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Standard 11 Mining Induction

Learner Guide

Chapter 07 – Environmental and Heritage Concerns

Standard 11 Mining Induction CHAPTER 07

Civil Safety 29/01/2017-v1.1 Learner Guide of 18

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Contents

Environmental and Heritage Concerns ............................................................................................................................. 4

Introduction .................................................................................................................................................................. 4

Apply Environmental and Heritage Compliance Documentation ................................................................................. 4

Environmental and Heritage Documentation ........................................................................................................... 4

Identifying Environmental or Heritage Concerns ..................................................................................................... 5

Notifying Relevant Authorities .................................................................................................................................. 6

Submitting Written Reports ...................................................................................................................................... 7

Enact Emergency Plan and Isolation Procedures .......................................................................................................... 7

Implementing the Emergency Plan ........................................................................................................................... 7

Site Evacuation .......................................................................................................................................................... 8

Isolating the Site........................................................................................................................................................ 8

Remove or Contain Site Contaminants ......................................................................................................................... 9

Identifying and Addressing Site Contaminants ......................................................................................................... 9

Principles of Contamination .................................................................................................................................... 10

General Safety Practices ......................................................................................................................................... 11

Manual Handling ..................................................................................................................................................... 11

Biosafety.................................................................................................................................................................. 11

Hazardous Substances and Dangerous Goods ........................................................................................................ 11

Safety Data Sheets (SDS) ......................................................................................................................................... 12

Spill Responses ........................................................................................................................................................ 12

Confirming Identified Issues ................................................................................................................................... 13

Completing Documentation .................................................................................................................................... 13

Records Maintenance ............................................................................................................................................. 14

Adhering to Environmental and Heritage Issues .................................................................................................... 15

Task Organisation and Team Work ......................................................................................................................... 15

Conforming to Environmental and Heritage Guidelines ......................................................................................... 15

Open-Cut Procedures .............................................................................................................................................. 16

Mine Operational System ....................................................................................................................................... 17

Inform Authorities about Concerns ............................................................................................................................ 17

Informing Authorities .............................................................................................................................................. 17



Environmental and Heritage Concerns

Introduction

Welcome to this unit of competency, RIIENV201D: Identify and Assess

Environmental and Heritage Concerns.

The materials in this unit cover:

� Identifying site-specific environmental and heritage concerns.

� Assessing and responding to environmental and heritage concerns.

� Working within environmental and heritage guidelines.

This unit is appropriate for anyone undertaking an operational role at worksites within the resources and

infrastructure industries, including:

� Civil construction.

� Coal mining.

� Drilling.

� Extractive industries.

� Metalliferous mining.

Apply Environmental and Heritage Compliance Documentation

Documentation is essential to all aspects of every worksite. From environmental and heritage specifications through

to construction and mine plans, you will encounter documentation that will outline what to do, when to do it and

how to do it.

Environmental and Heritage Documentation

Environmental protection and management is vital for industry of all types.

The Australian Government is committed to protecting and managing

nationally and internationally important flora, fauna, ecological communities

and heritage places.

It also monitors the sustainable development of national resources and

legislates to protect the environment in Acts such as the Environment

Protection Act and Biodiversity Conservation Act.

Relevant documentation on worksites is also commonly structured around guidelines for environmental and

heritage protection and management provided by bodies such as the following:

� Environment Protection Authority (EPA) – responsible for licencing and regulating air emissions,

contaminated sites, hazardous materials (including dangerous goods), noise, pesticides, forestry activities,

waste, water quality and state of environment reporting.

� Environment Protection and Heritage Council (EPHC) – has environment protection and heritage (natural,

historic and indigenous heritage) responsibilities. It includes National Environment Protection Measures

(NEPMs) for air, national pollution inventory, movement of controlled waste, used packaging materials and

assessment of site contamination.

� National Environment Protection Council (NEPC) – provides goals, strategies,

guidelines and protocols for managing human activities that may affect the

environment and for achieving desired environmental outcomes.

Environmental and heritage compliance documentation details the legislative,

organisational and site requirements and procedures for identifying and assessing

environmental and heritage concerns which may arise on the site during operations.



