Department of Consumer and Employment Protection Resources Safety 1 Please read this before using presentation This presentation is based on content presented at the Exploration Safety Roadshow held in November 2008 It is made available for non-commercial use (e.g. toolbox meetings) subject to the condition that the PowerPoint file is not altered without permission from Resources Safety Supporting resources, such as brochures and posters, are available from Resources Safety For resources, information or clarification, please contact: or visit

Toolbox presentation: Mines safety legislation applied to mineral exploration

Department of Consumer and Employment Protection Resources Safety Overview of Mines Safety & Inspection Act 1994 Overview of Mines Safety & Inspection Regulations 1995 How does legislation apply to mineral exploration? Statutory appointments

Department of Consumer and Employment Protection Resources Safety Legislation Q: What legislation governs the safety of exploration operations in Western Australia? A: Mines Safety and Inspection Act 1994 The Act lays out the basic legislative regime and detail on compliance with particular aspects of safety in the mining industry generally is found in the regulations made under the Act, the Mines Safety and Inspection Regulations 1995 Not all aspects of the Act and regulations may apply to exploration, but compliance with those that do is mandatory

Department of Consumer and Employment Protection Resources Safety What is a mine? The term ‘mine’ is defined under the Act ‘Mine’ means a place at which mining operations are carried on and, where mining operations are being carried on in conjunction with one another at two or more places, those places are to be taken to constitute one mine unless the State mining engineer notifies the principal employer in writing otherwise in accordance with subsection (3); and ‘to mine’ includes to carry on any manner or method of mining operations

Department of Consumer and Employment Protection Resources Safety What are mining operations? ‘Mining operations’ means any method of working by which the earth or any rock structure, coal seam, stone, fluid, or mineral bearing substance is disturbed, removed, washed, sifted, crushed, leached, roasted, floated, distilled, evaporated, smelted, refined, sintered, pelletized, or dealt with for the purpose of obtaining any mineral or rock from it for commercial purposes or for subsequent use in industry, whether it has been previously disturbed or not, and includes: exploration operations; and developmental and construction work associated with opening up or operating a mine; and the removal and disposal of overburden or waste or residues by mechanical or other means and the stacking, depositing, storage, and treatment of any substance considered to contain any mineral; and the operation of blast furnaces and direct reduction furnaces; and … so on

Department of Consumer and Employment Protection Resources Safety What are exploration operations? Definition of ‘to mine’ refers to carrying out mining operations that include exploration operations ‘Exploration operations’ means any exploration activity that is undertaken on a mining tenement but does not include: developmental work involving underground operations excavation of trial pits beyond the extent permitted under the tenement conditions remote sensing activity carried out using airborne or satellite mounted equipment

Department of Consumer and Employment Protection Resources Safety Legislation application MSI Act and regulations: apply to all exploration operations place a statutory obligation upon the owner of the tenement and the manager appointed by the owner

Department of Consumer and Employment Protection Resources Safety Exploration manager Owner of the mining tenement must notify senior inspector of name and address of the person responsible for exploration activity – i.e. ‘exploration manager’ [Act, s. 47] Owner is responsible for ensuring the manager appointed carries out duties in accordance with applicable provisions of legislation Exploration manager must ensure operations are carried out in accordance with applicable provisions of legislation

Department of Consumer and Employment Protection Resources Safety Advising inspectorate Managers and principal employers engaged in exploration operation must, under the law, advise inspectorate of when and where exploration operations are being or are to be carried out

Department of Consumer and Employment Protection Resources Safety Appointment of exploration manager New section 46A inserted in Act to require appointment of an exploration manager or persons responsible for exploration activities where a registered manager is not appointed for those exploration operations Registered manager may also be appointed as the exploration manager

Department of Consumer and Employment Protection Resources Safety Management of exploration operations Section 47 amended to ensure that for mining operations where only exploration activities occur, an exploration manager is appointed and provisions of the Act apply

Department of Consumer and Employment Protection Resources Safety 13 Exploration manager = Manager Section 47A inserted to provide that the ‘exploration manager’ is treated as a ‘manager (equivalent to and with the same duties as a registered manager of an operating mine) for the purposes of the Act