400Qualifying expenditure on mineral exploration and access
(1)Expenditure on mineral exploration and access is qualifying expenditure if—
(a)it is capital expenditure, and
(b)it is incurred for the purposes of a mineral extraction trade.
(2)Expenditure on mineral exploration and access incurred by a person in connection with a mineral extraction trade which that person carries on then or subsequently is to be treated as incurred for the purposes of that trade.
(3)But pre-trading expenditure on mineral exploration and access is qualifying expenditure only to the extent provided by—
section 401 (pre-trading exploration expenditure), or
section 402 (pre-trading expenditure on plant or machinery).
(4)Any pre-trading expenditure that is qualifying expenditure under either of those sections is to be treated as incurred on the first day of trading.
(5)In this Chapter—
(a)“pre-trading expenditure” means capital expenditure incurred before the day on which a person begins to carry on a mineral extraction trade, and
(b)“the first day of trading”, in relation to a person’s pre-trading expenditure, means the day on which that person begins to carry on the mineral extraction trade.