Common environmental documentation will relate to factors such as:

� Drainage.

� Dust.

� Emissions.

� Flora and fauna.

� Hazardous chemicals.

� Noise.

� Runoff.

� Spills and spill management.

� Water quality.

Heritage documentation covers items such as:

� Ancient fossils.

� Culturally sensitive sites and artefacts.

� Heritage legislation.

� Historical sites or homesteads

� Possible indigenous sites.

These documents specifically outline both your organisational and personal obligations to protect the environment

and any heritage items that may be found in areas of your worksite.

As each state and territory can have different requirements, it is your responsibility to access, interpret and apply

those relevant to your site before starting work.

Identify and Report Environmental and Heritage Issues

The nature of environmental and/or heritage concerns need to be accurately identified

before action can be taken to address them in line with legislative requirements.

These concerns also need to be reported to the relevant authority according to site

procedures, regulations and other compliance requirements.

Identifying Environmental or Heritage Concerns

To identify the nature of the concerns you will need to determine the type of situation (environmental, heritage,

safety, other) and any factors or issues that will need to be managed.

Environmental concerns could include such things as:

� Possible harm to the environment.

� Inadequate cleaning up of waste or materials.

� Poor or non-existent restoration of the area to original conditions.

� Pollution of various kinds.

� Impact of works to both the surrounding environment and to people and fauna close to the works.

There may be heritage concerns about damage or harm to significant natural,

cultural or historical places or items.

Heritage issues also concern the Aboriginal people and their rights and usage of

land being used for construction, mining and access to worksites.

Environmental or heritage concerns may come to light through:

• Visual identification.

• Site information and documentation.

• Site inspections.

• Concerns and issues raised during the planning process.



Environmental issues can be diagnosed through observations, laboratory testing,

inspections or other site-approved methods.

You will need to be able to identify a problem, potential hazard or change in the

environment or materials on your worksite in line with organisational and/or site

procedures.

Basic diagnostic techniques can range from a visual inspection through to soil, water

or compaction testing. A common basic diagnostic technique is observation and

awareness, i.e. recognising that something may be in the wrong place, something

does not look right or a change has occurred.

Heritage issues will normally need to be diagnosed through a visual inspection of the area by an authorised

person. You may, however, come across an indication that the area may have heritage significance and you should

alert your supervisor immediately.

Indications could include:

• Marks on trees.

• Local knowledge.

• Archaeological objects.

• Other agreed indicators

It is necessary for each site to have a procedure for both identifying concerns and reporting them.

If you are unsure of how your site requires the identification and notification of concerns, speak with your

supervisor.

Care must be taken to address possible environmental concerns as well as to respect the rights of the indigenous

population.

Notifying Relevant Authorities

When an environmental or heritage issue is identified, you must follow site procedures, regulations and other

compliance requirements for bringing it to the attention of the relevant authorities. Authorities may include:

Environmental groups or government agencies.

Experts such as scientific, historic, technical or biological specialists.

Local aboriginal leaders.

Site management, safety or environmental managers

Team leader.

Other authorised personnel/workers.



You will be informed of the relevant notification procedures and requirements

during your site induction. These will normally outline:

Possible items that may be found:

� Who to report to if you find something you believe may be a heritage item.

� Who to report to if you encounter a possible environmental situation.

� What type of report is required, e.g. verbal or written.

� What to do to keep the area or item safe until it can be assessed.

Submitting Written Reports

You may be required to submit a written report to the relevant authority. Some sites use checklists or other pro

formas. These are easy and quick to complete, and could be similar to a hazard report or incident report in format.

If you have to create a report, it is important to remember the following simple guidelines:

� Keep it clear and simple.

� Check for errors.

� Choose the appropriate style, tone and language.

� Follow organisational and/or site layout and content requirements.

Each worksite will have slightly different communication systems and reporting requirements, which will be

discussed during your induction.

If at any time you have suggestions for improving either the site communications or task efficiency, you should speak

with your site supervisor, team leader, training officer or other designated staff.

