The Western Australian Government has been expediting mining exploration approvals in a bid to streamline the process and provide incentives to explorers.
The Department of Energy, Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety (DEMIRS) has finalised 313 ‘Program of Work’ applications last month, significantly reducing the backlog of applications awaiting assessment.
This has cut the wait times for applications being assessed by more than 50 per cent from 16 business days to seven business days.
A Program of Work is required before exploration activities can begin.
DEMIRS will next month begin the rollout of its Resources Online digital solution for submitting mining environmental applications.
The platform aims to simplify and streamline the approvals process and improve the customer experience, data collection and business intelligence.
Resources Online will also include a trial of the Eligible Mining Activity (EMA) framework, which provides an alternative form of authorisation to undertake certain minimal ground disturbance activities and can be managed without the need for assessment by an environmental officer.
As part of the trial, exploration applications that meet the criteria will be fast-tracked through the system.
The WA Government will also open round 30 of the successful Exploration Incentive Scheme’s (EIS) co-funded drilling program.
Previous round of the program saw continued interest in battery minerals exploration, with 57 per cent of the successful 47 projects targeting these commodities, including rare earth elements lithium and nickel-cobalt.
Funding ranges from $40,000 to $220,000. The EIS has awarded more than $215 million since its inception in 2009.
“Exploration is essential to the development of future mines in WA and the Government is committed to making the approvals process as efficient as possible,” WA Minister for Mines and Petroleum David Michael said.
“These milestones highlight our commitment and represent meaningful initiatives that will support explorers and exploration in this state.
“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.”
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