SOUTH Australia has been ranked as the leading state for mining project approval processes in an industry regulation report released earlier this week.

Commissioned to an expert panel by the Minerals Council of Australia, the Scorecard of Mining Project Approval Processes compares strengths and weaknesses of mining approval processes across both Australian and New Zealand jurisdictions.

Of the 19 issues assessed in the scorecard, South Australia rated the highest performer in 13 fields, including in clarity of process, timeliness, compliance cost, capability, certainty and effectiveness.

“This result confirms South Australia as the leading jurisdiction in terms of mining approval, environmental assessments and land access,” mineral resource and energy minister Tom Koutsantonis said.

“The updates to our Mining Act in 2011 and policy initiatives are in step with best practice regulation and overall, are having a positive impact on the sector.”

Nation-wide, the scorecard highlighted significant weakness in the design of policies and regulations, reflecting issues with staffing, expertise and resourcing available to administering government departments.

For a copy of the report, click here.