Mineral Resources budget puts safety first

Mine safety remains the Carr Government’s number one priority for the minerals industry, with a Budget enhancement of $3.2 million extending the mine safety initiative.

The expenditure shows the Government’s unshakeable commitment to better protecting the health and safety of all mine workers.

NSW has one of the best mine safety records in the world, but we can and must achieve zero fatalities and serious injuries.

This year’s funding brings the State Government’s total program expenditure to $24.7 million since its inception in 1998-99.

The Wran Mine Safety Report, which handed down 31 recommendations in April 2005, underscores the Government’s strong and detailed plans for the industry.

Mining is a dangerous industry, but fatalities and serious injuries are preventable, not inevitable.

Mineral Resources’ total Budget expenditure is $48.2 million, which will help facilitate mineral and petroleum exploration and development in a socially and economically responsible way, and further improve the industry’s environmental performance.

The Department’s mine safety operations fall under the Biosecurity, Compliance and Mine Safety program area. No cuts have been made to, or are planned for mine safety operations in this financial year.

Mineral Resources will benefit from $7.7 million of the Department’s 2005/06 capital expenditure program, including:

• $3.7 million to purchase and replace plant and equipment;
• $3.1 million to enhance and upgrade information technology infrastructure; and
• $0.9 million to standardise and integrate Mineral Resources’ information technology infrastructure with the former Agriculture and Fisheries agencies.

2004/05 achievements include:

• Completion of the $35 million relocation of Mineral Resources’ headquarters to Maitland – on time and on budget. The move delivered 170 jobs public service jobs to the Hunter region, directly injecting $9 million into the Maitland economy and about $20 million into the regional economy every year;
• Mine safety – completion of the state-of-art Mine Safety Technology Centre at Thornton, providing world-leading laboratory services and a mobile gas-testing vehicle, training workshops and seminars attended by 2,400 people and five major investigations, new legislation – the Mine Health and Safety Act 2004, completion of the Wran Mine Safety Review;
• Environmental regulation - $385 million in environmental security deposits held, compared with $310 million in 2003/04; 800 environmental audits, assessments and reviews, up from 650 in 2003/04, and 50 investigations and enforcement actions. Remediation works at 26 derelict mine sites were completed during the year; and
• Exploration and sustainable development – another 45,000 square kilometres of the State covered by new standard series geoscience maps and data - approximately 80 percent of the State has been geophysical surveyed and geologically assessed; a tender for the new $400,000 core sample library at Broken Hill about to be let; the value of NSW mineral production is expected to reach $8.7 billion and generate $320 million in royalty revenue.