From the Director General
As we rapidly approach the start of a new financial year it is time again to welcome readers to the latest edition of the DG's eNews.
In this edition we take a look at some of the national and overseas delegations senior DMP staff have joined to promote the Western Australian resources industry.
Last month I attended the world's largest LNG conference held in Houston, Texas with recently appointed Mines and Petroleum Minister Bill Marmion, to promote WA's oil and gas prospects to potential investors.
The Houston visit provided an invaluable opportunity for WA to engage with the international LNG industry at the highest level, and I am pleased that the LNG18 event will come to Perth in 2016.
Earlier in the year our Petroleum Director Jeff Haworth visited a number of West Texas sites where advanced drilling technologies and hydraulic fracturing are being used to safely and effectively extract shale gas.
If exploration for shale gas proves successful in Western Australia my department is committed to ensuring the responsible and safe development of this emerging industry.
In March DMP Petroleum Executive Director Bill Tinapple highlighted WA's oil and gas exploration and development opportunities during a keynote address at the Excellence in Oil and Gas Conference in Sydney.
The conference, which attracted 600 delegates, provided an invaluable insight into where investors are looking to commence new projects.
The State's off-shore LNG industry is expected to increase significantly over the next five years, with the construction of five new projects valued around $120 billion.
Closer to home DMP has wasted no time in implementing the Reforming Environmental Regulation (RER) program, hiring two new senior staff members to assist in the implementation of the reforms.
As part of these reforms members of the public now have greater access to mining companies' detailed environmental plans, thanks to a new DMP online system.
This provides a number of benefits including improved data consistency, efficiency and transparency across the department's services. DMP has also reaffirmed its commitment to safety in the resources industry with the appointment of seven new specialist safety inspectors.
The new safety specialists take the total number of departmental inspectors to 107, including 63 mines safety inspectors, 16 petroleum safety assessors and risk analysts, and 28 dangerous goods officers.
I have also been busy visiting a number of sites in the state including Australia's largest under-construction magnetite project – Citic Pacific's Cape Preston operation, and the Tropicana gold mine joint venture where I was able to see firsthand some of the challenges faced by companies working in remote mining locations.
These projects are some of the many to come online in the next five years, with almost $167 billion worth of resource projects currently under construction or committed in WA.
I am also pleased to report that our Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) has reached another milestone, with four Indigenous students from the David Wirrpanda Foundation (DWF) commencing employment in January.
We also look at the appointment of a 35-year resources industry expert who has taken the helm at the State Government's new $7.5 million Western Australian Minerals Research Institute (WAMRI), DMP scholarship recipients, and the appointment of a liaison officer to head our new Broome office.
The DG eNews is a valuable tool for anyone interested in the future of the Western Australian mining and petroleum industry and provides updates on the latest activities of the department, so please recommend it to your industry colleagues.
Richard Sellers
Director General, Department of Mines and Petroleum
Houston visit readies WA for largest LNG conference
DMP Director General Richard Sellers, right, at LNG17.
Western Australia will host the world's largest LNG conference after hosting duties for the 2016 event were passed onto Mines and Petroleum Minister Bill Marmion during this year's event in Texas last month.
The LNG18 Perth conference is expected to attract 5000 delegates and exhibitors to WA and inject more than $50 million into the State's economy – making it the largest such event in WA history.
Department of Mines and Petroleum Director General Richard Sellers accompanied Minister Marmion to Houston to attend LNG17 and promote WA's oil and gas prospects to potential investors.
"The Houston visit provided an invaluable opportunity for WA to engage with the international LNG industry at the highest level," Mr Sellers said.
"Our meetings with several major oil and gas companies, including Chevron and Hess, included discussions relating to emerging LNG trends and WA's role as a global energy supplier for the Asian market.
"With Australia positioned to become the world's largest LNG exporter by 2017, many of the companies already had a strong knowledge of WA and expressed interest in future business opportunities."
Perth is to host the LNG18 event in 2016.
The trip also saw Mr Sellers visit Halliburton to discuss the technologies used in the US for shale gas extraction.
"At the moment WA's shale gas industry is in the early exploration phase so the meeting with Halliburton provided a great opportunity to get up close and personal with the production activity in the US," Mr Sellers said.
Already showing strong interest, 60 per cent of the delegates who attended LNG17 in Texas have signed up to attend the Perth LNG18 event in 2016.
