Allowances are available under this Part if a person carries on a mineral extraction trade and incurs qualifying expenditure.

In this Part “mineral extraction trade” means a trade which consists of, or includes, the working of a source of mineral deposits F1but to the extent only that the profits or gains from that trade are, or (if there were any) would be, chargeable to tax.

If a company or partnership is as a result of section 6D (NI rate activity treated as separate trade) treated for the purposes of this Act as carrying on two separate trades, each of them is for the purposes of this Part to be treated as a mineral extraction trade if the separate trades would together be so treated.

In this Part “mineral deposits” includes any natural deposits capable of being lifted or extracted from the earth, and for this purpose geothermal energy is to be treated as a natural deposit.

Any reference in this Part to mineral deposits is to mineral deposits of a wasting nature.

In this Part “source of mineral deposits” includes a mine, an oil well and a source of geothermal energy.