(1) If the Designated Authority refers applications to the Joint Authority under section 80, the Joint Authority may provisionally grant an exploration licence to one of the applicants.
Note: Under section 88, the grant of the licence cannot be effective before it is registered (see section 333 for registration). The grant will not be registered until it has been properly accepted (see section 84 for proper acceptance ).
(2) The Joint Authority may provisionally grant a licence under subsection (1) even if only one application is referred to the Joint Authority by the Designated Authority.
(3) When provisionally granting a licence under subsection (1), the Joint Authority must follow the procedure and apply the criteria specified in the tender block licence notice published for the licence under section 74.