUA permits the grant of Prospecting Permits, Exploration Permits, Mineral Development Licences, Mining Claims and Mining Leases and the exercise of rights under such grants. However, the ILUA stipulates certain conditions regarding the size of the permit and the holding of licences. These include: - Exploration Permits must comprise of 50 sub-blocks or less, and no more than 150 sub-blocks can be held at any time by a Grantee Party under Exploration Permit(s); - Mineral Development Licences must comprise of 50 hectares or less, and no more than 150 hectares can be held at any time by a Grantee Party under Mineral Development Licence(s)l; - Mining Leases must comprise of 50 hectares or less, and no more than 300 hectares can be held at any time by a Grantee Party under Mining Lease(s); - A Grantee Party must not hold more than 2 Mining Claims at any time. All the above grants must contain the relevant Native Title Conditions, and compensation must be paid by the Grantee Party. Further to the above grants, the ILUA also allows for the grant of Ancillary Rights to a Grantee Party, such as dam licences, water pumping licences and/or tree clearing permits.