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Minerals Act Section 79 — Underground mining: licence, protected areas and landowner compensation (Chapter 6)
Minerals Act (พระราชบัญญัติแร่) — Section 79.
Plain-English Summary
Underground mining has its own chapter. For underground mining at no more than 100 metres below the surface, the applicant must show evidence of the right to mine in that land (Section 79). An underground lease area may not encroach on a national park or wildlife sanctuary (Section 80). Applicants must consult stakeholders in a prescribed process and pay subsidies so stakeholder groups can study the EIA; after the lease is issued, stakeholder representatives agree who has the right to inspect the mining and the holder deposits funds with the Department for experts to assist them (Sections 86-88). Landowners whose land lies above underground mining deeper than 100 metres are entitled to compensation fixed by a compensation committee (Sections 91-92). Ground subsidence is presumed to be caused by the mining (Section 90). A lease application for underground mining may cover up to 10,000 rai (Section 55).
Official Text
Official Thai text at the Royal Gazette / Office of the Council of State. Translation summary only.
Consult official sourceParent Statute
Minerals Act
พระราชบัญญัติแร่ · B.E. 2560 (2017)
The Minerals Act B.E. 2560 (2017) repeals the earlier Minerals Act B.E. 2510 (1967), its amendments and the mineral royalty Acts, bringing mineral licensing and royalty into one statute (Section 3). The Minister of Natural Resources and Environment and the Minister of Industry each administer the parts of the Act within their own remit (Section 5); the Director-General of the Department of Primary Industries and Mines issues the larger mining leases and the exclusive and special prospecting, dressing, metallurgy and mineral-trade licences. The Act sets up a National Mineral Management Policy Committee and a five-yearly master plan that fixes where mining may and may not take place (Sections 8-19), ties mining to environmental impact assessment under the environmental quality law, adds community hearings and, for underground mining, stakeholder consultation (Sections 56, 82-88), caps royalty at 30 per cent of the market price (Section 132), and sets criminal penalties and civil liability (Sections 139-142 and 153-183).
The summary above is a plain-English educational paraphrase of Section 79 of the Minerals Act. It is not an authoritative translation. For the binding Thai text, consult the Royal Gazette or the Office of the Council of State. Educational use only — not a substitute for advice from a Thai-qualified lawyer.
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