The Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety (DMIRS) has commenced the Abandoned Mines Program School Shaft Project to protect the safety of children in three regional schools located near abandoned mine shafts in Western Australia.
The first stage of the project will record and assess the safety risks of mine shafts located within one kilometre of schools in Cue, Marble Bar and Yalgoo and prioritise managing and rehabilitating the features.
Local Indigenous company Gee Gie has been contracted to assist DMIRS on the project’s safe and respectful implementation on country and the protection of future generations.
Gee Gie will engage with Traditional Owners and the communities to communicate the nature and importance of the work.
The Abandoned Mines Program works to initiate and implement projects to rehabilitate abandoned mine features in WA.
New projects are prioritised following a risk assessment process that examines the significant risks to the community and the environment, and the potential value associated with a site is identified and protected.
The School Shaft Project is funded through the Mining Rehabilitation Fund (MRF) a pooled fund to which mining operators in WA contribute.
Money in the principal fund can be used to rehabilitate abandoned mine sites where tenement holders, who have contributed to the fund, fail to meet their rehabilitation obligations.
The Abandoned Mines Program is guided by the Abandoned Mines Policy which provides a framework for the prioritisation and subsequent rehabilitation of abandoned mine sites.
The policy requires that sites are prioritised with consideration to significant risks to the community and the environment and that the potential value associated with a site is identified and protected.
This project comes the same week the WA Government’s new Work Health and Safety laws were implemented, which will see further protections for WA workers.
“The new laws reflect the social obligations and responsibilities the community expects from companies and their senior management,” Industrial Relations Minister Bill Johnston said.
“Thank you to the Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety and the WA Commission for Occupational Safety and Health for all their hard work on developing these new laws.
“Thanks also to the many stakeholders who significantly contributed including employers, unions and workplace safety advocates – particularly Regan Ballantine.
“The reforms that come with the new laws will most certainly further enhance workplace safety in Western Australia.”
Chamber of Minerals and Energy of WA (CME) chief executive officer Paul Everingham congratulated the WA Government on the introduction of the state’s new Work Health and Safety laws.
“A lot of hard work has gone into these laws, with the pathway to today involving significant collaborative effort between government, unions, industry and many others,” he said.
“WA’s mining and resources sector puts health and safety at the forefront of all that it does, and we welcome these modernised laws that align our State with the majority of the country.
“It’s particularly pleasing to see psychosocial health given explicit consideration within the new laws, which is a strong focus for CME and our members.”