Under changes introduced to the Mining Act 1978, tenement holders can seek authorisation to undertake certain minimal disturbance exploration or prospecting activities by serving an Eligible Mining Activity (EMA) notice to the Department of Mines, Petroleum and Exploration (DMPE).
Activities can commence once an EMA Notice has been successfully submitted to DMPE, giving tenement holders an alternative to the Programme of Work process. The requirements for submitting and undertaking EMAs are set out in the Mining Regulations 1981 and summarised below.
What is an EMA?
For an activity to be considered an EMA, it must meet the following criteria.
- Activity type
- Drilling and activities associated with drilling including drill pads and sumps.
- Excavations (including scrape and detect operations, costeans and test pits) to a maximum depth of 4 metres.
- Access tracks to support any of the above activities.
- Activity Size
- An EMA notice may contain a number of eligible activities (such as drilling and excavations), however cumulatively, the size of these activities cannot exceed two ha) per EMA notice.
- Excavation Tonnage limit
- When an EMA notice contains excavations, the maximum quantity of material that can be disturbed per EMA Notice is 1000 tonnes.
Number of EMA Notices per tenement
A mining tenement may only have two EMA notices active on the tenement at any one time (active means that rehabilitation has not been completed and a completion notice has not been submitted).
A mining tenement may also only have 5 EMA notices served on the tenement per financial year. Once this limit is reached, exploration or prospecting activities must be applied for using a Programme of Work.
EMA Conditions
When undertaking activities authorised under an EMA Notice, there are a number of conditions that applicants need to be aware of. Applicants:
- must not damage or destroy riparian vegetation (the distinctive vegetation associated with a wetland or watercourse).
- must not damage or destroy trees that have a trunk diameter of 30cm or more at a height of 1.3 m above ground level.
- must, in descending order of priority:
- Avoid clearing native vegetation.
- Minimise the amount of native vegetation cleared.
- Reduce the impact of clearing on any environmental value.
In addition to these requirements, there are a number of other work management and rehabilitation conditions that apply to EMAs. These are similar to existing conditions for exploration and prospecting activities, but applicants must read their EMA Notice carefully to ensure they are aware of all requirements.
Excluded areas
There are areas throughout the state where EMA notices cannot be lodged, including but not limited to areas of environmental sensitivities, Reserves and freehold land. The EMA excluded layer can be seen in Tengraph, and Resources Online will alert applicants if tenements are located within the Excluded Area.
For exploration activities within the excluded area, applicants are still able to submit a Programme of Work for assessment by DMPE.
Submitting an EMA notice
EMA Notices must be submitted to the department via Resources Online prior to undertaking activities. Once an EMA Notice has been submitted successfully, activities can commence.
EMA notices do not authorise activities and/or impacts under other legislation. Other approvals may still be needed (e.g. excess tonnage, heritage, etc.) and it remains the tenement holder’s responsibility to be aware of all other requirements associated with undertaking the activity.
Rehabilitation and Completion Obligations
All ground disturbance resulting from an EMA must be rehabilitated within 12 months. Once rehabilitation is complete, holders must submit a completion notice within three months to DMPE via Resources Online. An EMA is not considered complete until the rehabilitation is finished, and a Completion Notice is submitted to the department via Resources Online.
Rehabilitation Guidance for Exploration and Prospecting
Exploration and Prospecting Rehabilitation Guidance
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