The Minister for Mines and Petroleum Norman Moore said the government would establish a new mining rehabilitation fund which would require operators to make annual contributions based on a percentage of their total closure liabilities, which would then go into a government-administered fund.
The chief executive officer for the Association of Mining and Exploration Companies {AMEC} Simon Bennison said the industry had been involved in consultation with the government to help deliver a sound process.
“The new legislation is a result of extensive consultation with the industry and other stakeholders and is believed to be world leading practice,” he said.
“This is a win-win for all stakeholders involved in the rehabilitation of mining and exploration activities. Minister Moore should be congratulated for his efforts.”
The Chamber of Minerals and Energy of Western Australia {CME}also welcomed the new fund.
CME director Nicole Rooke said that the benefit for industry was the fact that it would free up significant capital at the beginning of a project development while the government benefited by having a fund that covered the full closure costs for mine rehabilitation.
“While there are still some administrative matters that require further discussion, particularly around calculation of liability and fund contribution, CME is happy with the announcement and will progress the final details through dedicated work groups between industry and the department of Mines and Petroleum,” she said.
The minister said he was confident the proposed fund would provide a more flexible and cost effective system for industry while meeting public expectations for higher standards of rehabilitation and mine closure.
This article first appeared in ILN's sister publication MiningNews.net.
