Section 11 in Minerals (Other than Atomic and Hydro Carbons Energy Minerals) Concession Rules, 2016
11. Terms and conditions of a prospecting licence and composite licence.
(1)Every prospecting licence holder or a composite licence holder shall, in addition to the conditions specified therein, be subject to the following conditions:(a)the licencee may win and carry for purposes other than commercial purposes:(i)such quantity of the minerals within the limits specified under column (3) of Schedule VIII without any payment; or(ii)such quantity of the minerals not exceeding the limits specified under column (4) of Schedule VIII, on payment of royalty specified in the Second Schedule to the Act:Provided that the licensee may win and carry away for purposes other than commercial purpose any quantity of limestone not exceeding 500 tonnes for testing its use in any industry specified by the Central Government in this behalf, on payments of royalty specified in the Second Schedule to the Act:Provided further that if any quantity in excess of the quantities specified in this clause is won and carried away, the State Government may recover the value of the excess quantity of minerals won and carried away and also impose penalty under section 21;(b)the licencee may, with the written permission of the State Government, carry away quantities of minerals in excess of the limits specified in Schedule VIII, on payment of royalty specified in the Second Schedule to the Act, for chemical, metallurgical, ore-dressing and other test purposes;(c)If the licencee holding a prospecting licence or a composite licence, is convicted of illegal mining and there are no interim orders of any court of law suspending the operation of the order of such conviction in appeals pending against such conviction in any court of law, the State Government may, without prejudice to any other proceedings that may be taken under the Act or the rules made thereunder, after giving such licencee an opportunity of being heard and for reasons to be recorded in writing and communicated to the licencee, cancel such prospecting licence and forfeit whole or part of the performance security;(d)the licencee shall, within sixty days from the date of discovery of any mineral specified in Part B of the First Schedule to the Act, apply to the Secretary, Department of Atomic Energy, Mumbai, through the State Government, for grant of a licence to handle such minerals under the provisions of the Atomic Energy Act, 1962 (33 of 1962) and the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act 1957 (67 of 1957) and the rules made thereunder and the Department of Atomic Energy shall intimate the State Government regarding the issue of the licence in this regard;(e)the licencee shall restore, to the extent possible, the landform affected by prospecting operations;(f)the licencee shall comply with the provisions of the Act and the rules made thereunder including rules made under section 18;(g)every licencee shall maintain an accurate and faithful account of all expenses incurred by him on prospecting operations and also the quantity and other particulars of all minerals obtained during such operations and their despatch;(h)every licencee shall clear undergrowth, brushwood and trees only with the prior written approval of the Deputy Commissioner or Collector, as the case may be, in order to make and use any drains, water courses or water on the said lands for such purposes as may be necessary for effectually carrying on the prospecting operations and for the workmen employed thereon. The licencee shall always ensure that such use shall not diminish or interfere with the supply of water to which any cultivated land, building or watering place, for livestock has been accustomed and shall ensure that its prospecting operations do not foul or pollute streams, springs or wells;(i)the licencee shall have the right to erect and bring upon the said lands all such temporary huts, sheds, structures, steam and other engines, machinery, conveniences, chattels and effects as may be deemed proper and necessary for effectually carrying on its prospecting operations or for the employment of workmen thereon;(j)save in the case of land over which the licencee has been granted a mining lease on or before the expiry or termination of the licence, as the case may be, the licencee shall within six months after the expiry or termination of the licence or date of abandonment, whichever is earlier, securely plug any borehole and fill up or fence any holes or excavations that may have been made in the lands to the extent required by the Deputy Commissioner or Collector, as the case may be. The licencee shall also restore the surface of the land and all buildings thereon which may have been damaged or destroyed in the course of its prospecting operations, provided that it shall not be required to restore the surface of the land or any building in respect of which full and proper compensation has already been paid by it;(k)failure on the part of the licencee to fulfil any of the terms and conditions hereunder or under the prospecting licence shall not give the Central Government or State Government any claim against the licencee or be deemed a breach of the licence, in so far as such failure is considered by the relevant Government to arise from force majeure. In the event of any delay by the licencee to fulfill any of the terms and conditions hereunder or under the prospecting licence on account of a force majeure event, the period of such delay shall be added to the period fixed by these rules or the prospecting licence.In this clause the expression "force majeure" means act of God, war, insurrection, riot, civil commotion, strike, earth quake, tide, storm, tidal wave, flood, lightning, explosion, fire, earthquake and any other happening which the licencee could not reasonably prevent or control; and(l)the licencee shall, on the expiry or termination of the licence or the abandonment of the prospecting operations, whichever is earlier, remove expeditiously at his own cost, all buildings, structures, plant, engines machinery, implements, utensils and other property and effects erected or brought by the licencee and standing or situated on the said lands together with all minerals won by the licencee and situated on the said land, provided that it shall not be required to remove any of the above from any part of the said lands which may be comprised in any mining lease granted to the licencee during the subsistence of the prospecting licence.(2)The licencee shall report to the State Government the discovery of any mineral not specified in the licence within a period of sixty days from the date of such discovery, and consequent upon such reporting the newly discovered mineral except those minerals specified in Part A and Part B of the First Schedule to the Act shall be deemed to have been included in the composite licence:Provided that the holder of a prospecting licence granted otherwise than through auction, shall have no right over the discovered mineral and such mineral shall not be included in the licence.(3)A prospecting licence or a composite licence may contain such other conditions as the State Government may deem fit to impose, namely:-(a)compensation for damage to land in respect of which the licence has been granted;(b)indemnity to Government against the claim of a third party for any damage, injury or disturbance caused to him by the licencee;(c)restrictions regarding felling of trees on unoccupied and unreserved Government land;(d)restrictions on prospecting operations in any area prohibited by any competent authority;(e)operations in forest land;(f)conditions regarding entry on occupied land;(g)facilities to be given by the licencee for working other minerals in the licenced area or adjacent areas;(h)filing of civil suits or petitions relating to disputes arising out of the area under prospecting licence:Provided that in case of a composite licence, the State Government shall specify such conditions in the tender document for auction for grant of composite licence.(4)The State Government may, either with the previous approval of the Central Government or at the instance of the Central Government, impose such further conditions as may be necessary in the interest of conservation and development of minerals.(5)In the case of breach of any condition imposed on any holder of prospecting licence or composite licence under the Act and the rules made thereunder, the State Government may, by order in writing, cancel the licence and/or forfeit in whole or part, the amount of performance security deposited by the holder of prospecting licence or composite licence, as applicable, under the Act and the rules made thereunder:Provided that no such order shall be made without giving the licencee a reasonable opportunity of representing his case.(6)The minimum area for grant of a prospecting licence or composite licence shall not be less than the minimum area for which a mining lease may be granted in accordance with the sub-rule (5) of rule 12 and the maximum area shall be in accordance with section 6 as applicable to a prospecting licence.
