Cadia Holdings Pty Ltd v State of New South Wales

Mining – Ownership of minerals - Crown prerogative - Section 379 of the Mining Act 1992 (NSW) ("the Act") preserved any Crown prerogative in respect of mines of gold and silver - Ore mined on appellants' lands contained intermingled gold and copper, incapable of being separately mined - Royalty payable under the Act on gold and copper - Section 284 of the Act required Minister to pay seven-eighths of royalty paid on minerals not owned by or reserved to Crown to mineral owner - Whether intermingled copper owned by or reserved to Crown - Whether common law prerogative rights, as received in colony of New South Wales, included Crown ownership of intermingled copper - Whether Royal Mines Act 1688 (1 Wm & Mar c 30) excluded "mines of copper" from scope of prerogative recognised in Case of Mines (1568) 1 Plowden 310 [75 ER 472] - Whether mines on appellants' lands were "mines of copper".

Words and phrases – "mine of copper", "mine of gold", "prerogative", "privately owned mineral", "publicly owned mineral", "royal mines".

Royal Mines Act 1688 (1 Wm & Mar c 30) – s 3.

Statute 5 Wm & Mar c 6 (1693).

Mining Act 1992 (NSW) – ss 282, 284, 379.