Perth is no stranger to catering for significant, large events, having successfully hosted the 5000-delegate Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in 2011.
"Planning has been underway for some time and will ramp up considerably as we move forward," Mr Marmion said.
"We are working with industry and government agencies Australia-wide to make sure we are conference-ready."
Learning from US gas industry
DMP Petroleum Director Jeff Haworth, centre, in Texas.
As Western Australia's emerging unconventional gas sector gains momentum, a leading petroleum expert from DMP recently toured key shale gas sites in the United States.
DMP Petroleum Director Jeff Haworth visited a number of West Texas sites including BHP Billiton and ConocoPhillips – where advanced drilling technologies and hydraulic fracturing was being used to safely and effectively extract shale gas.
Jeff said the visit was an invaluable opportunity to learn from an advanced jurisdiction like the US, as WA's shale and tight gas industry was currently in the early exploration phase.
"At the moment there isn't any shale gas exploration in WA and the department hasn't received any applications for future activities – so this tour was really about getting up close and personal with the activity," he said.
"After all, with WA's domestic gas supply anticipated to fall below demand by as early as 2016, it is important we explore alternative energy solutions to ensure WA's energy security for future generations.
"If exploration for shale gas proves successful, DMP is committed to ensuring the responsible and safe development of this emerging industry."
Jeff also presented to the 18,000-strong crowd at the 2013 Winter North American Petroleum Expo in Houston Texas and attended the Fifth Energy Conference in the same State.
"The events allowed me to promote Western Australia's shale gas resources and gain an understanding of the experienced operators that are interested in investing in our petroleum industry," he said.
"I was also able to have some discussions with U.S manufacturers and service providers, to encourage investment."
The U.S is ranked second in the world for shale gas, with an estimated resource of 862 trillion cubic feet.
Australia is ranked sixth in the world, with the majority of shale gas resources, totalling 288 trillion cubic feet, found in Western Australia.
Spotlight on WA petroleum
DMP Petroleum Executive Director, Bill Tinapple.
During March WA's top petroleum regulation boss put the State's petroleum sector on the national stage at a key industry event.
DMP Petroleum Executive Director, Bill Tinapple highlighted WA's oil and gas exploration and development opportunities during a keynote address at the Excellence in Oil and Gas Conference in Sydney.
The conference, which attracted 600 delegates, provided an invaluable insight into where investors are looking to commence new projects.
Mr Tinapple said he used the opportunity to promote Western Australia's rich petroleum exploration history, to reinforce potential and current investors' confidence.
"I also spoke about how WA's off-shore LNG industry is expected to increase significantly in the next five years, with the construction of five new projects valued around $120 billion," Mr Tinapple said.
"This increase will provide an excellent opportunity for companies to invest, particularly for farm-in and equipment companies."
Western Australian shale oil and gas resources were also touted as potential investment opportunities, Mr Tinapple added.
"With crude oil and condensate supply expected to decrease significantly during the next few years, shale oil and liquids rich in shale gas could offer an alternative solution for domestic demand," he said.
"Additionally, Western Australia also has an estimated 300 trillion cubic feet of untouched shale and tight gas resources in the Canning and northern Perth basins.
"While these resources are currently in the exploration stage, they could potentially form part of WA's long-term resources development and provide secure energy supplies."
Environmental transparency boosted
Members of the public now have greater access to mining companies' detailed environmental plans, thanks to a new Department of Mines and Petroleum (DMP) online system.
DMP Director General Richard Sellers said the online system for submitting Annual Environmental Reports (AERs) to the department provided a number of benefits.
"This system will improve data consistency, efficiency and transparency across the department's services," Mr Sellers said.
"It will also provide the public with easily accessible information on how resource companies are responding to their environmental responsibilities."
Annual Environmental Reports detail a company's mining activities, as well as disturbance areas and completed environmental rehabilitation works.
While the department released the online system in December last year, it would become compulsory from July 1.
There are already more than 100 registered industry users of the system.
While increasing transparency, this system also provides a number of other benefits.
For instance, the information submitted in online AERs can be used in other submissions, such as future AERs, Programmes of Work and Mining Rehabilitation Fund assessments.
Fact File
- Since introducing online lodgement and approvals tracking in 2010, more than 90% of DMP's key approval processes are now available online
- In 2012 the department received more than 7000 mining, petroleum and geothermal applications
- The average new mining project in WA takes just over two years to reach full approval
- To view Annual Environmental Reports please go to our website
Senior staff get Environmental reforms underway
Dr Marnie Leybourne and Steve Tantala joined DMP earlier this
year in the Environmental Division as part of the Reforming
Environmental Regulation (RER) program.
