had been granted by APY and the Minister for Mineral Resources and Energy had taken over from the Minister of Lands as the responsible Minister, an agreement among four parties (APY, the Minister for Mineral Resources and Energy, the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation, and the Mintabie Miners Progress Association) was reached, and the lease on the town extended to 30 June 2027 (later amended to 2 October 2027), unless conditions were fulfilled for an earlier termination. 2017 Review, 2019 termination of lease A 2017 report found many instances of non-compliance with the 2009 Amendment as well as other problems occurring in the settlement of Mintabie. It recommended closure of the township, with control reverting to APY. After an appeal by residents failed, the final eviction date for the township was set at 31 December 2019. In February 2018 the state government declared that it would not renew any leases in the town, after a report found it had become a centre for illegal distribution of drugs and alcohol into the APY Lands. As all land in the town was leased from the government, and these leases were renewed every year, this amounted to a compulsory closure of the town in 2019. Management of the land would revert to the local Aboriginal land council, Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY). The APY Lands executive board would not allow residents to live in the town once it was transitioned to their control, with the date originally set at 1 July 2019. However this date was extended following negotiations to 3 January 2020, after residents settled the Federal Court litigation instituted to keep the town open. Falling in the middle of a heatwave, local residents complained of the difficulties of relocating at such a time. Geography Mintabie is situated west of the Stuart Highway and about northwest of Marla and northwest of Adelaide, the capital of South Australia. Mintabie is approximately south of Alice Springs. Mintabie sits in a geographical basin. It is therefore not surprising that there is a lake basin near Mintabie. The Mintabie Miners Progress Association describes the lake as follows: The lake at Mintabie is fed by many small surrounding creeks. In the past 15 years, it has been filled twice. The first time was in 1988, when higher than normal rainfall filled the lake to capacity. Although the rainfall returned to normal, the lake retained water for approximately