The public liability insurance crisis in Australia has hit the small mining sector hard. It is a requirement of the Mineral Resources Development Act that a miner has public liability insurance to cover himself against claims made by anyone entering upon his license.

Public liability insurance is all but unobtainable for small underground mine operators and a permit to commence mining operations will not be issued until said insurance is in place.
The Executive Committee of the PMAV is working hard to try and solve this impasse. We have written to the Minister requesting an amendment to legislation to remove the mandatory requirement for such insurance, we have obtained the support of the Victorian National Party and a 'look favourably' from the Liberals for such an amendment.

We have suggested the Mining Warden could handle the matter. We have written to the Federal Government. We have continued to seek insurance through brokers and the State Government appointed broker. Despite the above, a solution eludes us at the present time.

It is absurd that the inability to obtain mandatory insurance for a virtually non-existent risk is causing small mines to close. Unless an answer to this problem is found then small-scale underground operations will cease to exist in one of the world's best goldfields.