A mining operation can be identified as demonstrating prudent management when a number of vital characteristics are evident.All risks and opportunities that are critical to the on-going success of the operation have been identified and are being effectively managed.All significant tasks and events are plan driven.All levels of management visibly support the policies of the operation through their attitude, behaviour and actions as well as words.Supporting evidence for required activity and the outcomes is readily available.Improvement mechanisms are working to advance the key business processes.Everyone is working towards satisfying the needs of the stakeholders of the operation.When these characteristics are integrated with the satisfaction of all legislative requirements, all industry codes and optionally all relevant international management system standards then an operation is fulfilling all the requirements of a Due Diligence Process. The majority of mining operations do not show all of these characteristics and therefore unnecessarily suffer from missed profit opportunity and constant cost pressure, less than acceptable safety and health and environmental performance and consequent poor relations with employees, unions and regulators. In these operations the characteristics to be observed are quite different.Serious incidents are occurring with no sign of a rate decrease.The operation lurches from one panic ituation to another.Management are absent in their leadership, but very active in developing rules and enforcement methodologies.The operation has no history. Re-inventing the wheel with employees who come and go at an alarming rate seems to be forever occurring.All efforts are directed at controlling the business outputs with a strong emphasis on blame.Everyone is trying to look busy to avoid the ever-present cost reduction threats. To change to more prudent management utilising a Due Diligence Process is not theoretically difficult. However it does take clear direction, focussed efforts, supporting actions with appropriate tools and perhaps most importantly an internal desire and drive to become such an operation. A Due Diligence Process is about doing the important things that have to be done, providing the understanding of why they are important, demonstrating proof of activity and effectiveness, and leading the way through effective management.