Key points:
- Over the past two decades, over 6000 mines have been abandoned in South Africa and a large number are expected to be closed in the next ten years
- Research is being conducted by the University of Cape Town to try find more integrated opportunities to address the complexities of mine closures through a multi-faceted approach that involves collaboration across disciplines.
- This approach takes into account the perspectives of natural scientists (including bio, environmental and inorganic chemists), chemical engineers, legal specialists and developmental economists
- Ways to rehabilitate a mined out area
- See what score you get for your Rehabilitation and Closure program
- Learn about how creative mine rehabilitation in South Africa has left a legacy
- Find out how to drive progressive mine rehabilitation
- Learn about Decipher’s Rehabilitation and Closure solution
See what score you get for your Rehabilitation and Closure program
Towns like Carletonville, Kroondal and Witbank in South Africa have already felt the impact. A mine closure is a multifaceted injury that occurs in a narrow time frame. Communities don’t have a chance to adapt. It’s therefore important for closures to be planned and managed throughout a mine’s life cycle so that when the inevitable happens, people are better prepared. We have been conducting research into different approaches to mine closures, viewed from several angles. The research covers a range of topics. These include how value can be added by treating acid mine drainage through biomining, evaluating sustainable development in the context of mines preparing for closure, evaluating the legal requirements to facilitate mine transformation and investigating the economic complexity required to grow the South African economy beyond primary resource extraction. A great deal of research is going into green mining – an approach that involves mining metals and minerals for the benefit of local communities and in ways that lead to minimal environmental degradation. This includes planning beyond mine closure, while the mine is still operational. Members from each of the teams involved in the research at the University of Cape Town are trying to find more integrated opportunities to address the complexities of mine closures. Our approach has been to address the challenge through a multi-faceted approach that involves collaboration across disciplines. This approach takes into account the perspectives of natural scientists (including bio, environmental and inorganic chemists), chemical engineers, legal specialists and developmental economists.Opportunities beyond mining
An area we are exploring is whether the infrastructure left behind after mine closures can be put to new use. One key insight is that the infrastructure that supports mining can also be used for agriculture. Another avenue of research investigates planting fibre-producing plants such as bamboo or hemp on mine land. The attraction here is that fibre-producing plants could achieve multiple objectives. The first is that they have the ability to rehabilitate the land itself. Fibrous plants are particularly useful because they selectively absorb metals from the soil. Secondly, communities can diversify a local economy by changing the land use from mining to agricultural activity. This could spur the development of downstream industries, including the manufacturing of textiles and furniture which can be produced from the fibre and stems of some of these plants. An inter-disciplinary approach has been adopted in exploring the possibility of using fibrous plants on land previously used for mining. For example, the Centre for Bioprocessing Engineering Research from the University of Cape Town, is reviewing the available information on fibrous plant suitability. This is done by assessing the best match of plant and degraded land. Key considerations include:- the features of the geography and soil;
- the resilience of the plant and its productivity; and
- the nutrient and water requirements.
Opportunities
South Africa isn’t short of opportunities in which to try out new approaches. Mine closures are a regular occurrence. Lonmin, for example, has announced that over the next three years it will be closing some operations with the loss of over 12 000 jobs. Moving from the concept of mine closure to mine transformation – taking into account the environmental as well as societal and economic effects of mining – provides new opportunities to fill the economic and governance vacuum of mines closing, easing the traumatic transition for affected communities and contributing to securing resilient future livelihoods. Originally published by The Conversation.How to drive progressive rehabilitation and closure
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=340Weed-sww[/embedyt]
Decipher’s Rehabilitation & Closure Solution

Request a full demo of Decipher
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