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Small quarries and sand pits
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Small quarries and sand pits
If you operate a small quarry or sand pit, and produce product for sale or commercial use, the Mines Safety and Inspection Act 1994 and associated regulations may apply. Contact the mines safety inspectorate at Resources Safety to determine whether your quarry or pit is subject to the Act.
If the Mines Safety and Inspection Act 1994 and associated regulations do apply and your operation is considered to be a small mine, you must:
- have an approved project management plan
- notify the District Inspector of Mines at Resources Safety before commencing, recommencing, suspending or closing your operation.
Depending on the location of the quarry or pit, you may also require an extractive industry licence. Contact your local council or shire for information about any licensing requirements.
Page Contents
Identifying the Principal Employer
Inspectorate contact details for appointment notifications
Appointment of a Registered Manager
Legislation
Hard copies of the Act and associated regulations are only available from the State Law Publisher.
Identifying the Principal Employer
Please note that the pro formas include hidden text and you will need to activate this option in your word processing program.
Inspectorate contact details for appointment notifications
Project management plans
Under the Mines Safety and Inspection Act 1994 and associated regulations, an operator must prepare a project management plan (PMP) before any mining operation commences. This must be submitted for assessment to the State Mining Engineer, and approved prior to start-up.
The PMP is used to identify potential major safety risks for the proposed operations, and acts as a starting point for developing ongoing safety management strategies to address those risks. A guide and checklist are available below to help with the submission process.
PMPs should be submitted online using the Safety Regulation System - Approvals. Online assistance when completing the PMP is available if required.
If online submission is not possible, contact the District Inspector of Mines regarding hard copy submission.
Appointment of a Registered Manager
A small mine needs to be under the daily control and supervision of a manager, who is appointed by the Principal Employer. Under the Mines Safety and Inspection Act 1994, that person is appointed as the Registered Manager and the District Inspector of Mines must be advised.
A letter template is available below to help with the notification process. The letter should be completed and sent to the District Inspector of Mines for acknowledgement and recording.
Please note that the pro formas include hidden text and you will need to activate this option in your word processing program.
Appointing a Quarry Manager
It is acknowledged that a small mine such as a sand or limestone operation does not have the same risk profile as a gold or iron ore mine, and therefore an agreement may be sought from District Inspector or State Mining Engineer to operate the mine without appointing a Quarry Manager. A pro forma is available below to help with the application process.
Change of operating status
The District Inspector of Mines must be notified before an operation commences or recommences, or is suspended or closed. A letter template is available below to help with the notification process. The letter should be completed and sent to the District Inspector of Mines for acknowledgement and recording.
Guidance - duty of care
A variety of publications and other guidance material relating to mining safety and health is available in the mining safety and health publications section.
The following guidance material may be useful for understanding your duty of care.
Guidance - managing safety
The small mines checklist available below will assist small mines when setting up a safe system of work. It is provided for general information only, and operators must develop their own site-specific risk assessment tools.
The audit tools below can be used to ensure the appropriate safety standards have been implemented and at regular intervals or when changes are made to confirm whether or not the management systems are still adequate.
Reporting incidents and accidents
Due to legislative requirements, an incident or accident at a small quarry or sand pit may need to be reported to the mines safety inspectorate of Resources Safety. For further information please see the mining accident and incidents section.
If the incident or accident involves explosives or dangerous goods, it may also need to be reported to the dangerous goods inspectorate of Resources Safety. For more information please see the dangerous goods accident and incidents section.
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