Miners and explorers' mapping tool
Locate areas of environmental sensitivity within NSW to assist in planning exploration projects.
The environmental mapping tool for miners and explorers allows you to create a user-friendly map in the SEED portal that can locate areas of environmental sensitivity within NSW so these areas can be accurately found throughout the planning stages for future exploration and mining projects.
The tool includes existing exploration and mining titles and, most importantly, bridges the critical link between environmentally sensitive areas and potential exploration and mining projects.
Define application boundaries
By using the environmental mapping tool, miners and explorers are now able to define their application boundaries on a map and layer spatial information such as environmentally sensitive lands to validate and support their application. Being able to identify important environmental factors upfront, and avoiding environmentally sensitive areas, helps to streamline application and processing times.
Avoid environmentally sensitive locations
The environmental mapping tool helps explorers avoid environmentally sensitive locations and plan impact mitigation. Should environmentally sensitive areas be avoided, and impact restrictions be adhered to, explorers are able to apply for the complying exploration activity (CEA) pathway for an exploration activity approval. A CEA has a 10-day assessment timeframe, compared to a 30-day assessment for non-CEA projects. Further information regarding the exploration activity application process is available on the Mining, Exploration and Geoscience (MEG) website.
Ways to use the tool
The environmental mapping tool can be used to:
- interrogate and interpret data layers for environmentally sensitive land
- locate existing mining and exploration titles
- plan exploration proposals by plotting points, drilling locations and calculating areas and distances
- run a 'map layer intersection report' to see where environmentally sensitive land overlaps on an existing mining or exploration title
- create, save and print accurate maps that can be submitted with exploration activity applications
- help explorers to comply with the (CEA) pathway for an exploration activity application.
Find out how to use the environmental mapping for miners and explorers tool by watching the help video or you can start using the tool at SEED Miners and Explorer's Map