Privately held mining company Victory Minerals has breached underground blasting conditions at the Ballarat Gold Mine in Victoria and been fined $11,855.
Resources Victoria’s regulator has issued an infringement notice to Victory Minerals for the underground blast, which occurred in July 2024 because it exceeded the level of ground vibration allowed between 10pm and 7am.
According to ANZECC 1990 Technical Basis for Guidelines to Minimise Annoyance, a maximum blast vibration of 10mm per second must not be exceeded in residential areas.
Blasting is also generally only permitted between 9am and 5pm Monday to Saturday.
These limits are designed to protect the interest of the public, as well as minimise perception and nuisance vibrations, and avoid structural damage to surface property.
At Ballarat, blasting is designed for vibrations to be less than 2.5mm per second.
The Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action says Victoria Minerals notified the regulator of the breach and cooperated with the subsequent investigation.
Resources Victoria Executive Director of regulatory operations Chris Webb says it is essential communities have confidence in the operators of the mines in Victoria.
“Victory Minerals has fallen short of their responsibilities; fines can be imposed, or prosecution initiated for breaching a work plan or licence conditions,” Webb says.
“Resources Victoria’s regulator will continue holding mine operators accountable and will step in to limit impacts on the community.”
Blasting is considered a key part of gold mining processes, yet there are strict conditions in place to reduce impacts on the community. Blasting involves controlled uses of explosives to break rock and enable the recovery of ore.
At Ballarat, a process of drilling and blasting is used where holes are drilled into the rock and then filled with explosives which are detonated causing the rock to break.
Once completed, the ore is removed and a new tunnel surface is reinforced.
Victory Minerals is a gold-focused mining company that owns and operates the Ballarat Gold Mine in Victoria.
Write to Aaliyah Rogan at Mining.com.au
Images: Gold Secure
