Mining royalties are payable for Mount Bruce Mining area, says High Court

Mining royalties are payable under a 1970 agreement following a decision by the High Court in a high-profile mining case, Mount Bruce Mining Pty Limited v Wright Prospecting Pty Limited [2015] HCA 37 (Clayton Utz acted for the successful respondent, Wright Prospecting).

The agreement about mining royalties in the Mount Bruce Mining case

There had been a series of agreements between the parties in the 1960s and 1970s. Basically, the Western Australian Government had granted rights of occupancy over certain Temporary Reserves under the Mining Act 1904 (WA) over land in the Pilbara in favour of the respondents. These rights of occupancy permitted exploration on the reserved land, but did not permit mining.