From today, enforcements and prosecutions under the state's Mining Act, including civil penalties, will be made public on the Department for Energy and Mining's website.
Not content with current practice following amendments to the Mining Act and Mining Regulations in 2020, the Government has developed new policies and procedures to support the aims of that legislative framework, with the Department's mining regulators adopting this formal transparency policy to ensure greater industry accountability and to enhance public trust in its activities.
This means additional tools are now available to regulators, while the general public has timely access to the outcomes of the department's compliance work through real-time updates. The webpage will list enforcements and prosecutions under the Mining Act, as well as listing use of two new compliance tools – enforceable voluntary undertakings and civil penalties.
Any penalty payments into the Mining Rehabilitation Fund will also be disclosed.
In future months, we plan to expand the scheme to include real-time publication of Environmental or Compliance Directions, Suspensions and Prohibition orders.
Illegal mining can attract a maximum penalty of $250,000 or 2 years imprisonment.
As put by Tom Koutsantonis
South Australian communities rightly expect miners and explorers working in their region to hold up their end of the bargain. This simple but critical step will help ensure they do.
By and large, our explorers and miners are model operators adhering to the rigorous standards set by our regulations and community expectations.
These new transparency provisions publicise the work our state regulators do to pursue operators who break the rules, in real time.
It's transparent, fair and efficient, and it sends the right signal to both the industry and the SA public.
Rogue operators will be named and shamed. Good operators will continue to be rewarded as they do business in one of the top jurisdictions in the world for mining and exploration.
