environment

land use

Our natural resources are precious - our mineral resources, water resources and land that is used for food production and other important industries. Mining does have an effect on the environment. Our job is to keep it to a minimum.

We aim to minimise our impact on the land at each step of mining, from exploration, which gives us important scientific information on the geology of an area, to mining activities and regeneration.

Mining is a big part of life in some regions and some mine sites can have a long life span. Mining is a temporary land use and takes up just 0.1% of the land mass in NSW. When mining is complete, we restore the land to valuable post-mining uses that are determined by the government.

(NSW Office of Environment and Heritage, NSW State of the Environment 2006)

We’re working hard to address concerns by using best practice techniques to minimise our impact. It’s important to the community and it matters to us.

There is uncertainty about how industries like mining should develop over time. NSW Miners support a strategic and scientific approach to land use planning, like the regional plans currently being developed by the NSW Government, to provide more certainty for all land users.