A mining proposal must be submitted for written approval by the Executive Director of the Resources and Compliance Branch of the Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety (DMIRS) prior to the commencement of mining operations.
Submit a mining proposal via EARS Online
View approved mining proposals via MINEDEX (Mines and minerals deposits)
Mining proposals must be submitted electronically via EARS (Environmental Assessment and Regulatory System).
A mining proposal is a document prepared by the proponent or tenement holder, containing detailed information on identification, evaluation and management of significant environmental impacts relevant to the proposed mining operations. Mining proposals must be prepared in accordance with the guideline for Mining Proposals in Western Australia.
The Department has released a new Guideline for Mining Proposals to implement a risk and outcome based regulatory framework. The new Guideline also makes the transition to the ‘One Mining Proposal’ model; where each mine site (‘Environmental Group Site) has only one mining proposal that is updated over time as required.
Given these significant changes, the Department has allowed for a transition period for new and existing mine sites to use either the new 2016 Guideline or the 2006 Guideline. New mine sites have the option of submitting their mining proposal in accordance with the 2016 guideline or the 2006 Guideline for the remainder of 2016. Existing sites will have six years to transition to the new Guideline.
A detailed explanation of the transition arrangements is contained within the below Transition FAQ document. A general FAQ document is also provided.
Sterilisation report / Backfilling Pits - Sterilisation Report - This report must be completed where any resources are likely to be sterilised by backfilling and submitted to Geological Survey.
Mining Lease Applications
Hard copy Mining Proposals will not be accepted unless submitted in support of a Mining Lease Application (MLA) to the Resources Tenure.
Project Management Plans - Prior to commencment of mining operations, an approved project management plan (PMP) must be in place. See What is a project management plan? for more information.