Tengraph - WA - Pending lease - Question

Hi All,
My question is there anyway of finding out when a "pending" lease will become a "live" lease ?
I plan to go to WA in June/July and the area I am looking at has a Exploration lease that was applied for in 2009 and is still pending, how long do these thing normally take ?
Am I correct that it is ok to go onto "pending" and a 20A is required after it is granted.
Any advise would be appreciated.
Cheers Mark.

Mark,

Tenements when granted are posted at DME offices and advertised in the the local papers. If you are unable to check both those then Tengraph is the next best option.

All "pending" applications are deemed Crown Land and are available for detecting.

Section 20a`s can only be applied for on granted Exploration Licenses. What is not generally known is that the Warden may not grant a section 20a if the tenement holder can convince him that the section 20a interferes with their current exploration program. Hence the 21 day "cooling off" period which gives the tenement holder time to appeal to the Warden.

ie.......if you applied for a section 20a over an area of the granted E/L that they were drilling ,sampling etc and did not want some prospector metal detecting in amongst the rigs. Then they would appeal to the Warden on the grounds that you would cause interference.

Driller

G'day Mark.

As long as the ground is "Pending",it is OK to prospect on,and that a section 20A is only required after the pending ground becomes a live EL. . The only way of finding out whether a pending lease becomes live,is to Keep in touch with the Relevant DME Office say on a regular weekly basis.
Driller just a question,Is there not some form of mining regulation that allows the holder of a section 20A to prospect around drilling rigs used for exploratory sampling as long as prospecting is no closer than 100mtrs from the actual drilling site?...

Cheers kon61.

Mark/ Kon,
In your own interest and that of the exploration/ mining company it would be foolhardy to work in the vicinity of operations even if permission was granted.
Generally all current haulage roads and drillers tracks are "no go." The drillers get very cranky if you drive over there samples and rightly so.

Cheers Peter

Kon,

Yes there rules.There is a section covering Section 20a`s in the Mining Act........which is difficult to find and more difficult to read.

Both the driller and onsite geo get testy if strangers turn up at a rig site. With the big ammount of gear and very high pressure air used to day safety is a major concern. Nearly every active drill site these days will have a notice a few hundred meters away saying "Active Drill Site...Keep Clear"

APLA fought long and hard to get access to E/L`s for prospectors to work. In the spirit of that access, ie the Section 20a, it is my view prospectors should endeavour to work out of site of any activity by the holder of the E/L in an effort to maintain a peaceful co-existance. Drilling programs usually only run for a short time......... ...................

A Section 20a runs for 3 months. Even a small 20a of 3 graticular blocks will give you more ground than you can properly cover in 3 months. I have more than one I need to back to because time ran out.

Driller.

G'day Nightjar.

I had no idea that current haulage roads and drillers tracks were a no go zone Pete. Appreciate the info. As for working in the vicinity of Drilling operations your most probably right there to.Its always better to be at a safe distance away than sorry.
Driller that's exactly the type of information that I'm after,for you don't get this info from the DME during the application of your section 20As nor the actual Mine drill testing site even after receiving your section 20As,until your on or near the actual drill site.Not only do I want to maintain a peaceful co-existence,but Its also good to know that I'm doing it in an appropriate and safe manner.

Cheers guys.kon61.