In this article:
- Effective stakeholder communication
- Industry collaboration
- Financial security
- Abandoned mines
- CRC-TiME
- Innovation
- Decipher’s industry leading Rehabilitation and Closure solution
āPlanning for rehabilitation takes place long before mining commences, and rehabilitation is undertaken progressively during the life of a mine wherever practical.Ā The minerals industry is committed to the rehabilitation of mined land and to make it available for other uses after mining, whether it be conservation, grazing, cropping or other uses.āĀ Ā
CommunicationĀ
EffectiveĀ communications are essential to the success of any miningĀ project,Ā however, critics claim that confusion surrounding the definition and application of terminology in post-mining ecological repair has resulted in uncertainty for industry, the scientific community and regulators.Ā Historically,Ā Australia, America and mostĀ jurisdictionsĀ have used the term rehabilitation as a broad term to encompass all the activities performed to improve land post-mining. In contrast,Ā DrĀ AdamĀ Cross, Research FellowĀ at theĀ ARC Centre for Mine Site Restoration,Ā Curtin University, prefers the phraseĀ ecologicalĀ restorationĀ when it comes to revegetating mine sites.Ā DrĀ Cross says that rehabilitationĀ aims only to achieveĀ some form of recovery in landscapes that have been degraded, and that theĀ recoveryĀ activity can be something as simple as planting grasses or cereal for livestockĀ grazing post-mining. In contrast, ecological restoration is the process ofĀ returningĀ ecosystem functioning and biodiversityĀ towards levels derived fromĀ some form of reference. The reference point could be based on a datasetĀ gatheredĀ from the site itselfĀ before mining disturbance takes place, a neighbouring areaĀ of intact vegetation,Ā or even some agreed-uponĀ value.Ā Many Australian mines aim to reinstate native vegetation following mining, and are actually undertaking ecological restoration rather than rehabilitation.Ā Conversely, Tony Pekin, Director at Nurture Revegetation, sees rehabilitation as the early works such as earthworks and land forming.Ā Ā āI consider revegetation as the very last step. Itās the icing on the cake.Ā ĀāRevegetation may onlyĀ comprise theĀ last one or two per centĀ of the whole process. However, if the first 98 per cent is done correctly, but we fail to revegetate, then you haven’t restored the land, which leaves it vulnerable to erosion.āĀ
CollaborationĀ
DrĀ Cross says that itāsĀ vital that the mining industry is not hindered by the concept of returning biodiversity at all costs.Ā āRestoring biodiversity should be the aspiration, however,Ā where there is evidence that it isĀ not possibleĀ designing alternative uses for those mines is aĀ greatĀ example of how miners can engage in a partnership with local stakeholders,ā saidĀ DrĀ Cross.Ā He says that when miners plan for closure, they can prepare the end-use for that mine in consultation with all stakeholders to be almost anything. Examples from around the world includeĀ solar farms and grazing fields, and museums, amusement parks and hotels.Ā Ā Both Cross and Pekin named the Argyle Diamond Mine as an excellent example of effective stakeholder collaboration.Ā
The mine is set to fully close inĀ late 2020, with owners Rio Tinto saying thatĀ completeĀ rehabilitation will take between five to ten years. Before getting underway,Ā Rio TintoĀ has beenĀ active in bringing traditionalĀ owners and regulatorsĀ to the table.Ā By adopting principles of environmental co-management, theĀ ArgyleĀ rehabilitation program has so far:Ā Ā Ā
- IntroducedĀ plant species of significant importance to local peopleĀ into the rehabilitation areasĀ
- DevelopedĀ a small business enterprise within the two Aboriginal communities that provideĀ native speciesĀ seedsĀ andĀ seedlings for the rehabilitation processĀ and for sale to other minersĀ
- CreatedĀ employment opportunitiesĀ in horticulture-related activities for elderly people and women with children who are not able to gain employment outside the communityĀ Ā
- Created employment opportunities for some community members withinĀ theĀ Argyle operationĀ itselfĀ
Financial securityĀ
