Guidance about small mines safety – Open pits and quarries

The Mines Safety and Inspection Act 1994 (the MSI Act) and Mines Safety and Inspection Regulations 1995 apply to some quarries and sand pits that produce product for sale or commercial use in Western Australia even where they’re exempt from the Mining Act 1978. Contact the mines safety inspectorate to determine whether your quarry or pit is subject to the Act.

If the MSI Act and associated regulations do apply and the operation is considered to be a small mine, the operation must:

• have an approved project management plan
• have an acknowledged heath and hygiene management plan
• notify the Department’s District Inspector of Mines before commencing, recommencing, suspending or abandoning any part of your operation
• appoint key personnel such as the Registered Manager and Quarry Manager.

Having an extractive industries license doesn’t negate the above requirements, though depending on the location of the quarry or pit, an extractive industry licence may also be required. Contact the local council or shire for information about any licensing requirements.

The summaries of legislation provided here provide general guidance only and are not a substitute for reading the MSI Act and regulations.

Under the Mines Safety and Inspection Act 1994 (the Act) and associated regulations, an operator must prepare a project management plan (PMP) before any mining operation commences. This must be submitted for assessment to the State Mining Engineer, and approved prior to start-up.

The PMP is used to identify potential major safety risks for the proposed operations, and acts as a starting point for developing ongoing safety management strategies to address those risks. A guide and checklist are available below to help with the submission process.

The Safety Regulation System (SRS) is the preferred method of communication between the Department and industry, and all forms of communication can be found under the single SRS umbrella. Before you can access SRS, you need to register to use the system. Once this is done, you will receive an account number which you will then use to access SRS.

Before operations begin at a mine, the principal employer must appoint a Registered Manager for the mine.

Notifying appointment of Registered Manager details the process of notifying the Department regarding the appointment of the Registered Manager.

Where quarry operations take place, the Principal Employer must appoint a Quarry Manager to take control of a quarry or sand pit. The Department should be notified by the Principal Employer or Registered Manager.

Where the Quarry Manager is subject to a commute schedule, an Alternate Quarry Manager must be appointed.

Where the Quarry Manager or Alternate Quarry Manager is absent from duties, a deputy must be appointed for the duration of the absence. There is no requirement for the Department to be informed, however the appointments need to be noted in the Mine Record Book.

Statutory qualifications for Quarry Managers are prescribed in regulation 2.22. In addition, they need to be trained and assessed as competent to carry out the work. As a minimum, the Quarry Manager should be familiar with the MSI Act and regulations, the risk management approach and the hazards relevant to the operation, and have management and leadership skills.

Quarry Managers need to apply for a certificate of competency. The following forms and fact sheets will assist with applications.

The Department has developed information sheets containing answers to

It is acknowledged that a small mine such as a sand or limestone operation does not have the same risk profile as large mines such as in the gold or iron ore sectors, and therefore an agreement may be sought from the District Inspector or State Mining Engineer to operate the mine without appointing a Quarry Manager. A pro forma is available below to help with the application process.

A Mine Record Book (see sections 23 and 89 of the Act) is required to be kept at all mines in Western Australia. The record book is required to be a hard-covered book with ruled lines and its pages consecutively numbered. All entries should be made in ink, and dated and signed, with the name of the person making the entry clearly identified.

The Mine Record Book is used by the relevant company and mines inspectors for recording information such as:

• details and results of an inspection by a mines inspector
• details of improvement, prohibition and provisional improvement notices
• statutory appointments and rosters, and other management appointments
• details of incidents and accidents.

The Registered Manager or Quarry Manager is responsible for ensuring that any defects entered in the record book are rectified.

The Mine Record Book and other log books should be maintained for the duration of the mining operation and six years after its suspension or abandonment, as per section 89 of the Act. If the Principal Employer appears likely to go into liquidation or receivership, steps must be taken to ensure that such books are kept safely for that period.

The District Inspector of Mines must be notified before an operation commences or recommences, or is suspended or closed. A letter template is available below to help with the notification process. The letter should be completed and sent to the District Inspector of Mines for acknowledgement and recording.

A variety of publications and other guidance material relating to mining safety and health is available in the mining safety and health publications section.

The following guidance material may be useful for understanding your duty of care.

The small mines checklist available below will assist small mines when setting up a safe system of work. It is provided for general information only, and operators must develop their own site-specific risk assessment tools.

The audit tools below can be used to ensure the appropriate safety standards have been implemented and at regular intervals or when changes are made to confirm whether or not the management systems are still adequate.

Legally, an incident or accident at a small quarry or sand pit may need to be reported to the Department’s Mines Safety Directorate. For further information please see the mining accident and incidents section.

If the incident or accident involves explosives or dangerous goods, it may also need to be reported to the Department’s Dangerous Goods Directorate. For more information please see the dangerous goods accident and incidents section.

Further information on reporting requirements is available below.

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