### Mining Ordinance 《礦務條例》

13. Prospecting licences
(1) The Commissioner may grant to any person applying therefor in the prescribed manner and on payment of the prescribed fee a prospecting licence.
(2) A prospecting licence shall be in the prescribed form and shall be subject to such terms and conditions as the Commissioner may determine.
(3) A prospecting licence shall not be transferable and any right or interest conferred thereby shall not be assignable except with the prior consent in writing of the Commissioner.
(4) A prospecting licence shall remain in force for 6 months from the date thereof, unless previously cancelled under the provisions of this Ordinance, but a licence not so cancelled may be renewed by the Commissioner for further terms of 6 months each: (Amended E.R. 6 of 2019)
Provided that the total period of the original licence together with all renewals thereof shall not exceed 5 years. (Amended 65 of 1955 s. 2; 33 of 1960 s. 5; E.R. 6 of 2019)

14. Rights of the holder
(1) The holder of a prospecting licence shall have the right to enter upon and prospect on any Government land within the area the subject of the licence and, subject to the provisions of subsection (2), on any private land within such area, and may, whilst engaged in bona fide prospecting, make bore holes, dig trenches, sink shafts and generally make the necessary excavations, subject to the terms and conditions of the licence. (Amended 33 of 1960 s. 6; 29 of 1998 s. 105)
(2) The holder of a prospecting licence shall have no right to enter upon or prospect on private land unless he obtains the prior consent in writing of the owner and any lawful occupier thereof.
(3) The holder of a prospecting licence shall not take any steps which may have the object or direct result of minerals being won in quantities in excess of those required to prove the mineral-bearing qualities and quantities of the area the subject of the licence. (Added 33 of 1960 s. 6)

### Mining Ordinance 《礦務條例》

15. Duties of the holder
The holder of a prospecting licence shall—
(a) carry on all prospecting in a safe and workmanlike manner in accordance with the regulations;
(b) keep such registers and books and make such returns as may be prescribed;
(c) permit at all reasonable times any mines officer to inspect any prospecting and to inspect and take copies of any register and any book of account in the possession or under the control of the holder and kept in connexion with the prospecting;
(d) not divert water from any river, stream, spring, reservoir, filter-bed, well or watercourse without the prior consent in writing of the Commissioner; (Amended 33 of 1960 s. 26)
(e) if not personally residing within the area the subject of his licence or sufficiently near thereto as to give continuous supervision to the prospecting on such lands, at all times have a responsible agent supervising the prospecting.

16. Ownership and disposal of minerals
(1) Minerals obtained in the course of prospecting under a prospecting licence shall be the property of the Government and shall not be removed from the land or disposed of except with the prior consent in writing of, and upon such terms and conditions as may be imposed by, the Commissioner; but nothing herein contained shall be construed to prohibit any such holder from removing, from time to time, samples of such minerals sufficient in quantity to enable them to be tested or analysed or experiments to be made for the purpose of ascertaining the content and the commercial value thereof. (Amended 29 of 1998 s. 105)
(2) The Commissioner may authorize the removal of minerals from the land from which they have been obtained to any place approved by him for safe custody, subject to such conditions as he may impose.
(3) If the holder of a prospecting licence desires to retain or dispose of any minerals obtained in the course of prospecting, he shall make application to the Commissioner in the prescribed manner and, if the Commissioner is satisfied that such holder has been conducting such operations only as are reasonably necessary to enable him to test the mining potentialities of the land, he may authorize the applicant to retain and dispose of the minerals in respect of which application is made on payment of the prescribed royalty.
(Amended 33 of 1960 s. 26)

17. Further prospecting licences for same area
Where any area is the subject of a prospecting licence, the Chief Executive in Council may authorize the grant of a further prospecting licence in respect of the same area for a different mineral if he is satisfied that by so doing the rights or interests of the holder of any existing prospecting licence will not be prejudicially affected.
(Amended 57 of 1999 s. 3)

### Mining Ordinance 《礦務條例》

18. Cancellation of prospecting licence
The Commissioner may, by notice in writing, cancel a prospecting licence—
(a) if the holder thereof or any attorney, partner, agent or servant of such holder is convicted of any offence against this Ordinance or the regulations made thereunder; (Replaced 33 of 1960 s. 8)
(b) if the holder commits any breach of the provisions of this Ordinance, or of the regulations made thereunder, or of the terms or conditions whether express or implied of his licence, not amounting to an offence against this Ordinance or the regulations made thereunder, and if, on being called upon by the Commissioner to show cause within a time specified why his licence should not be revoked, he fails to comply with such order or if the cause shown is in the opinion of the Commissioner inadequate; (Replaced 33 of 1960 s. 8)
(c) if, without the consent in writing of the Commissioner, the holder wholly or substantially discontinues prospecting. (Amended 33 of 1960 s. 8)
(Amended 33 of 1960 s. 8)

19. Mining
Mining shall only be lawful under a mining licence or mining lease.
(Added 33 of 1960 s. 9)