Enact Emergency Plan and Isolation Procedures

If an environmental or heritage concern or issue is identified it may be necessary to enact any relevant emergency

plans. This may involve evacuating all or part of the site or implementing isolation procedures.

Implementing the Emergency Plan

The emergency plan for your worksite is essential in guiding preparedness and responses to a

range of emergency situations.

The plan aims to ensure the safety and security of all members of the worksite and it should be

easily accessible for all workers.

On smaller worksites the emergency plan may be kept only in the office area, while on larger sites copies of the plan

should be available at various locations and work areas.

Mine sites have specialist mine emergency response teams. If you have an interest in emergency management or

response, speak with your supervisor about training.

Effective emergency plans are normally written in an easy-to-follow format with direct instructions about what to

do.

While the plan for your site should require minimal interpretation, you may still need to make decisions about when

and how to enact the plan in order to minimise damage to the worksite or environment and/or save lives.



When making decisions you will need to be aware of the relevant legislation and regulations. You will also need to

balance the requirements of the situation with the site policies, procedures and expectations.

Decisions may include whether to evacuate the entire site or to lock down one area but evacuate other areas. You

may have to decide whether or not to stay in place.

This could range from not evacuating at all, protecting in place or locking down certain areas or buildings. You may

also decide that it is best to isolate the site.

Before making a decision you will need to look at all aspects of the situation to determine the most appropriate

options as outlined in the emergency plan.

You will then be able to either decide on the best response strategy yourself or do so in collaboration with your co-

workers and/or the emergency response team.

Site Evacuation

Evacuation is the controlled removal of people from harm’s way. It can involve

removal of either all or some of the people from the site.

The decision to evacuate will need to made quickly but only after a comprehensive

hazard and risk assessment.

In some situations such as fire, chemical spill or building collapse, evacuation is the

only sensible option, but you should be aware that sometimes evacuation may not be

safe or practical.

To avoid the common hazards of emergencies and evacuations, you must know,

understand and adhere to the emergency response plans that have been developed

for your organisation.

Isolating the Site

Having implemented your site’s emergency plan, you may also be required to enact the

relevant isolation procedures listed in the plan.

Isolation procedures are those actions taken to keep people or other objects away from the

protected area or accident/incident scene.

This is to maintain personnel/worker and public safety and to preserve the actual site.

To isolate an area or accident site, it is necessary to stop access to the area for anyone except

emergency services personnel.

Isolation procedures may involve:

� Preventing access to the site.

� Fencing off the immediate area of hazard.

� Evacuation from the area.

� Controlling all traffic around the site to

maximise safety for all.

� Removal of contaminants or hazards.

� Construction of diversion works or channels

to carry away run-off.

� Fire breaks or other fire retardant procedures.

� Covering materials to prevent contaminants

getting to them.

Your worksite may require you to erect barricades to keep bystanders out of the area.

These barricades could involve:

� Portable fencing.

� Road barricades and barrier boards.

� People on the scene.

� Ad-hoc materials found on the site such as other vehicles, fences, gates, tents and other ‘found’ items.



Isolation procedures may require you to erect a cordon. This involves placing tape around the whole area or marking

the exclusion zone using other resources such as rope, tree branches, pieces of timber, etc.

Your site may have legislative requirements for isolating particular areas of environmental and/or heritage

significance. Methods will vary depending upon the size of the area that needs to be isolated.

Site procedures, policies and plans will list all relevant requirements for isolation activities.

They will also instruct you how to notify the relevant authorities.

For legal and insurance reasons your organisation may also require you to contact your supervisor or other relevant

personnel/workers before any further action is taken.

In addition, emergency response procedures may require you to take photos or videos of any evidence that you find.

Isolation procedures can vary greatly depending on the situation, the site, the organisation and any legislative or

regulatory requirements.

You will need to familiarise yourself with the requirements for your site.

Remove or Contain Site Contaminants

Contaminants on the site will need to be identified and then removed or contained and managed, depending on the

substance and site requirements and procedures.

Identifying and Addressing Site Contaminants

It is important that you are able to identify site contaminants.

Some substances such as waste materials will need to be removed from the site.