The Department of Mines and Petroleum (DMP) has wasted no time in implementing the Reforming Environmental Regulation (RER) program, hiring two new senior staff members.
Dr Marnie Leybourne and Steve Tantala joined DMP earlier this year in the Environmental Division.
Dr Leybourne, who has worked for the State Government for 17 years and was previously an Executive Director at the Department of Water, has been appointed General Manager Administration and Reform, while Mr Tantala comes to the department with 12 years' experience working for the Commonwealth Government, and has been appointed Director of Operations.
"I'm looking forward to successfully combining the new risk-based and outcomes focused approach to environmental regulations with the traditional approaches that both industry and DMP have to date," Dr Leybourne said.
Mr Tantala moved to Perth from his home city of Canberra in January, just before taking up his new position at the department.
He previously worked for the Commonwealth in the regulation division of the resources, energy and tourism department.
Mr Tantala said he was looking forward to the challenges this new role will present.
"Once we fully implement the reforms, I hope to give staff the assistance they need to deal with the pressures and day-to-day functions as environmental assessors," he said.
"I'm looking forward to implementing risk based and outcomes focused regulations to free up some of our environmental officers – hopefully getting them out of the office and into the field more often."
The RER program will help deliver greater certainty, confidence and clarity surrounding the department's environmental regulatory system for all stakeholders.
Importantly, the reforms will strengthen the enforcement capacity of the department.
For more information on the RER initiative, please visit the DMP website.
Additional resources safety experts for WA
The Department of Mines and Petroleum (DMP) has reaffirmed its commitment to safety in the resources industry, with the appointment of seven new specialist safety inspectors.
The new safety specialists take the total number of DMP inspectors to 107, including 63 mines safety inspectors, 16 petroleum safety assessors and risk analysts, and 28 dangerous goods officers.
DMP Director General Richard Sellers said the department had boosted its safety inspector workforce by nearly 30 per cent since late 2009, when the Reform and Development at Resources Safety (RADARS) commenced.
.RADARS was established following a series of independent inquiries and mining deaths.
"RADARS continues to ensure high safety standards are being maintained at WA's 975 operational mines and 65 petroleum sites," Mr Sellers said.
He said the new expert safety inspectors were crucial to the ongoing health and wellbeing of the State's 98,000 resources workforce.
"Last year, for the first time in a century, there wasn't a single mining death in Western Australia – that's a remarkable achievement and one that we would like to see repeated in 2013," Mr Sellers said.
The new safety specialists share structural, mechanical, electrical, mining and petroleum engineering expertise.
Four have been appointed to the mines safety inspectorate team, which carries out 2400 site inspections a year.
Three are working as petroleum safety assessors and risk analysts, performing safety documentation assessments, inspections, audits and investigations related to oil and gas operations.
The new personnel are now undertaking a rigorous six month training course, which includes familiarisation with WA safety regulation, as well as stakeholder liaison, four-wheel-drive and helicopter survival courses.
Iron magnetite project comes under DMP regulation
DMP Director General Richard Sellers with Citic Pacific Port
Operations Director Ralph Larbey and State Mining Engineer
Simon Ridge.
The head of the Department of Mines and Petroleum (DMP) visited WA's Northwest, after Australia's largest under-construction magnetite project moved from WorkSafe to DMP control.
DMP Director General Richard Sellers, who was joined by Resources Safety Executive Director Simon Ridge and Principal Health Advisor Mike Rowe, toured Citic Pacific's Sino Iron magnetite project.
"I accepted an invitation to tour the Cape Preston site, as the department now regulates all of the construction sites at the project, as well as mine operations, the processing plant and port," Mr Sellers said.
Citic Pacific has produced its first magnetite concentrate at the project, which features a 450 megawatt combined cycle gas fired power station, 51 gigalitre desalination plant and a new port facility to export the product.
The magnetite concentrate is piped as slurry to the port, where it is dried and shipped to steel mills in China.
Mr Sellers said the project was one of many to come online in the next five years, with almost $167 billion worth of resource projects currently under construction or committed in WA.
