Aurum Vale Pty Ltd v Struber & Anor

Aurum Vale Pty Ltd, the mining lease holder, sought a determination of compensation payable to the landowners under the Mining Act 1978 (Qld) for the mining lease ML 5102. The landowners did not participate in the proceeding. The matter was heard by Justice Byrne of the Queensland Land Court. The key issue for the court was the amount of compensation payable for the mining lease, in the absence of expert or valuation evidence. The only evidence provided was the applicant's submissions, which were largely based on previous court judgments.

The court noted that the Mining Act required the compensation to be fair and reasonable having regard to the circumstances of the case. Given the absence of evidence from either party, the court relied on its previous judgments and the referral documents. It determined that the compensation payable was $72.00 per annum, which was consistent with previous judgments for similar mining leases. The court found that this amount was fair and reasonable compensation for the use of the land for mining purposes.

The court ordered that the compensation payable for the mining lease ML 5102 was $72.00 per annum. The miner was required to pay the compensation to the Public Trustee of Queensland on behalf of the landowners within one month of the renewal of the mining lease by the Department of Natural Resources, Mines and Energy and thereafter on the anniversary of the renewal of the mining lease.