In this article:
- The Horsley Park Quarry includes a large extraction pit, settling ponds, stockpiles, internal access tracks and internal drainage lines
- Rehabilitation has been undertaken progressively on the site since about 2018 as part of a redevelopment associated with the Oakdale East Industrial Estate.
- See what score you get for your Rehabilitation and Closure program
- Find out about Decipher’s Rehabilitation and Closure solution
Background information on the Quarry
The quarry is situated at Horsley Park in western Sydney and extracts clay, shale and kaolin. The quarry includes a large extraction pit, settling ponds, stockpiles, internal access tracks and internal drainage lines. Extraction operations at the quarry commenced in the early 1970s and provided a range of shale/clay raw materials for use in the manufacture of bricks at the adjoining Horsley Park Brick Plant 23.- Maximum annual production levels at the manufacturing plant are about 130 million bricks, for which about 530,000 tonnes of clay/shale is required annually from the quarry.
- The site, where rehabilitation has been completed, previously comprised part of the quarrying operations but was historically backfilled.
- The site comprises around 11 hectares within the south western corner of the quarry, and until recently, was used for the stockpiling of materials extracted from the quarry.
- Rehabilitation has been undertaken progressively on the site since about 2018 as part of a redevelopment associated with the Oakdale East Industrial Estate.
Required rehabilitation outcomes
The required rehabilitation outcomes for the site are detailed in the Horsley Park Plant 23 Quarry mining operations plan (MOP) approved by the Regulator. The MOP requires the lease holder to achieve the approved rehabilitation objectives, rehabilitation completion criteria and final landform.See what score you get for your Rehabilitation and Closure program
This includes the following key obligations:- Establish a safe, stable, self-sustaining and non-polluting landform that is free-draining.
- Establish a final land use that consists of an industrial subdivision that will include access roads, hardstand areas and industrial buildings.
Rehabilitation progress
Following completion of quarrying operations, the site was historically backfilled with about 1.6 million tonnes of imported material. However, only limited records were available with respect to the original source of the historically imported materials and the potential for co-placement of waste. The rehabilitation works therefore included the relocation of these placed materials to a separate portion of the quarry land to achieve the approved rehabilitation outcomes and industrial final land use. A stockpile relocation management plan (SRMP) was prepared to provide a framework that allowed for historically imported/placed materials that may represent a potential environmental and/or health-based risk (i.e. contaminated or with otherwise deleterious characteristics) to be appropriately identified and managed during the relocation work. During the relocation work, material that was potentially impacted as a result of co-placement of building and construction waste was identified around parts of the historical quarry margins within the site. Subsequent environmental investigations were undertaken which identified that a small portion of the remaining material was impacted with asbestos-containing materials. Consequently, a remedial action plan (RAP) was prepared to guide the procedures to be implemented during the stockpile relocation work to remove or manage the risks posed from the identified soil contamination. The SRMP and RAP were implemented while relocating the approximate 1.6 million tonnes of nonnatural materials from the site. The principal ‘rehabilitation’ activities included:- The removal of existing stockpiled raw materials to elsewhere within the operating quarry the removal of waste material that was identified in the historic fill.
- The materials that were contaminated with asbestos were sent to a designated containment cell outside of the mining lease area in accordance with the approved RAP and local and state planning requirements.
- Commencement of cut and fill works and compaction to create the various levelled building pads and road alignment associated with the proposed industrial development
- assess the removal of all stockpiled, fill and bund materials
- assess the in-situ natural materials to confirm the absence of residual contamination document the validation process.
- Review and audit material tracking documentation.
- Site supervision during removal of potentially contaminated materials inspections from December 2019 to May 2020.
- Collection of 54 natural soil validation samples and laboratory analysis of soil samples for identified contaminants of potential concern.
- Data assessment and preparation of this validation report.
- the final landform is safe, stable, non-polluting and free draining
- the site was suitable, from a contamination and remediation perspective, to be excised from the existing mining lease.
How to drive progressive rehabilitation and closure
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=340Weed-sww[/embedyt] Information obtained from NSW Resources Regulator.
Decipher’s Rehabilitation & Closure Solution
Armed with Decipher’s Rehabilitation & Closure solution, including GIS, remote sensing, monitoring and management tools means you can easily capture and analyse a wide range of environmental monitoring data, manage risks and issues around put backfilling, rapid flooding, slope instability and acid generation, and ensure you’re meeting your environmental obligations and compliance with alerts and notifications of exceedances.
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Want to find out more about mine rehabilitation?
- See what score you get for your Rehabilitation and Closure program
- What is mine rehabilitation and closure?
- What are some key challenges facing mine rehabilitation and closure?
- How much does mine rehabilitation cost?
- What are the advancements in mine rehabilitation technology?
- What are some best practice mine rehabilitation methods?
- How to take a macro and micro approach to mine rehabilitation
- What is CRC-TiME?
- How to become an industry leader in mine rehabilitation
- Download this free Guide to Mine Rehabilitation in Australia