"Our project pipeline is being fuelled by strong from Asia, while new capital expenditure by the State's mining industry has grown at an annual rate of 26 per cent during the five years to 2011-12," Mr Sellers said.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics' private new capital expenditure figures indicate the State's mining industry invested a record $45 billion in 2011-12.
"This represents a substantial 58 per cent increase compared to 2010-11, highlighting the significant levels of resource construction activity in Western Australia, which continues to be a major driver of the economy," Mr Sellers said.
CorpEx visit Tropicana gold mine
DMP Director General Richard Sellers during a site visit to the
Tropicana gold mine.
The Department of Mines and Petroleum (DMP) board recently visited the Tropicana gold mine in the Goldfields, to gain an insight into some of the challenges faced by companies working in remote mining locations.
DMP Director General Richard Sellers was accompanied by Deputy Director General Tim Griffin, Mineral Titles Executive Director Ivor Roberts, Environment Executive Director Phil Gorey and Legislation and Compliance Project Manager Mike Freeman.
"As the regulator of WA's resources industry, visits to sites like this give senior DMP staff an opportunity to see first-hand the enormity of operations in extremely remote areas," Mr Sellers said.
"It is anticipated that additional ore deposits will be located in this prospective Albany-Fraser Orogen – which is an emerging gold province.
"As such, this site visit was very useful to DMP, especially as Tropicana is considered to be a test case for mining and infrastructure development issues."
Located 340km east-northeast of Kalgoorlie, halfway to the South Australian border, the Tropicana site was discovered in 2005 and approved in 2010, with construction almost 80 per cent completed.
Some of the infrastructure challenges included the completion of a 220km road from Pinjin to the site, an airstrip and an 800-room accommodation village.
The mine plant includes two-stage crushing, high-pressure grinding rolls, ball mill and a conventional carbon-in-leach extraction plant.
It is expected that the first gold pour will commence in the final quarter of this year, with an annual production of 470,000 to 490,000 ounces per annum in the first three years.
With an operational mine life of more than 10 years, Tropicana has employed more than 550 workers during the construction stage and will employ 450 staff when operational.
The mine will operate initially as a conventional open cut site, with the potential for future underground mining.
"As a potential new gold province, the Albany-Fraser Orogen is now a high priority exploration target," Mr Sellers said.
Sirius Resources' exciting new Nova nickel discovery is located 300km southwest of Tropicana, and it is speculated that more gold-anomalous areas will be located.
The Tropicana gold mine is a joint venture between AngloGold Ashanti Australia Ltd (70%) and Independence Group NL (30%).
Indigenous students commence with DMP
Doreen Garlett and Delila Bonney commenced employment
with DMP earlier this year as part of the department's Indigenous
Employment Strategy (IES).
The Department of Mines and Petroleum's (DMP) Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) has reached another milestone, with four Indigenous students from the David Wirrpanda Foundation (DWF) commencing employment in January.
The four new departmental employees are all graduates of the DWF Solid Futures Program and attended the department's annual DWF Open Day last year.
The open day provided the students with the opportunity to meet and hear from the DMP Director General Richard Sellers on the resources industry and the important role the department plays.
The students also had the opportunity to shadow a DMP employee, to gain insight into the different career opportunities available at the department.
Following the successful open day, the DWF students were then invited to express an interest in the entry level positions commencing this year.
Four successful candidates were identified through the selection process, with positions taken up in Communications and Marketing, Mineral Titles, Records and the Core Library as Level 1 officers.
"Providing opportunities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people will help the department achieve its reconciliation visions as outlined in the DMP Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) launched last year," Mr Sellers said.
The newly developed plan, in partnership with Reconciliation Australia, aims to provide employment and training opportunities for Indigenous Australians and increase Indigenous representation at DMP.
"We want to provide opportunities for Indigenous people to fill existing vacant positions within DMP, including areas specific to Indigenous development," Mr Sellers said.
Since January 2012, the department has filled 11 positions under its Indigenous Employment Strategy.
For further information on the department's Indigenous Employment Strategy or the Reconciliation Action Plan, please contact Corelee Gillespie on 9222 0502 or Corelee.Gillespie@dmp.wa.gov.au
DMP awarded for Excellence and Accountability in Annual Reporting
Richard Sellers accepted the Public Sector Commission
Award for Good Governance
DMP walked away with two prestigious awards for the Department of Mines and Petroleum Annual Report 2011/12 at the 28th Annual WS Lonnie Awards, held earlier this year.
