The Western Australian Department of Energy, Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety (DEMIRS) has announced that its Mine Closure Plan (MCP) Guideline is open for consultation.
The purpose of the guideline is to assist applicants in preparing mine closure plans in accordance with the Mining Act 1978 (the Mining Act) and the Mining Regulations 1981.
DEMIRS said that it has reviewed the MCP guidance in conjunction with the recently released draft guidelines for developing a Mining Development and Closure Proposal (MDCP) – introduced in the Mining Amendment Act 2022 – to ensure the documents align and duplication is reduced as far as possible.
Under efficiencies introduced by the Mining Amendment Act 2022, a standalone MCP will no longer be required at the project approval stage which is expected to remove duplication and streamline decision-making.
While the Mining Act will still require MCPs to be submitted throughout the life of a mine, they will function as a planning tool to demonstrate an operation is tracking towards successful closure.
DEMIRS Resource and Environmental Compliance Executive Director, Tyler Sujdovic, encouraged stakeholders to engage with a number of consultation drafts that the department has planned for the approvals space in 2024.
“DEMIRS is progressing a number of initiatives introduced by the Mining Amendment Act 2022, which aims to create efficiencies and streamline decision making for a simpler approvals process.
“In addition to the draft MCP guideline and draft MDCP guideline, stakeholders are also invited to provide feedback on the draft regulations for Eligible Mining Activities that were recently released.”
Feedback submissions close at 5pm on Tuesday 25 June 2024.
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