WA clears the way for more exploration and future mines

Efforts to expedite the mining exploration approvals process in WA have proven successful with the State seeing a significant reduction in wait times for Program of Work applications.

The WA Department of Energy, Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety (DEMIRS) finalised 313 applications last month, with wait times cut by more than 50% from 16 business days to just seven.

WA Mines and Petroleum Minister David Michael says exploration is essential to the development of future mines.

“The [WA] Government is committed to making the approvals process as efficient as possible,” he said.

“These milestones highlight our commitment and represent meaningful initiatives that will support explorers and exploration in this State.”

Round 30 of the Exploration Incentive Scheme’s (EIS) Co-funded Drilling Program was rolled out this week.

The previous round saw interest in battery minerals exploration, with 57% of the successful 47 projects targeting these commodities, including rare earth elements, lithium and nickel cobalt.

“I am particularly proud of the contribution of the Exploration Incentive Scheme’s Co-funded Drilling Program, which has already proven its success in supporting explorers to make several significant mineral discoveries across WA,” Minister Michael said.

Funding available ranges from $40,000 to $220,000. The EIS has awarded more than $215 million since its inception in 2009.

Next month, DEMIRS will also begin the roll-out of its Resources Online digital solution for explorers to submit mining environmental applications.

Release 1 of this digital solution will also include a trial of the Eligible Mining Activity framework.

As part of this framework, mining activities that cover non-sensitive environments, that do not result in lasting environmental impacts and can be managed through standard conditions, rather than environmental officer assessments, will be fast-tracked through the system.