Rehabilitation requirements are specified in regulatory approval conditions. While theĀ post-miningĀ land use can vary, all states require previously mined land to be made safe, stable and non-polluting. Companies must regularly report on rehabilitation progress in line with their approval conditions, usually annually.āÆĀ According to a Minerals Council of Australia spokesperson,Ā State andĀ TerritoryĀ Governments require companies to provide some form of financial suretyĀ in the form of a bondĀ before mining can begin.Ā These funds are generally intended to cover the full third-party costs of rehabilitating mine sites. This does not remove the obligation for companies to rehabilitate the land. Bonds are used only in the unlikely event those obligations cannot be met.Ā One of the criticisms of a bond-based system is that their level of securityĀ hasĀ not keptĀ pace with the increasing costs and standards of rehabilitation.Ā Ā In 1999 on any siteĀ in Western Australia,Ā the bond represented approximately 80 per cent of the total cost of rehabilitationĀ according to the WA Department ofĀ Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety. By 2008, thatĀ had dropped to around 25 per cent.Ā Bonds also lock-up capital with companies required to provide either cash or asset backing for the full amount in addition to paying direct costs such as annual fees and legal costs.Ā For smaller operators that are required to provide cash-backed bonds, they were required to pay the bond upfront, and then spend the rehabilitation costs, before applying to have their initial bond retired, and the cash returned to them. This essentially required the value of the bond to be paid upfront twice.Ā These findings led the Western Australia Government to introduce a new form of mining security in the manner of an annual levy to be paid into aĀ MiningĀ RehabilitationĀ Fund (MRF).Ā West Australian regulators ācanā still require a bond, but it is not mandatory as in other states.Ā The MRF isĀ a firstĀ for theĀ Australian MiningĀ industry.Ā Ā As at 30 June 2019, money in the fund totalled over $150 million, including net interest. On top of providing rehabilitation surety, the MRF also funds WA’s Abandoned Mines Program.ĀAbandoned MinesĀ
Abandoned mines represent significant liabilities for state and territory governments, which are ultimately responsible for the costs associated with safety and environmental hazards resulting from these sites.Ā Ā
According to a report from theĀ Senate inquiry into the rehabilitation of mining and resources projectsĀ published in March 2019,Ā the cost of rehabilitating all major abandoned mine sites in Australia would run into billions of dollars.Ā The committee also found that the liabilities associated with these sites are not consistently accounted for acrossĀ Australia, andĀ may be underreported.Ā
āWhile it is claimed that there are more than 50,000 abandoned mines across the country, most are historic, single mine features including individual shafts, tunnels or mine workings (e.g. gold-rush era features around Gympie in Queensland, Kalgoorlie-Boulder in Western Australia and central Victoria) with few having material ongoing environmental impacts,ā saidĀ MCA chief executiveĀ Mr Lind.Ā Ā Ā āOnly a small handful of these mines are very large sites, and most of these sites were developed long before modern mining regulation. While this is an important issue to address, historic practices have little or no relevance to contemporary mining and regulation.āĀEchoing these thoughts,Ā DecipherĀ chief executive Anthony Walker said that while industry challenges the actual number,Ā everyone agrees that there are many abandoned mines in Australia and until recently, mine rehabilitation has been an afterthought for most mining companies.Ā
“Decisions about mine closure in Australia have tended to have little consideration of how the land might be used post-mining. However, this is beginning to change, particularly with increased stakeholder pressure, environmental concerns and climate change discussions, and regulatory changes.”ĀMr Walker believes the entire industry has a responsibility to do better and implement best practice strategies and says Decipher plays an essential role in helping them achieve those best practices to drive progressive mine rehabilitation.Ā āWe saw the opportunity to draw upon our knowledge, expertise and technology which had previously been used in the agriculture sector and share these learnings with the mining industry. As a result, we believe Decipher could revolutionise the task of mine rehabilitation, closure and ultimately improve the rates of relinquishment of land ā either back to Government or another organisation for use,” Mr Walker said.Ā Ā āItās exciting and encouraging to see a cultural shift in the industry in recent years with an increased appetite for collaboration by industry, research bodies and government in this space.āĀ To leverage that appetite, Decipher has signed on as one of 70 partners supporting a bid for the establishment of a national Cooperative Research Centre for Transformations in Mining Economies (CRC-TiME) in WA, joining the likes of Alcoa, BHP, Rio Tinto, the WA, Queensland and Northern Territory Governments, as well as researchers from eight universities and the CSIRO.Ā Ā CRC TiME chief executiveĀ designateĀ and associate professor Guy Boggs is part of the bid team and outlined the potential benefits.Ā āThe CRC-TiME would bring scale and coordinated investment to the world-class research being done in Australia, ultimately delivering transformational change to mine closure,” Dr Boggs said.Ā Ā