The primary vehicle for accountability in the Public Sector is the way agencies report their performance. The WS Lonnie Awards recognise the importance of annual reports being accountable and transparent in a succinct and independent way.
At this year's ceremony, the department was recognised for the excellence of its annual reporting, by bringing home a major award and a specialist award, as well as a special commendation.
In the major awards category, the department was awarded the Margaret McAleer Special Commendation for an outstanding report that establishes a benchmark to which others should aspire.
In the specialist category, the department was awarded the Public Sector Commission Award for Good Governance, in recognition of how the annual report reflects DMP's strategic planning and governance working at every level of management and decision-making.
The judges noted that the department's 2011/12 Annual Report was an exemplary report and worthy of imitation.
DMP staff Ihithisham Kamardeen, David Norris and Krisha Rowcroft
with DG Richard Sellers.
Also in the specialist awards category, the department was commended by the State Records Commission for excellence in compliance reporting.
Richard Sellers and Krisha Rowcroft were delighted to accept the awards on behalf of the department.
The annual report is available online at 2011-12 Annual Report.
All State Government agency annual reports are assessed each year.
Improvements to GeoVIEW.WA
The latest upgrades to web application GeoVIEW.WA have been well received by industry according to Department of Mines and Petroleum (DMP) Executive Director of the Geological Survey of WA (GSWA) Dr Rick Rogerson.
"While GSWA customers have been able to use the application for the past 10 years to view and query a number of integrated geoscientific and related datasets via most web browsers, the recent improvements have been met with positive feedback from industry," Dr Rogerson said.
GeoVIEW.WA has been rebuilt using Geocortex and Silverlight technology, new functionality has been added, along with more standard queries, and some old functionality revived.
The industry web application has been built using Latitude Geographic's emerging application development framework called Geocortex Essentials.
"This reduces the application development timeframe, allowing GSWA to develop business specific modules for GeoVIEW.WA, and choose the viewing technology that best suits the organisation's skillset," Dr Rogerson said.
The GeoVIEW.WA interface uses the Geocortex Silverlight viewer that runs in popular web browsers like Microsoft, Mozilla Firefox, and Google Chrome.
In addition to tools that zoom in, zoom out, pan, query, and provide 'information' and the ability to 'drill down' to display the textual data in the viewing window, GeoVIEW.WA now provides a host of additional features.
These include integration with Google Maps, so users can open a Google Map view of the area they are viewing, improved standard queries to find MINEDEX or geochronology points for a given region and data extraction where users can extract multiple layers of information.
Other improvements are improved printing quality, the ability to produce a report of mineral exploration reports over an area, and being able to draw points, lines and shapes on the screen and add comment.
Areas and distances can now be measured by drawing a shape or segmented line as well as being able to change the units of measurement.
Other features include:
- Coordinate entry — enter known coordinates to find a feature
- Place a callout on the map for every point you click
- Add data — users can view CSV files and shapefiles using the new GeoVIEW.WA
- Global search — you can type in the name of a feature to search for it on the map
- Share your Map — email your colleague a link to your map.
Additionally more data has been added to GeoVIEW.WA such as ASTER and a shaded relief imager and major projects and operating mines are now two new layers.
GeoVIEW.WA can be found at the Western Australian Department of Mines and Petroleum website by clicking on 'Access to GeoVIEW.WA'.
Media contact: Peter Lewis Ph 9222 3572
DMP local officer for the Kimberley
New Broome DMP liaison officer, Brian Lloyd.
The Department of Mines and Petroleum (DMP) will once again have a regional presence in the Kimberley with the announcement of a new Broome office and new liaison officer, Brian Lloyd.
Mr Lloyd, who has spent many years working for government agencies in regional areas, said he is looking forward to being the local point of contact for resource exploration and development enquiries.
"Having lived in Broome for a number of years now, I have a genuine empathy for the challenges regional communities face," Mr Lloyd said.
"Through my new role I hope to assist with some of those challenges by providing local advice and departmental services to a wide variety of resource industry stakeholders including land users, the community, industry and other government agencies.
Mr Lloyd's key responsibilities will include facilitating communication and dispute resolution, providing advice on legislation, assisting with Native title enquires and coordinating heritage surveys.
"Being based in Broome, I will also represent the department at regional working groups and committees," Mr Lloyd said.
Before joining DMP, Mr Lloyd worked out of Broome as a liaison officer for the Department of Regional Development and Lands assisting the pastoral industry in the Kimberley and Pilbara.
