Land Use Agreements help speed up mining
On the 13th of September 2000, Giants Reef entered into an ILUA (Indigenous Land Use Agreement) with the Central Land Council being the representative body for Aboriginal groups related to the land the subject of the Phillip Creek and Tennant Creek Pastoral Leases.
In November 1998 the Billy Boy gold/copper deposit was discovered. The subsequent mineral lease application on Tennant Creek Station required a native title agreement to be entered into before the mineral lease could be granted.
Anthropological work carried out over the Tennant Creek area during the Warumungu Land Claims and the comments by the Land Commissioner at the final hearing, leaves us in no doubt that a native title claim over Phillip Creek and Tennant Creek Stations would be successful.
However, instead of negotiating an ILUA for only the Billy Boy Lease, a more comprehensive agreement covering all of the Company's tenements including the Billiton and BHP Joint Venture areas over both Phillip and Tennant Creek stations was pursued. This covers a large area, will save a lot of time and money and will provide long term benefits for all those involved.
The agreement has been lodged with the National Native Title Tribunal (NNTT) and advertised in the Koori Mail, the Centralian Advocate and the NT News. The ILUA is for a period of 25 years and represents an efficient approach to land access under the Native Title legislation.
It provides for all "Future Acts", enabling exploration and mining tenements to be granted and the development of any discoveries to proceed without the need for further negotiations. It also provides for the protection of sites, and training and employment programs when a major deposit is discovered.
The ILUA is important for the rapid development of existing deposits such as Giants Reef's Billy Boy gold-copper discovery, and just as importantly for the development of future discoveries of very large deposits such as are being explored for under the Billiton and BHP joint ventures.
The terms and conditions contained in the ILUA are commercially sound and at the same time reflect the difference between Aboriginal freehold and land subject to native title legislation.
Giants Reef is pleased to be a party to the Agreement as it represents a giant step forward for the Company and provides for long term benefits for everyone in Tennant Creek.