Leading Practice Sustainable Development Program for the Mining Industry
NEWS
Handbook Development
The development of three more handbooks – Hazardous Materials Management, Particulate, Noise and Blast Management and Monitoring, Auditing and Performance –is currently underway. If you have technical experience in any of these areas and wish to be involved, contact the Program Manager (Shelby Schofield) on 02 6213 7137.
Background
In 2005, the Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism (formerly the Department of Industry Tourism and Resources) assumed management of the Best Practice Environmental Management in Mining (BPEM) booklets previously managed by the Department of the Environment and Heritage under the Sustainable Minerals series.
The booklets were first produced in 1995 to provide guidance on environmentally sound management in the mining industry. The booklets are now being reviewed and the scope broadened to provide a sustainable development focus, without losing sight of the environmental objectives of the original booklets.
The Leading Practice Sustainable Development Program for the Mining Industry will be consistent with the Australian minerals industry framework for sustainable development Enduring Value
and with the Ministerial Council on Mineral and Petroleum Resources Vision for the resources sector to 2025.
The Leading Practice Sustainable Development Program for the Mining Industry is managed by a steering committee chaired by the Department, Commonwealth and state/territory governments, Australian mining industry representatives and technical research sector specialists.
Handbooks
There are 14 titles in the series. Currently, 12 of these handbooks have been produced:
- Overview Handbook - provides a summary of the Leading Practice Sustainable Development Program.
- Stewardship Handbook - outlines the main principles of stewardship. Stewardship involves the care and management of a commodity through its life cycle partnerships. The handbook discusses materials stewardship, resources stewardship, process stewardship and product stewardship.
- Mine Rehabilitation Handbook - outlines the principles and practices of mine rehabilitation. Rehabilitation is the process used to repair the impacts of mining on the environment.
- Mine Closure and Completion Handbook - examines planning for mine closure and completion after a mine has reached the end of its life. It describes the business case for planned, structured and systematic mine closure and completion of mines in the context of sustainable development.
- Community Engagement and Development Handbook - addresses some of the key issues surrounding community engagement and development and offers insights, approached and practical discussion about the challenges that companies may encounter as they engage with local communities and seek to contribute to their long term development.
- Working With Indigenous Communities Handbook - addresses issues relating to working with indigenous communities, including issues such as cultural heritage and land rights.
- Biodiversity Management Handbook - addresses the broad issue of biodiversity management for mining operations, including environment protection and conservation legislation, flora and fauna management, landscape level planning and environmental offsets.
- Managing Acid and Metaliferous Drainage Handbook - addresses issues related to the social and environmental impacts and remediation of acid and metalliferous drainage in the mining industry.
- Tailings Management Handbook - addresses tailings management through the life of the project (including planning, design, operation and closure of tailings storage facilities).
- Water Management Handbook - addresses issues relating to water management within the mining industry.
- Cyanide Management Handbook - addresses the principle and procedures for effective and safe cyanide management.
- Risk Assessment and Management Handbook - addresses issues relating to identifying, assessing and managing risk in the mining industry.
Translations
Many of the handbooks are available in different languages including Chinese, Korean, Bahasa Indonesian, Spanish, Vietnamese and Japanese. The Leading Practice Sustainable Development Program for the Mining Industry Translations webpage has links to translated versions of the handbooks.
Ordering information
The handbooks in the Leading Practice Sustainable Development Program for the Mining Industry series are available free of charge. To order copies of any of the handbooks, contact the Department via the Contact Us webpage.