Mr Lloyd has also previously worked for the Department of Agriculture in Katanning.
DMP Mineral Titles Executive Director, Ivor Roberts said Mr Lloyd will be an invaluable contact for the Kimberley region.
"As the regulator, it is important the department has a presence in the Kimberley to ensure current and future resource development proposals are undertaken responsibly and in consultation with the community," Dr Roberts said.
"We are confident Brian can fulfill this role successfully given his vast liaison experience and commitment to servicing regional areas."
Mr Lloyd commenced his new role during April based at the newly co-located Department of Planning / Department of Mines and Petroleum Broome office, off Shiba Lane.
New executive to drive minerals research
Mark Woffenden has been appointed to the new CEO role
at WAMRI.
A 35-year resources industry expert has taken the helm at the State Government’s new $7.5 million Western Australian Minerals Research Institute (WAMRI).
Mark Woffenden, the outgoing head of Curtin University’s Resources and Chemistry Precinct, has been appointed to the new CEO role at WAMRI.
DMP Director General Richard Sellers said Mr Woffenden previously held positions with major resources’ players Rio Tinto, Hamersley Iron, Comalco Aluminium and KPMG Consulting.
“I am confident he will be able to promote the long-term international competitiveness of WA’s minerals industry,” Mr Sellers said.
WAMRI will develop new mineral discovery, extraction and recovery technologies to drive WA minerals research helping previously uneconomic deposits become attractive to industry.
Mr Woffenden’s appointment was endorsed by the institute’s board of directors, which includes BHP Billiton senior research and development manager, Peter Lilly; Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association chief operating officer for Western Region, Stedman Ellis; Rio Tinto Innovation general manager Andrew Shook; Resource Capital Funds managing partner James McClements and Phil Lockyer, director of Phil Lockyer and Associates.
University of WA (UWA) Vice-Chancellor Professor Paul Johnson welcomed the announcement of the new institute and said the university looked forward to working closely with the new institute on expanding the tertiary institution’s contribution to world-class mineral research.
“It will directly benefit Western Australia and the nation through the advancement of knowledge and education in an area vital to the Australian economy and the nation’s future,” Professor Johnson said.
UWA Energy and Minerals Institute Director Tim Shanahan said WAMRI would foster improved exploration techniques and promote new processing methods for WA’s minerals industry.
“We greatly appreciate the State Government’s support for bringing government, researchers and industry together for minerals research and the benefit of Western Australia,” Mr Shanahan said.
Scholarships support future mining leaders
The Department of Mines and Petroleum (DMP) early this year reaffirmed its commitment to State skills development in Western Australia, announcing two mining engineering and metallurgy scholarships.
The scholarships assist the winners to undertake their studies across a four-year period at Curtin University's Western Australian School of Mines (WASM) Kalgoorlie-Boulder campus.
"I congratulate Calum Hill and Enrik Mundt being selected as the recipients of the Department of Mines and Petroleum's 2013 scholarships, valued at $24,000 each," Director General Richard Sellers said.
"These scholarships will provide a unique opportunity for them to study at one of the world's finest mining and minerals education facilities in Kalgoorlie-Boulder," Mr Sellers said.
"It's important to harness and support these kinds of educational pursuits, as today's students will be tomorrow's leaders."
Hill and Mundt join six other scholarship recipients already undertaking their studies at the WASM in Kalgoorlie.
The scholarships were introduced in 1985, in order to attract high-calibre WASM students.
2013 Golden Gecko Awards
The entry period for this year's 22nd Annual Golden Gecko Awards has now closed.
There are seven entries that will be assessed to determine their eligibility, with project locations including the Perth Basin, Mid West, Forrestania, Pilbara, Kimberley, and the South West.
The Department of Mines and Petroleum (DMP) Director General Richard Sellers said the prestigious awards recognise innovation in environmental leadership and performance in the Western Australian resources and services sector.
"The Golden Geckos allow companies to share their experiences with government, industry and the community," Mr Sellers said.
"Receiving a Golden Gecko Award also helps to build the reputation of being a responsible corporate citizen with a responsible attitude to the environment."
In 2012, Pendoley Environmental Pty Ltd received a Golden Gecko Award for Environmental Excellence. Argyle Diamonds Limited was awarded a Certificate of Merit.
A ceremony will be held later in the year to present the awards.