They are normally collected in one location and removed on a set schedule according to the waste management plan

for the site.

Other materials such as chemicals may have to be removed by trained personnel/workers or a specialist company.

When removing materials from a site you will need to ensure you protect

yourself through the use of appropriate PPE that is tailored to respond to

the potential hazards posed by the contaminated materials.

Before removing a contaminant, it is necessary for you to refer to the

procedures for the site and consult with your supervisor to determine if

the best response is to remove or to contain and manage.

Site contaminants may include:

Diseased vegetation. Material or substance leakage into ground water areas.

Oil spills. Saline water.

Chemical spills. Waste materials.

Hazardous substances. Dangerous goods.



Principles of Contamination

Environmental protection aims to stop land from becoming contaminated and also to ensure that land and water

that have already been contaminated are properly managed.

Agencies and bodies concerned with protecting the environment provide guidelines for assessing site contamination.

Assessments may include the following principles:

Individual responsibility. Site assessment.

Best practice. Human health.

Environmental impact. Cultural and spiritual significance.

Heritage sites. Community consultation.

Education. Planning.

Implementation of jurisdictional responsibility.

Regulatory control of site contamination.

Availability of site contamination information.

Data collection and chemical analyses.

Risk assessment. Objectives of site assessment.

Attainment of environmental outcome. Specialist areas.

Prevention of contamination or further contamination.

The best person on the site to help identify any contamination principles that might

apply to the contaminated area or materials is the site environmental management

officer.

In some situations, some substances are more likely to do harm if they are disturbed.

These contaminants will therefore have to be isolated, contained and managed as

appropriate.

Other materials are best removed to minimise continuing damage to personnel/workers

and the environment.

Your site environmental officer will be able to help you determine which action is best

for each different type of contaminant.

It is best if nothing is disturbed until the environmental officer has inspected the area.

This means that, if the site has not yet been isolated, you should do so, following the

required isolation procedures (outlined in the previous section).

Safe Work Practices

Safe work practices are the recognised or recommended way of dealing with any potential hazards found on your

site. Each site will have different requirements and practices but they will all be aimed at keeping you as safe as

possible for the conditions on the site.

Each safe work practice should be documented and fully explained. Your site induction will outline the safe work

practices you are expected to adhere to. They may also be known as safe work methods, job safety instructions or

other site-approved names.



Some examples of safe work practices include:

� General safety practices.

� Manual handling.

� Biosafety.

� Hazardous substances and dangerous goods.

� Safety Data Sheets (SDS).

� Spill responses.

General Safety Practices

General safety practices may include:

� Always wear the right PPE and clothing provided by your employer/PCBU.

� Follow safe/standard operating procedures.

� Do not eat, drink or smoke while working with a hazardous substance or

dangerous goods.

� Do not keep food or drink near the substances.

� Wash your hands and face and other exposed areas with soap and water before

going to the toilet or eating and drinking.

Manual Handling

Manual handling safe work practices include:

� Eliminating manual handling tasks from your work processes as much as possible.

� Using approved manual handling equipment where available.

� Avoiding repetitive movements and postures.

� Using safe manual handling methods when manual handling can’t be avoided.

� Avoiding over-bending your back.

� Using team lifts of heavy objects.

� Bending with your knees not your back.

Biosafety

Bisosafety involves controlling biological hazards to ensure that safe and productive work

practices are carried out, and that exposure to biological hazards is minimised or

eliminated.

Hazardous Substances and Dangerous Goods

Hazardous substances are substances that have the potential to harm people’s health.

They can be solids, liquids or gases, and when used on a worksite, they are often in the

form of fumes, dusts, mists and vapours.

Examples of hazardous substances include:

Acute toxins, e.g. cyanide.

� Substances that are harmful after repeated or prolonged exposure, e.g. mercury and silica.

� Corrosives, e.g. sulphuric acid and caustic soda.

� Irritants, e.g. ammonia.

� Sensitising agents, e.g. isocyanates.

� Carcinogens (cancer-causing substances), e.g. benzene and vinyl chloride.

