Education

The Department of Mines and Petroleum (DMP) is the lead agency for all mineral, petroleum, geothermal and carbon capture and storage proposals in Western Australia.

 This means that DMP is responsible for overseeing the whole application approval process and will work closely with other agencies where required.

The department will provide a custom level of service for companies according to application size, scale and complexity.

DMP also houses the Geological Survey of Western Australia (GSWA) which has gathered, produced and published  information on
the State’s geology and mineral and petroleum resources since 1880.

For further information on the Department and it's operating divisions please download our 2010-11 "what we do" factsheet.

 

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Safety in the resources sector is a major priority of the WA Government, and the Department of Mines and Petroleum is actively encouraging increased risk management among industry members.

The Resources Safety division of DMP regulates dangerous goods, mining safety and health, petroleum and geothermal safety as well as managing the Mining Industry Advisory Committee (MIAC).

Established in April 2005 under section 14A of the Occupational Safety and Health Act 1984 (the OSH Act), MIAC acts as a statutory advisory body on matters relating to occupational safety and health in the mining industry.  

For more information, please see our Resources Safety page.

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A key role of  DMP is to promote best environmental management practices by providing environmental regulatory and policy services, in a way that maximises the responsible development of the State's mineral and petroleum resources.

The division enforces and regulates the environmental requirements of the Mining Act 1978 and the Petroleum and Geothermal Energy Resources Act 1967.

Environmental impact assessments, audits and incident investigation are some of the services provided by the division in an effort to promote environmental management best practice in the resources sector.

For more information please see our Environmental Services page.

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On November 17, 2008, the current State Government revoked the uranium mining ban and is now focusing on developing this sector.

Western Australian regulators and the mining industry have been managing the safe mining, transportation and export of radioactive material from the mineral sands and tantalum sectors for 40 years.

The WA Government is working closely with other State’s to build on their industry experience and is committed to ensuring that Western Australia’s regulatory framework is world’s best practice and that associated departments have the resources to deal with radiation issues associated with uranium mining.

For more information please see our Uranium Mining Development page.

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The core libraries, managed by the Geological Survey of Western Australia (GSWA) allow all explorers to benefit from prospecting work that has gone on before.

The libraries, located in Perth and Kalgoorlie-Boulder display mineral , petroleum, hydrological, coal and geochemical exploration samples.

Information gathered from viewing previously drilled core can show significant mineralization of a variety of commodities, styles of mineralization, tectonic settings, demonstrates local stratigraphy and may be from important mines sites or areas that are difficult to drill, such as national parks. 

For more information please see our Core Library services page.

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The mining and petroleum industry is vital to the continued development and sustainability of Western Australia’s economy.

If you would like to know more about Western Australia's leading resources, please visit our Resource Statistics section on our website. It provides detailed facts and figures on the performance of individual resources, statistical information on the resource sector and overviews of resource investment in Western Australia.

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DMP produces a raft of publications about resources development and regulation in Western Australia.

Click here to access DMP's publications page.

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