Both the Chamber of Minerals and Energy of Western Australia (CME) and the Association of Mining and Exploration Companies (AMEC) have welcomed the tabling of Amendments to the Mining Act 1978 as a positive step in removing unnecessary mining and exploration red tape
“Industry supports the amendments which assist in moving the Department of Mines and Petroleum (DMP) to an outcomes and risk-based regulatory model,” said CME Chief Executive Reg Howard-Smith.
The Amendment Bill creates a new ‘low-impact’ notification process which should see a significant reduction in the need for many Programme of Works applications. The introduction of a separate part within the Act on environmental management will also remove the need for a clearing permit separate to an environmental approval.
“Industry is engaging with DMP to define what activities could be deemed ‘low-impact’. This could involve many mining and exploration activities which have previously required approval but present minimal environmental risk or impact,” said AMEC Chief Executive Simon Bennison.
Whilst broadly supportive of the Amendment Bill, CME and AMEC remain strongly opposed to the planned introduction of cost-recovery to the tune of $2.7million annually.
Resource companies are currently grappling with volatile global market dynamics, increasing input costs and other complex policy and regulatory settings. The introduction of cost-recovery compounds this situation even further.
