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Stricter rules for new mine rehabilitation fund in Western Australia

Elverdton copper mineEnvironmental bonds will be withheld from mining tenement holders deemed at high risk of failing their obligations under the Western Australian State Government’s new Mining Rehabilitation Fund (MRF).

The warning came from Mines and Petroleum Minister Bill Marmion as he visited the abandoned Elverdton copper mine at Ravensthorpe, on the State’s south coast.

“Under the new MRF, the focus will be on avoiding the sort of environmental legacies left by abandoned projects such as Elverdton,” Mr Marmion said.

The mine, established in 1901 and forfeited in 1992, has a massive uncontained tailings dump which is eroding into a local river catchment.

“In time, interest raised from the new fund will go towards rehabilitating abandoned mines – and the Elverdton site could be one of those considered for future priority rehabilitation.”

The new annual MRF levy will be calculated on the amount and type of ground disturbed by an individual tenement holder’s activities, however tenement holders deemed high-risk would be required to pay, or maintain, their environmental bonds. These risks could include being under administration, breaching environmental obligations and reporting requirements or not making royalty payments.

The Minister said the MRF would see compliant tenement holders across the State eligible to have their environmental bonds retired when they joined the new levy system, which will be mandatory from July 1.

“The old bonds system still has $978million of tenement holders’ funds tied up.  Once they begin contributing to the new fund, these historic bonds will be returned to them, freeing up cash for investment and ongoing rehabilitation,” he said.

The new bonds policy will come into effect on the July 1, 2014 to coincide with the MRF becoming mandatory.  The Minister said almost 70 per cent of tenement holders had already registered for the fund, resulting in the DMP retiring more than $290million worth of bonds.

“Tenement holders need to register for the MRF and submit their disturbance data by June 30 2014 to avoid a $4,000 fine,” Mr Marmion said.

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