Watercourses and adjacent strips of land reserved to the State

Any part of a watercourse with a natural force equal to or greater than 225 kilowatts at its ordinary flow during six months, together with a strip of land 20 metres in width on each side of the watercourse, are reserved to the State, and the Mining Act  prohibits the issuing of all claims, mining leases, mining concessions and leases to mine surface mineral substances in these areas.

The Department may also reserve to the State any area it considers necessary for the development and utilization of water power. It may, however, on certain conditions, authorize a claim holder to explore for mineral substances on the reserved land.

Boundaries of watercourses reserved to the State

The boundaries of watercourses and strips of land reserved to the State by the Mining Act  are not shown on the map of mining titles.

Impacts of watercourses reserved to the State

• Prospecting, staking and map designation of claims, mine exploration work and mining operations are all prohibited in any portion of a watercourse or strip of land reserved to the State.
• An authorization is required from the Department to carry out mine exploration activities or mining operations in these areas.