Western Australia forfeits five mining tenements over unpaid annual rent

Western Australia’s mining regulator has forfeited five exploration licences and mining leases held by listed and private explorers for failure to pay annual rent, and has separately moved to strip two more leases from Lunnon Metals Limited over unpaid royalty. The forfeitures were declared by Tyler Sujodovic, A/Deputy Director General of the Resource and Environmental Compliance Division of the Department of Mines, Petroleum and Exploration, in notices MP401, MP402 and MP403 published in the Government Gazette of Western Australia No. 120, dated Tuesday 22 September 2026. A fourth notice, MP404, gives Lunnon Metals Limited until Tuesday 6 October 2026 to pay or make a written submission.

The forfeitures rest on sections 96A and 97 of the Mining Act 1978, which allow tenements to be cancelled where a holder fails to comply with statutory requirements — in these cases, failure to pay annual rent. The three forfeiture notices were signed at the department’s East Perth office and cover tenements spread across four mineral fields: Kanowna, Mt Margaret, South West and Marble Bar. Notice MP403 states that the forfeiture comes into operation at 12:00 midday on the day of publication, so that tenure was extinguished on 22 September 2026.

Five tenements forfeited

• E28/2704 — exploration licence held by Classic Minerals Limited and IGO Newsearch Pty Ltd, Kanowna mineral field (notice MP401).
• E28/2705 — exploration licence held by Classic Minerals Limited and IGO Newsearch Pty Ltd, Kanowna mineral field (notice MP401).
• E38/3763 — exploration licence held by Formidable Resources Pty Ltd, Mt Margaret mineral field (notice MP402).
• E70/6559 — exploration licence held by AEMCO Pty Ltd, South West mineral field (notice MP402).
• M45/84 — mining lease held by Colin Wayne Hinds, Marble Bar mineral field (notice MP403).

Lunnon Metals given until 6 October

Notice MP404 is an intention to forfeit rather than a forfeiture. Issued under Regulation 50 of the Mining Regulations 1981, it states that unless the outstanding royalty payment due on the two leases is paid on or before Tuesday 6 October 2026 — or a written submission is made by that date to the Minister responsible for the Mining Act 1978 for consideration — it is the Minister’s intention under section 97(1) to forfeit the leases for breach of covenant, being failure to comply with the royalty provisions in accordance with Regulation 86A. The notice was issued from the department’s Perth office and is signed by the Director General.

• M 15/1549 — Lunnon Metals Limited, Coolgardie mineral field.
• M 15/1553 — Lunnon Metals Limited, Coolgardie mineral field.

Legal basis and effect

All four notices appear in the Minerals and Petroleum section of the gazette, alongside the standard departmental address for the Resource and Environmental Compliance Division. The rent-based forfeitures follow the same mechanism used in earlier gazette notices this month, including the declaration published on 4 September 2026 by the same division. None of the notices discloses the amount of rent or royalty outstanding, and the forfeiture notices do not offer a cure period: the tenements are declared forfeited outright, with MP403 taking effect at midday on publication day.

The forfeitures remove tenure from both listed explorers and private holders, and the two Coolgardie leases remain live only until the 6 October deadline. Holders of M 15/1549 and M 15/1553 can still avoid forfeiture by paying the outstanding royalty or by putting a written submission to the Minister before that date.

Source: Government Gazette of Western Australia, No. 120, 22 September 2026, Minerals and Petroleum, p. 2012–2013 (official reference: MP401–MP404).