Question regarding the number, rehabilitation status, and rehabilitation plans for abandoned quarries in the Perth hills and scarp regions. The Minister's response indicates a lack of specific data due to undefined areas but points to publicly available resources and recent legislative efforts to address mine rehabilitation.

AnsweredQoN 5845Legislative Council
Asked
14 August 2012
Portfolio
Mines and Petroleum

QuestionView source ↗

I refer to abandoned quarries in the Perth hills and scarp regions, and I ask —
(1) Can the Minister specify the number of abandoned quarries in these regions?
(2) How many abandoned sites have been rehabilitated in accordance with their Rehabilitation Plan? Please list the quarries.
(3) How many abandoned sites have not yet been rehabilitated in accordance with their Rehabilitation Plan?
(4) How many abandoned sites do not have a Rehabilitation Plan?

AnswerView source ↗

Answered
11 September 2012
Responded by
Minister for Mines and Petroleum
Response time
28 days
(1)-(4) The areas referred to in the question are not defined, and it is therefore not possible to provide an accurate answer. However, the Department of Mines and Petroleum publishes on its website a list of mapped abandoned mines throughout the State.  The 'Abandoned Mine Features' data is available for download from the Department's online Minedex system (
www.dmp.wa.gov.au/minedex
) and includes the coordinate locations.
Also, in 2010 the Government introduced legalisation to require all mines (including quarries) on
Mining Act 1978
tenure to develop a Mine Closure Plan in accordance with Guidelines jointly published by the Office of the Environmental Protection Authority and the Department of Mines and Petroleum. Since 2011 this requirement is being implemented across Western Australia.  However, for most mines which were abandoned before this time there was not a requirement to have an approved Mine Closure Plan.
This Government has sought to improve mine closure performance in Western Australia through the recent introduction of the newMining Rehabilitation Fund Bill 2012 into Parliament which will provide funding for the rehabilitation of abandoned mines.
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