Resources Victoria, DEECA Regions and Parks Victoria are working in partnership to help improve emergency responses in some of the most remote parts of the state by better understanding the scale and magnitude of its mining history.
The Former Mines and Quarries Framework Consolidated Database report, released last week by Resources Victoria, contains information on 111,000 historic mining sites located across Crown land within Victoria.
Over the past three years the Former Mines and Quarries Framework program has grouped information from 14 sources and created two new datasets. This has uncovered around 75,000 previously unrecorded land features such as old mine shafts and historic workings.
The first of its kind in Victoria, the new database helps manage former mine and quarry land, as well as increase public awareness about what remains in these areas.
This report is the first in a series to more accurately determine the location, scale and magnitude of abandoned and legacy mines and quarries on Crown land in Victoria. Future reports in this series will detail advancements that strengthen Victoria’s capability to identify and manage abandoned and legacy mines and quarries.
Former mining sites can pose safety risks to the public and the information gathered is helping manage risks in these locations.
Last year, a South Australian man was rescued from a Coober Pedy opal mine after he was trapped for 24 hours.
One of Australia’s most iconic industries, opal mining is the domain of individual prospectors, meaning there is little regulation over the practice, which is often done alone.
Parallels can be drawn between SA opal mining and Victorian gold prospecting, which also sees lone miners take to the bush, often alone, in search of treasure.
Extreme heat, falls from heights, working in confined spaces, and tunnel collapses are a few of the risks associated with opal mining and gold prospecting alike.
With the help of the first-of-its-kind database, the Victorian public has an invaluable tool on hand to stay safer around historic mine sites.
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