What is mine completion?

Mining is a temporary land use, therefore operators have a responsibility to enable safe post-mining land use after mining activity has ended. Mine completion means that mined land has been closed and rehabilitated to an extent that land can safely transition to future use.

Mine rehabilitation can be defined as:

“the return of disturbed land to a safe, stable, nonpolluting/ non-contaminating landform in an ecologically sustainable manner that is productive and/or self-sustaining, and is consistent with the agreed post-mining land use” (DMP & EPA 2015).

A mine completion framework includes agreed standards or levels of performance that indicate the success of rehabilitation and enable the operator to determine when its liability will cease. The Department of mines, Industry Regulation and Safety (DMIRS) and the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) determine that a Mine Closure Plan must consider:

Completion criteria that will be used to measure rehabilitation success
Completion criteria that will demonstrate the closure objectives have been met
Completion criteria developed for each domain which consider environmental values

Find out how mine rehabilitation legislation in Australia is changing in our FREE guide.

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