PERTH (miningweekly.com) – The Western Australian government has appointed a second Perth Mining Warden, to work on the increasing number of contested mineral title applications before the Court.

The high number of cases is due to an increase in mining title applications in Western Australia's minerals sector, which has led to an increase in the number of objections to application approvals and disputes.

The state government said on Tuesday that competing demands on court resources, including cases referred to Perth from regional court districts, have also contributed to an increased load of application cases.

"The government's appointment of an additional Perth Mining Warden will allow matters before the court to be dealt with more quickly and efficiently. 

"Western Australia's resources sector has seen, on average, a 12% increase in mineral title applications each year since 2019, which is an indication of the sector's strong performance,” said Mines and Petroleum Minister Bill Johnston.

"This has led to a rise of contested mineral title applications before the Warden's Court and in this competitive market it's expected to continue growing. 

"Dealing with these application matters through an accessible and efficient justice service is fundamental to a sustainable minerals resource industry."

The appointment of a second full-time Perth Warden, and additional support staff, will ensure contested application cases will be processed in a timely and efficient manner.

The Association of Mining and Exploration Companies (Amec) has welcomed the appointment, with CEO Warren Pearce saying it would speed up dispute resolution in the mining and minerals exploration industry.

“Boosting capacity in the Warden Courts mirrors the earlier government investment in more approvals officers and the StreamlineWA initiatives. This decision will have a material impact on the timeliness of the grant of tenure and the resolution of disputes.

“Over the last 18 months, we have been concerned that there is an increasing backlog in listing for hearings, with hearings delayed out towards the end of this year,” said Pearce.

He noted that Amec was pleased that the government had also increased the number of support staff to the Warden, saying it was a ‘sensible investment’ that would improve the productivity of the Warden’s Court.