AMEC Association of Mining and Exploration Compa : Increase in Program of Works shows greenshoots returning

19 January 2018

Today, the Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety (DMIRS) announced a 40% increase in the number of Program of Works received by DMIRS in 2017 compared to 2016.

The Department received 2,575 Program of Work (PoW) applications in calendar year 2017 compared to 1,799 the previous year. During the year, the Department finalised over 98% of all PoW tenure applications in the target timeline.

The increase in PoW aligns with similar statistics from the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) that announced in December 2017, that the number of significant projects requiring assessment were up by 50% over last year.

'Today's announcement reinforces a mounting body of evidence that the Western Australian mining and mineral exploration industry is growing and confidence is returning,' said Mr Warren Pearce, Chief Executive Officer, Association of Mining and Exploration Companies.

'It is important the Government works with industry to build this momentum. Today's statistics show that DMIRS has the capacity to reduce approvals timeframes, and support industry to create new jobs, revenues for local communities and royalties for the State,' said Mr Pearce.