Dangerous goods are classified on the basis of immediate physical or chemical effects, such as fire, explosion,

corrosion and poisoning.



There are nine classes of dangerous goods:

Class 1 Explosives.

Class 2 Gases (flammable, compressed/non-toxic, poisonous).

Class 3 Flammable liquids.

Class 4 Flammable solids.

Class 5 Oxidisers and organic peroxides.

Class 6 Toxic substances.

Class 7 Radioactive substances.

Class 8 Corrosive substances.

Class 9 Miscellaneous dangerous goods.

An accident involving dangerous goods could seriously harm you or your co-workers and cause damage to property

or the environment. They therefore need to be handled very carefully.

For some hazardous substances and dangerous goods and materials you will need to undertake specialist training

as they require very specific handling techniques.

Other chemicals or potentially dangerous materials may be handled in accordance with the Safety Data Sheet for

that product.

Safety Data Sheets (SDS)

A Safety Data Sheet (SDS) (formerly MSDS – Material Safety Data Sheet) is a detailed

document outlining the risks and hazards associated with handling chemicals or other

materials. It will outline any specific safe handling methods that are required.

A Safety Data Sheet will be issued by the manufacturer and may or may not include

material handling methods.

It is important that hazardous substances and dangerous goods in workplaces are used

strictly according to the manufacturer's or supplier's written instructions.

Any risk controls specified by the SDS and the procedures developed by the worksite

must also be closely followed.

Spill Responses

Each site will have specific procedures for responding to spills and they generally reflect:

� The nature of the materials you are dealing with.

� The resources available on site.

� The training of the personnel/workers on site.

� Applicable legislation and regulations for your location.

� The consequences of chemicals or other materials spilling on site can be extremely

serious.

� The substance may escape into storm water drains and pollute local waterways.

� It may run off the site directly into rivers, creeks or lakes.

� It may also contaminate the soil and other areas on site. A quick response is therefore

vital.



If, as an untrained person, you find a spill or are involved in an incident that results in a spill, you need to:

� Isolate the area.

� Warn others working in the area of the spill.

� Notify your supervisor.

� If required under your emergency response procedures, you may need to notify other authorised staff, or

your supervisor may do this.

When responding to hazardous chemicals, goods and materials, the primary requirement is to know and follow your

site procedures.

Confirm Issues and Complete Documentation

Once you have received the relevant permissions and clearances that you may enter the site and/or contaminated

area, you will need to confirm the environmental or heritage issues that have been identified.

Confirming Identified Issues

In order to confirm the type and scale of the problems, it is necessary to carry out an

inspection of the site. This will normally be conducted with your supervisor and/or the

site environmental officer.

While carrying out the inspection, you or your associates may identify additional

problems. The nature of these concerns will need to be reported to the relevant

authority and it may even be necessary to implement the emergency plan again,

including isolation procedures and dealing with any additional contaminants.

When conducting your inspections of the site, it is essential you follow all site

procedures, including OHS/WHS, site and equipment safety requirements, safe work

practices, hazardous goods handling techniques, etc.

Once all heritage and environmental issues have been identified and confirmed, they

can be managed in accordance with legislative, regulatory and community expectations,

including taking into account the future use of the land.

Completing Documentation

Upon confirmation of the environmental and heritage issues on your site, all required records and documentation

must be completed promptly and accurately. This documentation may be required by:

� Your site and/or company. � The Environmental Planning Authority (EPA) in your state or

territory

� Legislation. � Emergency Response authorities.

� Australian Standards compliance. � Local Councils.

� Government departments. � Heritage groups.

� Utility companies.



Types of Records and Documentation

The records and documentation you need to complete may include:

� Environmental management forms – for tracking all environmental impacts within the

worksite.

� Heritage impact forms – to track and trace all situations that may have heritage

significance or importance.

� Site-based incident forms – for recording the details of any incident, accident or

problem on the site.

� Organisational incident forms – these are normally a summary of the site-based forms

and are used by large companies to monitor trends that may require an organisation-wide response.

� Safe work guides – these may require the input of details about instructions or procedures that were used in

response to new situations or circumstances. These details can then be used to amend or update existing

SOPs or safe work practices.

