Environmental Mapping for Miners and Explorers

This Environmental Mapping Tool provides information about the location of environmentally sensitive lands in NSW. It can be used to search an area on the map (i.e. a suburb, Local Government Area or mining/exploration title area) to view environmental map layers or run a “Map Layer Intersection Report” to see where environmental map layers overlap and where mining and exploration titles exist. You can also create, save and print maps which display the map layers of interest. In addition, the Environmental Mapping Tool can be used by miners and explorers to avoid environmentally sensitive areas when planning their projects. Should environmentally sensitive areas be avoided, and impact restrictions be adhered to, explorers will be able to apply for the Complying Exploration Activity (CEA) pathway for an exploration activity approval. The Environmental Mapping Tool can be used to:

• Interrogate and interpret data layers for environmentally sensitive lands

• 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 lands overlap with an existing mining or exploration title

• Create, save and print maps that can be submitted with exploration activity applications

• Help explorers to comply with the Complying Exploration Activity (CEA) pathway for an exploration activity application. To meet the Complying Exploration Activity (CEA) criteria for exploration - refer to https://www.resourcesandgeoscience.nsw.gov.au/

Example map layers include:

• Exploration and Mining titles
• Land and Soil Capability classes
• Land reserved under National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974 (National Park, Nature Reserve, Karst Conservation Reserve, Historic Site, Regional Park or State Conservation Area)
• State Forests
• Land Use zoning
• Marine Parks
• Land reserved or dedicated under the Crown Lands Act 1989
• Land identified as Wilderness or Declared a wilderness area under the Wilderness Act 1987
• Drinking Water Catchment Areas
• Land designated as a Wetland of International Significance under the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands
• Land designated as a Nationally Important Wetland in the Directory of Important Wetlands of Australia
• Coastal Wetlands mapped in NSW for the purpose of the SEPP for Coastal Management 2018
• Littoral Rainforests mapped in NSW for the purpose of the SEPP for Coastal Management 2018
• Land zoned in an environmental planning instrument as being of significance for biodiversity or environmental conservation
• Potential Acid Sulfate Soils or Actual Acid Sulfate Soils
• World Heritage Sites
• Places listed on the National Heritage List, Commonwealth Heritage List, State Heritage Register
• Heritage items identified in an environmental planning instrument
• Critical Industry Clusters
• Biophysical Strategic Agricultural Land (BSAL)
• Local Government Areas
• Cadastral information (property boundaries, Lot and DPs)
• Native Title including: Registered Native Title Claimant Applications; Native Title Determinations; Indigenous Land Use Agreements (ILUA)
• Key Fish Habitat and Threatened Freshwater Fish Species
• Species Sightings
• Hydrology