An organisation that develops international industry standards has set its sights on reducing the long-term impact of mining, which could have implications for the quarrying industry.

ISO, the world’s largest developer of voluntary international standards, has formed a new subcommittee that will focus on minimising the long-term damage that can potentially be caused by mining activities.

The aim of creating these mining reclamation management standards is to improve the relationship between the mining industry and local communities, as well as the quality of life of residents that live in the surrounding areas.

Subcommittee chair Professor Sun Joon Kim explained that the conflict that could occur between these parties could sometimes grow beyond reasonable mediation.

“International standards for mining reclamation management can be beneficial as these internationally agreed guidelines help avoid excessive claims or profits from one side, leading to a win-win situation,” he said.

Developing a universal guideline
While it was acknowledged that many countries had established effective local standards, Kim said ISO would be developing a “general guideline that can be applied universally” and which can address “more detailed fields and standards that meet each situation … if necessary, special situations must be standardised separately”.

Commenting on the standard development process, ISO mining technical committee chair Reinhard Reinartz said, “The first and most important step is for [the mining technical committee] to identify and understand in detail these different needs. Then we will be able to identify common ground with other topics and fields, making sure we are not isolating issues.”

Reinartz explained that both the mining committee and its mining reclamation management subcommittee would be working with related ISO technical committees – especially in the field of machinery – to exchange findings, discuss next steps and, where possible, create a common interdisciplinary standard.

“This will ensure best practices are being shared for the benefit of the industry and highlight where we need to be industry-specific,” he concluded.

An ISO spokeswoman confirmed to Quarry that the subcommittee would be focusing on all types of mining, including both underground and surface mines or open-cut mines such as quarries.

“After the suggestion of a general guideline applicable to any specific mining activities, the next step for the subcommittee would include developing guidelines of more detailed mining objects. During this stage, the subcommittee would consider whether or not quarrying needs special standards,” she explained.

ISO has published more than 19,500 international standards since it was founded in 1947. The organisation comprises a network of national standards bodies from 163 countries and is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland.

The WA state government has committed to modernising the safety legislation covering mining, petroleum and major hazard facilities (MHFs) in Western Australia.

With legislation for all three areas undergoing reform, there is an opportunity to review the legislative structure and consider consolidation of the current Acts and regulations.

Department of Mines and Petroleum resources safety executive director Simon Ridge said the department was seeking stakeholder input into the process.

“There are five options regarding how we can structure the safety aspects of mining, petroleum and MHF legislation,” Ridge said.

“These options range from consolidating all resources safety elements into one unified act, partially consolidating the current safety acts or leaving the acts as they are.”

Legislated safety obligations for industries in the resources sector are currently contained within six different parliamentary acts and associated regulations.

Mr Ridge said the initial focus of the consultation was only on the structure of the Acts.

“This is one of the first steps as we look to reform safety legislation in WA’s resources industry,” he said.

“Once this has been finalised, we will then consult separately on proposed changes to the content of the legislation.”

The department has engaged Marsden Jacob Associates to conduct the independent consultation process.

The consultation paper and further information about how you can contribute to the process are available on the Marsden Jacobs website.

Submissions must be directed to Marsden Jacob Associates by 5pm WST on Friday, 19 December 2014.