You're likely to come across historical mining waste in a region that was mined in the 1800s to 1900s if you're:
- working on land in that region
- in management or control of land in that region.
You might be:
- landscaping
- excavating for residential construction, renovation or demolition
- digging trenches for utility services
- project-managing works
- the owner or tenant of the land.
Understand what you need to do and your duties and obligations when working on land in historical mining regions.
Work on land that was mined historically
When working on land that was mined historically, you should:
- understand your duties and obligations
- not start work until you understand the site's history and risks
- take action if you encounter mining waste while working.
Your duties and obligations
Everyone must meet the general environmental duty. This includes people who come in contact with mining waste when:
- building
- involved in civil construction
- landscaping.
Be aware and make others aware of the potential to encounter mining waste.
Assess the risks of encountering mining waste on the land where you're working.
Before you start work
Before you start work on land in a historical mining region:
- inspect the surface of the land to identify historical mining waste
- review historical information about the site to find out if there has been mining activity
- ask the person in management or control of the site for information about past mining activities and land contamination.
The person in management or control of the site might be, for example, the project manager or the resident.
If there are signs that mining waste is present, ask for the site to be tested for mining waste.
Proceed with caution even if there's no evidence of mining waste on the site. Mining waste is not always visible, and historical information is not always accurate.
When mining waste is present:
- avoid disturbing the land
- ask the person in management or control of the site for a management plan that minimises the risk of harm to human health or the environment
- contact us for advice.
If you encounter mining waste during works
If you encounter mining sands, calcined sands or material that could be mining waste when working, you should:
- stop works to assess the risks
- notify the person in management or control of the land
- follow your workplace health and safety protocols for decontamination, or contact WorkSafe Victoria(opens in a new window) for advice
- isolate the area with temporary fencing
- record the location with GPS coordinates if possible
- provide and maintain measures to minimise the risk of harm to human health or the environment, so far as is reasonably practicable.
It's important to cover exposed areas and any stockpiled mining sands to keep dust from moving off site. Put appropriate erosion controls in place to prevent run-off from reaching stormwater or waterways.
If you encounter alluvium or waste rock (mullock):
- notify the person in management or control of the land, in case the land is contaminated with mining waste
- be aware that further earthworks may uncover contaminated mining waste
- be aware that you may be working near a shaft or horizontal mine tunnel (adit).
If the alluvium rock is from mining waste, take the actions recommended for calcined sands.
Find out about historical mining activity
To find out if mining activity took place on land where you're working:
- check the site history records
- check previous site inspections and reports
- interview site representatives, such as site managers, owners, former employees or neighbours
- visually check the land and nearby excavation activity to identify historical mining waste
- check our public register for contaminated land audit reports
- find information on sites that have been subject to an environmental audit at Victoria Unearthed(opens in a new window)
- find geological maps that show mine shafts and areas of mining activity at GeoVic(opens in a new window)
- look up records of historical mining activities at the Victorian Heritage Database(opens in a new window).
Visual evidence of possible past mining activity may include:
- shafts
- poppet heads
- mining infrastructure
- old infrastructure, such as brick kilns
- peppercorn trees.
Learn more about how to research a site's history.
Management or control of land contaminated with mine waste
You're in management or control of land if you can exercise power over that land – for example, if you:
- hold a legal interest in the land as the owner, leaseholder (tenant) or committee of management
- have access to or use of the land.
Your duties and obligations
To learn what you must do to meet your duties, visit:
You should assess whether mining waste is present in land you manage or control.
If there is mining waste, implement risk control measures to minimise the risk to human health and the environment. Make sure you monitor and maintain your controls.
You should inform contractors working on your land about:
- the extent and nature of the contamination
- what controls you are putting in place to minimise the risks.
It's reasonable to assume that historical mining activities may have contaminated your land. Our Contaminated land policy sets out:
- when it's reasonable to assume contamination
- what level of response we expect.
For more information on identifying and managing contaminated land, visit Contaminated land and groundwater.
Make sure you notify us of the contaminated land if you have a duty to do so.
Find more information in Potentially contaminated land – A guide for business.
If there's known mining activity
If you know that there were mining activities on the land or adjacent to the land, you should engage an expert. An expert can assess whether your land is impacted by contamination from mining waste.
When excavating
You must manage contamination from mining waste when excavating. As the person in management or control of the land, you should:
- prepare a site management plan for the excavation works to manage the risk of harm to human health and the environment
- put controls in place to minimise the risk of harm from the mining waste so far as reasonably practicable – for example:
- dust suppression
- stormwater management to contain run-off
- removing the contaminated material to a place authorised to receive it (lawful place)
- monitor and maintain the control measures
- notify us of the contaminated land if you have a duty to do so
- provide information to others who may be affected, such as the people working on your land.
An expert can help you to assess the contamination and prepare a site management plan. Visit Work with a consultant.
If the excavation is associated with a planning proposal, visit Planning Practice Note 30 - Potentially contaminated land(opens in a new window) (Planning Victoria) for information on investigating and assessing potentially contaminated land.
For more information on managing pollution on construction sites, visit Construction.
Work with Traditional Owners
If you're in management or control of land where there is mining waste, work with Traditional Owners to help them meet their aspirations for healing Country.
The Dja Dja Wurrung, who are the Traditional Owners around Bendigo in Central Victoria, call this the healing of upside-down Country. Read more about the action they want prioritised in their Country Plan(opens in a new window) and the country plans of other Traditional Owners.
Engage Traditional Owners as partners at every opportunity on matters of interest. This is particularly important in relation to Crown land or land subject to a Recognition and Settlement Agreement.
To identify the Traditional Owners of a site and whether a site is in an area of cultural sensitivity, refer to the Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Information System(opens in a new window).
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