� Pro forma checklists – specially designed for recording any issues or concerns, in line with site requirements.

� Risk management checklists – for determining the level of risk in various situations.

� Hazard reporting systems – these tend to be intranet-based systems that can be accessed from any

computer on the site so that anyone can enter the details of a hazard they have identified. This ensures a

central database of hazards is created for the site allowing the safety officer or manager to generate regular

reports.

While workers on site are expected to keep detailed records of the activities undertaken during their shifts,

particular attention will need to be given to documenting any problems faced during the shift and the actions that

were taken to address them.

Make sure you are familiar with the organisational and/or site requirements and procedures for completing records

and documentation so that you know:

� What forms or documents to use.

� What information and details are needed.

� The timeline for delivery.

� Where or to whom to submit your paperwork.

Records Maintenance

Records maintenance procedures aim to capture, maintain and provide access to records.

These requirements will vary depending upon your site’s record keeping system. It is

essential that your documentation is accurately completed and filed or archived as required.

Some records will need to be kept for a set period of time for legal purposes, while others will

only be retained briefly. Records maintenance ensures that records and documents are

current and active and can be used in planning, budgeting and OHS/WHS management.

It also allows organisations to maintain security systems to protect their stored information

from unauthorised access, misuse, disclosure, disruption, modification, perusal, recording or destruction.

Records security might include:

� Physical controls to protect the workplace

environment and infrastructure.

� Administrative controls, such as policies and

procedures.

� Logical controls such as software or data to

monitor access.

� Access control.

� Network security.

� Application security.

� Encryptions.

You will need to be familiar with the records maintenance and security procedures for your worksite.



Adhere to Identified Issues and Conform to Guidelines

It is important to organise your work activities so that you can operate within the environmental

and heritage guidelines that apply to your site.

Adhering to Environmental and Heritage Issues

Environmental and heritage guidelines will be structured around the particular

issues that have been identified and confirmed on your site.These guidelines may

be issued from a federal, state or local government level but will be applied

specifically to your site.

They will determine the plans, policies and procedures that you need to follow.

Work requirements will have been communicated as part of your original site

induction process and any new requirements will generally be advised through a

site toolbox meeting or via noticeboards and/or amended work instructions.

Task Organisation and Team Work

To ensure that you complete all your assigned tasks safely and efficiently, you will be

required to organise your work activities.

Your daily and weekly tasks might be scheduled for you by your supervisor. You may

have to do it yourself; if so, use a system that works best for you. Some people prefer a

handwritten checklist, others a computerised diary entry.

Flexibility is important when organising and prioritising your work so that you can

adjust your schedule if a more urgent task needs to be completed.

Another aspect of your work is the ability to listen, to communicate clearly and to be

tolerant of others.

This is particularly important when working within teams to achieve safety and environmental outcomes.

You need to take the time to ensure that your fellow team members are aware of all the relevant safety

requirements so the team can work together safely and effectively.

Respect and self-control are also important in coordinating work activities with your team members. You are all

working to achieve the same outcome so be prepared to listen to other people’s opinions and also to air your own

views in a respectful and considerate way.

Speak with your supervisor if you are unsure of how to adhere to any of the procedures that have been specially

developed to manage the environmental and heritage issues relating to your area of work.

Conforming to Environmental and Heritage Guidelines

All personnel/workers need to make sure that they know and understand the requirements

that apply to work operations on the site. This will ensure that all tasks and activities

conform to the relevant environmental and heritage guidelines.

These guidelines commonly include policies and principles for future land use and

management, which involves the critical challenge of reconciling conflicting goals and uses

of the land. Diverse goals for the use of land could include:

� Resource-extractive activities, e.g. forestry, agriculture, grazing, and mining.

� Infrastructure for human settlement, e.g. housing, transportation, and industrial centres.

� Recreational activities.

� Services provided by ecological systems, e.g. flood control and water supply and filtration.

� Support of aesthetic, cultural, and religious values.

� Sustaining the complex composition and structure of ecological systems.



Information gathered about land use in all areas – urban and rural – can be used by

industry and governments to:

� Develop effective use of Australia’s natural resources.

