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

provide ongoing testing, assessment and feed- back regarding the effectiveness of rehabilita- tion designs and/or processes in a site specific fashion during the active mine life; increase efficiency in the execution of work (e.g. in reduction of double-handling for waste materials and topsoil); increase possibilities to continually optimise mine planning for efficient resource extraction and return of eco-systemS to a functional form; reduce areas of land disturbance through use of smaller waste landforms and mining paths, and in some circumstances progressive backfilling; allow identification of areas of high risk as prior- ities for ongoing research and/or remediation; stimulate direct involvement and empower- ment of operations personnel in achieving mine rehabilitation outcomes; stimulate involvement of key stakeholders (es- pecially local communities) in setting priori- ties for mine rehabilitation; reduce ongoing responsibilities for the site and facilitate the timely relinquishment of ten- ements and bond recovery;

Central to the governmental case ensuring that Mining for Closure practices are built into the re- maining operational life for mine is that such ap- proaches serve to: 100 prevent harmful environmental and social im- pacts, lower the risk of non-compliances – both in terms of operational emission/effluents and in closure terms; engender greater acceptance/less resistance from key stakeholders (in particular local com- munities and land owners); reduce financial burdens to the national purse for mine closure and rehabilitation; lower the risk of significant liabilities post-clo- sure – including national and trans-national pollution issues. Central to the business case for the pursuit of Min- ing for Closure are that such approaches serve to: continually reduce liabilities via optimization of rehabilitation works undertaken during the productive phase of mining operations rather than deferringof costs to the end of the project; provide a basis for estimating rehabilitation costs prior to final closure so that sufficient financial and material resources can be set aside; • • • • • • •

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

100. Note that the scale of benefits is clearly linked to how early in a mine life such approaches are adopted.

Copper concentrator plant – Romania Photograph by Philip Peck

67

MINING FOR CLOSURE