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Revegetation at rehabilitated mine site
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Mine closure and lease relinquishment are critical for achieving mine completion. How well mine closure is undertaken determines if the mine is viewed as a positive for the community or a legacy.
Planning for mine closure is a critical component in current mine planning and should start at the project assessment stage. In this way rehabilitation to achieve mine closure plans can be implemented progressively throughout the life of the mine.
Mine closure is the final stage of rehabilitation. During mine closure, mining equipment is decommissioned and removed from the site and rehabilitation is completed in line with the agreed rehabilitation objectives. There will be a series of completion criteria, performance standards and regulatory obligations that a mine must fulfil to ensure the agreed end land use is achieved. There are many studies that are required during this phase to be able to demonstrate that the environmental standards can be met for post-mine land use.
Lease relinquishment and the full return of the security deposit only occurs when, at the end of decommissioning and rehabilitation, all regulatory obligations have been satisfied and the appropriate end land use has been achieved. This typically takes many years and involves numerous inspections by government to achieve sign-off and mine completion.
If there is potential for a mine to reopen in the future, the mine may go under “care and maintenance”. This may happen, for example, if current economic conditions make the mine unviable. During care and maintenance, production is stopped but the site is managed to ensure it remains in a safe and stable condition, ready to be reopened if circumstances change in the future.
The mining industry is continuing to develop improved practices in managing the socio-economic elements of a mine closure to contribute to community sustainability post-mine closure. Managing the socio-economic aspects of mine closure can help to mitigate negative social and economic impacts of mine closure. This is most commonly achieved through ongoing relationships with the community and incorporating Social Impact Assessments as part of Mine Closure Plans that commence early in the development of a mining operation.
External Link
Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism – Mine Closure and Completion Handbook
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