Mining for Closure: Policies, practises and guidelines for sustainable mining and closure of mines

small scale mining conducted by artisanal or illegal miners, also including the uncontrolled occupation of mine sites. Since mine abandonment is usually sudden and unplanned, governments are often left responsi- ble for mine closure and rehabilitation. However, it is clear that most of the points outlined above can be planned for, or are preventable in some way. Indeed there are growing expectations around the world that this always be done. Prevention of fu- ture mining legacies can be achieved through the Mining for Closure activities and principles summa- rised within this document. Prevention is feasible and desirable via sound governance. • In essence, Mining for Closure approaches encom- pass: the definition of a vision of the end result for mining land that sets out concrete objectives for implementation; ensuring that the mine closure plan is an inte- gral part of a project life cycle; the preparation of a mine closure plan early in the process of mine development and in consultation with the regulating authority and local communities; the explicit inclusion of environmental, social and economic aspects in the planning for min- ing operations; allowances for review and evolution that stretch from the pre-mine planning phase, through construction, mining, and mine clo- sure to post-mine stewardship. As more specific items, such processes should in- corporate: the concerns/participation of other stakehold- ers in the reclamation objectives; plans for action if ownership reverts to the state despite all efforts to ensure otherwise; the preservation of mine management and geological records; early delineation of project creditors’ claims on the site; legal considerations for ownership, both now and in the past;. maintenance of control over tenure if leases expire and another party wants to obtain rights to the surface/subsurface; • • • • • • • • • • • activities within mining for closure

2004) and some of the key items within the Rapid Assessment report (Burnod-Requia, 2004). It pro- vides information and guidance for regional deci- sion makers on how they can move policy instru- ments (measures) forward in the areas enfolding the extractive industries. Central to achieving this is understanding of how many of the problems came to pass. A range of reasons for mine abandonment are presented in literature surrounding the industry (Environmental Protection Agency, 1995b; Mul- ligan, 1996; Nazari, 1999; Sengupta, 1993; Smith & Underwood, 2000; van Zyl et al ., 2002a; WOM Geological Associates, 2000). The mining related elements that create the legacy of abandoned and orphaned mines are held to include: the general absence of mine reclamation poli- cies and regulations until the latter part of the twentieth century; ineffective enforcement of mine reclamation policies and regulations if, and where in exist- ence; the absence of financial security mechanisms to ensure funds for parties such as government to conduct remediation in the event a mining company going bankrupt and being unable to cover the costs of rehabilitation; inadequate financial security to address re- mediation if, and where such funds were set aside; unforeseen economic events that caused early cessation of activity or left companies bank- rupt, such as a sudden drop in metal prices, insurmountable difficulties with mining/mill- ing, and/or infrastructure problems; past technical practices undertaken such as the sinking of numerous exploration shafts and mineral deposit test pits that were never back-filled prior to the introduction of drilling equipment for mineral deposit evaluation; national security issues such as the supply cut-off for strategic metals in times of conflict leading to rapid mining activity with scant consideration of closure requirements or op- erational longevity; loss of mine data including records of under- ground workings and surface openings due to natural disaster, regulatory flux, unscheduled cessation of activities, political disruption and conflict; political unrest, conflict and political instabil- ity leading to unscheduled cessation of activi- ties of a number of mines; and • • • • • • • • •

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MINING FOR CLOSURE