ABSTRACT
Mining law and its close relative environment and planning law tend to resonate in the public imagination as intimately connected with land. Arising from the statutory framework, litigation concerning the carrying out of mining activities tends to be framed as judicial review of the executive decision. The role of the Court as interpreter of parliamentary intention is thus ostensibly bound to adhere to the boundaries it perceives as enacted by the legislation. Further, 'environment' is not limited by the legal concept of jurisdiction as geography. Thus mining activities on the land as a bounded spatial locale may have what are known as 'downstream' effects. The Environmental Protection Act (EPA) states that its purpose will be achieved through implementing an integrated management program in cyclical phases. An environmental value is 'a quality or physical characteristic of the environment that is conducive to ecological health or public amenity or safety'.
