ADVISORY NOTE SUBSTANTIAL DISTURBANCE IN EXPLORATION This advisory note outlines the definition of the term “Substantial Disturbance”. INTRODUCTION There is considerable public concern for the protection of the environment from the adverse effects of the activities associated with mining and other industries. Under the Mining Management Act (MMA), miners and explorers are required to establish and implement appropriate environment protection management systems. It is necessary to ensure that appropriate environment protection measures are understood and established by explorers and miners when their activities may cause significant or substantial disturbance to the environment. LEGISLATION Pursuant to section 35 of the MMA, any exploration activity that involves "substantial disturbance" of the surface of the site requires the operator to have applied for and been granted an Authorisation by the “Minister”. Exploration activities cover exploration for minerals, including all modes of searching for or evaluating deposits of minerals. Actions that do not constitute mining activities include: remote sensing, including geophysical surveying; and non-intrusive actions such as fossicking, rock chipping and soil sampling by means, to assess the potential of the land for future exploration, in accordance with Section 17 of the Mineral Titles Act (MTA). SUBSTANTIAL DISTURBANCE Although an activity on its own may not appear to disturb an area significantly, the collective effect of several adjacent activities may well result in substantial disturbance. As per Section 35(3) of the MMA, the following activities, either individually or in combination, cause or have the potential to cause significant or substantial disturbance: land clearing; earthworks (for example, cutting, filling, excavating or trenching); aboveground works (for example, works for building roads, buildings, bridges, railways or airstrips or works for establishing conveyors, pipelines, telephone lines or power lines); underground works (for example, works in connection with tunnels, wells, pipelines, conduits or cables); waterworks (for example, works in connection with dams, impoundments, canals or the drainage or alteration of river or creek banks, water courses or shorelines); extracting resources from the surface of the land, underground, riverbeds or under the sea;
ADVISORY NOTE SUBSTANTIAL DISTURBANCE IN EXPLORATION This advisory note outlines the definition of the term “Substantial Disturbance”. INTRODUCTION There is considerable public concern for the protection of the environment from the adverse effects of the activities associated with mining and other industries. Under the Mining Management Act (MMA), miners and explorers are required to establish and implement appropriate environment protection management systems. It is necessary to ensure that appropriate environment protection measures are understood and established by explorers and miners when their activities may cause significant or substantial disturbance to the environment. LEGISLATION Pursuant to section 35 of the MMA, any exploration activity that involves "substantial disturbance" of the surface of the site requires the operator to have applied for and been granted an Authorisation by the “Minister”. Exploration activities cover exploration for minerals, including all modes of searching for or evaluating deposits of minerals. Actions that do not constitute mining activities include: remote sensing, including geophysical surveying; and non-intrusive actions such as fossicking, rock chipping and soil sampling by means, to assess the potential of the land for future exploration, in accordance with Section 17 of the Mineral Titles Act (MTA). SUBSTANTIAL DISTURBANCE Although an activity on its own may not appear to disturb an area significantly, the collective effect of several adjacent activities may well result in substantial disturbance. As per Section 35(3) of the MMA, the following activities, either individually or in combination, cause or have the potential to cause significant or substantial disturbance: land clearing; earthworks (for example, cutting, filling, excavating or trenching); aboveground works (for example, works for building roads, buildings, bridges, railways or airstrips or works for establishing conveyors, pipelines, telephone lines or power lines); underground works (for example, works in connection with tunnels, wells, pipelines, conduits or cables); waterworks (for example, works in connection with dams, impoundments, canals or the drainage or alteration of river or creek banks, water courses or shorelines); extracting resources from the surface of the land, underground, riverbeds or under the sea;
AA7-012-Substantial-Disturbance-in-Exploration-Guide.docx