PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Western Australia’s Department of Mines and Petroleum on Thursday said that continuing reform was necessary for the state’s A$121-billion-a-year resources industry to remain competitive in the current commodities market.

Speaking at the Paydirt Nickel conference, director-general Richard Sellers noted, however, that the reforms should not add to the cost of doing business in the state, or detract from its appeal as an investment destination.

“One of the most successful outcomes to date of our reform is the slashing of the tenement titles approvals processes and backlog to its best level in more than two decades,” Sellers said.

“When you consider there are more than 22 000 active mineral titles operating in Western Australia covering an area of almost 550 000 km², or just over one-fifth of the state’s land mass, the department’s moves to cut the backlog of outstanding titles applications have seen this drop from more than 18 000 in 2007 to just over 4 000 today,” he said.

“This will reduce even further under our current push to expand the existing approvals transparency to other related government agencies including Aboriginal Affairs, Water, Environment Regulation, the Environmental Protection Authority and Parks and Wildlife.”

Sellers stressed the importance of consultation in shaping Western Australia’s resources future, adding that resources projects had to be developed in an increasingly complex and challenging social and community environment.

“This environment demands that industry has greater environmental, economic and social accountability, which, in itself, highlights the importance of transparent decision-making and community engagement for the successful delivery of new resources projects.”

“The challenge Western Australia now faces is the ability to sustain growth of the resources sector and remain an attractive investment destination and that includes agencies such as ours helping build confidence with stakeholders and the community.”

Nickel was recorded as Western Australia’s fourth most valuable mineral sector at A$3.5-billion.The state’s nickel sales fell by 9% to 209 000 t during the first half of the year, while the total value fell by 4%.