A mining proposal must be submitted for written approval by the Executive Director of the Resource and Environmental Compliance Branch of the Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety (DMIRS) prior to the commencement of mining operations.
As of 3 March 2020 all applications must be submitted either in accordance with Part 1 (risk and outcomes based) or Part 2 (small mining operations) of the Statutory Guidelines, which clarify the mandatory requirements for these applications. The 2020 Statutory Guidelines supersede the Guidelines for Mining Proposals in Western Australia (2006), Guidelines for Mining Proposals in Western Australia (2016) and Guidelines for Mine Closure Plans (2015). For further information please see the information sheet.
All mining proposals must include a Mine Closure Plan. Please refer to Prepare a mine closure plan for more information.
Approved mining proposals will be made available to the public via the Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety (DMIRS) website. If a mining proposal includes confidential information e.g. commercially sensitive or intellectual property, this information should be removed from the main mining proposal document and submitted in a separate document that is clearly marked confidential. DMIRS will assess your mining proposal based on information within both documents, but will not make any confidential information publicly available provided it is clearly identified.
Mining proposals must be submitted electronically via EARS Online (Environmental Assessment and Regulatory System).
Approved mining proposals are made publicly available, view them via MINEDEX (Mines and minerals deposits)
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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.