Increase In Environmental Bond Rates For WA Miners

Key Points:

A higher bond rate means higher costs of conducting mining and exploration activities in WA.

The rate of environmental bonds on Western Australian mining tenements is set to increase at the beginning of 2011, meaning that the costs of conducting mining and exploration activities in this State would rise accordingly.

What are environmental bonds?

Environmental bonds were introduced as a form of security in WA in the late 1980s, to insulate the State against financial liability if mine operators failed to meet the rehabilitation requirements of their tenements. Environmental bonds are administered by the Environment Division of the Department of Mines and Petroleum (DMP).