“Over the next decade, we believe we would see a reduction in mine abandonment, an increase in relinquishment and an increase in the diversity of post-mining land uses. It also presents significant export opportunities for Australian companies.”ĀDr Crossā ARC Centre for Mine Site RestorationĀ is also a leading partner in CRCĀ TiME, saying that the CentreĀ co-wrote sections of the bidĀ withĀ director Kingsley DixonĀ being one of the leading figures in the proposal.Ā The ARC Centre for Mine Site RestorationĀ in collaboration with government and industryĀ also recentlyĀ published the Framework forĀ DevelopingĀ Mine-SiteĀ Completion Criteria in Western Australia (badged under WABSI) ā a world first and a document that will significantly help industry set completion criteria for mining projects.Ā Ā Under the framework, completion criteria are defined in the mining context as agreed standards or levels of performance that indicate the success of rehabilitation and enable an operator to determine when its liability for an area will cease.Ā Ā
Good examplesĀ Ā
The New Hope Group have successfully rehabilitated approximately 490 hectares of mined land at their New Acland site, of which 240 hectares is now being used for grazingĀ about 100 heads ofĀ cattle.Ā Ā Glencoreās Rolleston open-cut coal operation in Central Queensland has also received certification on 400 hectares of rehabilitated mined land, representing almost 40 per cent of the total amount of mined land. Rehabilitation is incorporated into daily mine plans and annual plans to ensure that this work is resourced, budgeted and delivered. Such plans include target areas for disturbance, areas for shaping, seeding and forecasts for rehabilitation across the life of the mine.Ā Ā In 2017, Nurture Revegetation was involved in aĀ modest revegetation programĀ thatĀ was conducted at the Nim Blue Waste DumpāÆatĀ Nothern StarāsĀ Jundee mine.Ā The company has developed a pelleting process to improve the logistics of seed delivery and the survival and recruitment of seeds and seedlings.Ā Ā Mr Pekin says thatĀ seeds are added to a bentonite clay mix before been formed into pellets. Additives to enhance survival are included in the clay mix and tailored to the targeted environment.Ā One of the challenges that mine sites experience is that itās hard to time the distribution of raw seed. A lot of the seed is lost to the wind and wildlife. Plus, the seed needs to be scattered after the waste rock has been ripped but before the rain.Ā Ā According to Mr Pekin, the companyās pellets substantially open the window of opportunity.Ā Ā āThe pellets can be distributed straight after the soil has been ripped and it doesnāt matter if it doesnāt rain for months because the pellets protect the seeds from the environment and from birds and insects.Ā Ā Walker says that the product has been demonstrated at various sites in WA and has found that the pellets areĀ wellĀ suited for use in drones.Ā Ā āThe major companies are very aware of their OHNS responsibilities and putting people on steep unsettled slopes is potentially dangerous. So, drones represent a way of the future,ā said Mr Pekin.Ā ĀInnovationĀ
The digital transformation has touched most areas of the mining industry, including rehabilitation. According to Decipher chief executive Anthony Walker,Ā his company has beenĀ an early mover in the market.Ā Ā Ā Decipher is a mine rehabilitation and closure planning platform that provides mining companies with the data, insights and tools needed to drive progressive rehabilitation, enabling them to implement best practice strategies and become industry leaders in this space. Ā Ā āDecipher utilises world-class technology including remote sensing, regulation technology, agriculture technology and environmental analysis to provide our clients with the data and insights they need to ensure they’re meeting environmental obligations and compliance,” he explained.Ā “As importantly it provides the information they need to plan for the closure and rehabilitation of their sites in a way that has a positive impact on their sustainability and social licence to operate, as well as the company’s bottom line.”Ā Decipher claims that users can easily track their rehabilitation efforts and commitments through the entire cycle by the platform.Ā Ā ĀDecipher’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.Watch this video to find out how to drive progressive rehabilitation and closure
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Want to find out more about mine rehabilitation?
- 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