� Combat salinity and desertification problems.

� Maintain and improve water quality.

� Control rates of soil erosion.

� Control acidification.

� Reverse nutrient decline.

� Control carbon losses.

� Control greenhouse issues.

The Environmental Management Plan (EMP) for your site should contain responses to any environmental and

heritage concerns. To avoid degrading or destroying the environment in sensitive areas, it is essential that future

land use principles are always considered when undertaking any planning for work on your site.

The main focus of future land use principles is to try to ensure the land is maintained in the best possible

condition to allow for a variety of options once the worksite has closed and the area is returned for other uses.

Operational Procedures and checks are important because they cover all environmental and heritage

requirements before work commences, and ensure the current environmental and heritage issues have been

formally assessed.

Open-Cut Procedures

Open-cut or surface mining (also known as open pit or open cast) is used to

remove rock or minerals from the earth.

Open-cut procedures are applied in coal mines when coal seams are closer to the

natural surface.

It is an effective method of retrieving a higher proportion of coal when compared

to underground mining, which requires tunnelling, e.g. long wall mining.

The basic process of open-cut mining involves:

Open-cut mines are usually worked until either the mineral resource is exhausted,

or an increasing ratio of overburden to ore makes further mining uneconomical.

When this occurs, the exhausted mines are sometimes converted to landfills for

disposal of solid wastes.

However, some form of water control is usually required to keep the mine pit from

becoming a lake. Before open-cut procedures can commence, there will be a site

assessment of environmental factors (often known as a review of environmental

factors, or REF). This includes heritage assessments for indigenous and European

objects.



The environmental assessment for the open-cut location must be

approved at a state government level by the relevant department of

planning or environment and heritage agency before any works can start.

This includes the opening of any new work areas or new developments to

the existing worksite.

In some cases, community consultation and interaction with local

indigenous land council groups may be required.

Once these approvals and processes have been completed and

permission is given to start working, each site will develop open-cut

procedures that reflect the conditions on the site and the organisational

requirements.

Any legislative requirements that have been imposed during the permission process will also be included in these

procedures.

It is essential that you familiarise yourself with the appropriate open-cut procedures specific to your site.

Mine Operational System

Each mine site will have a specific operational system that reflects the environmental

conditions, goals and requirements for that site.

As part of the mine operational system, there must be provisions for environmental and

heritage assessments in line with the relevant guidelines.

This will be monitored through routine inspections and through systematic audits.

It is a legal requirement that all mine operational systems comply with legislated environmental and heritage

guidelines.

Severe penalties can be enforced by the relevant authorities including fines, jail terms for management or

executives, deregistration, loss of operational licences, or forced closure of the workplace.

Inform Authorities about Concerns

It is important that you are aware of and follow all relevant procedures for informing authorities about any

environmental and/or heritage issues or concerns that are identified.

Informing Authorities

Your worksite procedures and the EMP should outline who you need to contact if you

identify any environmental and/or heritage issues or potential concerns while carrying

out your work.

These designated personnel/workers may include:

� Supervisors.

� Management.

� Safety personnel/workers.

� OHS/WHS representatives.

� Team members or other affected workers.

Site management will then be responsible for contacting and informing the appropriate authorities of any

environmental or heritage issues that are found on site.

The national body is the Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities.



Other authorities could include the relevant Environment Protection Agency (EPA) or water management

department, as well as civil authorities, emergency services and/or heritage councils (indigenous, local or national).

It is important that you do not go outside the responsibilities of your role or the site procedures and policies for

notification. If you are unsure of the requirements for contacting and informing authorities, speak with your

supervisor.

State an territory departments may include the following:

ACT Department of the Environment, Climate Change, Energy and Water.

NSW Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency.

Northern territory Department of Natural Resources, Environment, The Arts and Sport.

Queensland Department of Environment and Resource Management.

South Australia Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

Tasmania Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment.

Victoria Department of Sustainability and Environment.

Western Australia Department of Environment and Conservation.

standard 11 mining induction - civil safety 07 environmental... · standard 11 mining induction...

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