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MINING FOR CLOSURE
Sustainability-oriented
– Conditions imposed for
closure will need to transcend environmental qual-
ity criteria alone to include other important factors
employment and social outcomes, as well as long-
term resource stewardship.
Innovative
– Jurisdictions should innovatively seek
alternative economic yield from sites such as the
valorization of wastes; alternative land utilization;
infrastructure re-use; operational underwriting by
tax yield; redevelopment and so forth.
Service oriented
– Mining for Closure solutions
must identify how essential community services
such as medical care, schools, and so forth can be
continued after mine closure.
Inclusive
– Mining for Closure demands an in-
clusive stakeholder approach. This inclusiveness
must stretch beyond consideration of stakeholders
within national boundaries such as communities
and also include both regional nation states and in-
ternational actors.
steps to be taken
Within the immediately coming years there is con-
siderable urgency to achieve development within
institutional frameworks.
Establish
detailed and consistent mine closure re-
quirements and procedures across the region accord-
ing to the principles outlined in this document and
of relevant European and international legislation.
Encourage
the development of an independent
mine closure law that establishes a single agency
for implementation in each country. Ensure that
these laws are consistent with other such laws
within the same regulatory framework and devel-
oped by the other countries in the region, and that
requirements are not duplicated.
Embark
on a capacity-building programme to en-
hance the ability of national agencies and mines
inspectorates to deal with the legacy of mining
sites in the region, and to ensure that new min-
ing projects are based on sound environmental and
security principles. Such works should focus upon
building agency capacity in:
environmental impact and risk assessment,
and screening of new mining projects;
incorporation of public security measures and
emergency preparedness into mining permits
and licences;
dealing with non-active mines, including aban-
doned sites, and
management of transboundary risk.
Similarly, within the immediately coming years
there is some urgency to establish activities and
sanctioned bodies – or strengthen and expand
them where they exist – to progress risk reduction
in general.
Participate
inmulti-lateralworkfortheestablishment
of officially sanctioned bodies or working groups
with the responsibility of scoping programmes for
hotspot site remediation and seeking international
funding for execution of priority works.
Establish
officially sanctioned bodies or working
groups for the assessment and management of
transboundary risk. Such bodies will likely need to
include representatives from generating territories
and receiving territories, and as required include
international experts and international bodies in-
volved in transboundary environmental and re-
gional security issues. Within this, opportunities
should be explored to expand the remit of existing
functional entities to reduce bureaucracy, build on
existing capacity, and maximise efficient use of lim-
ited resources.
Extend &/or establish
transboundary notification
and disaster response systems linked to the parties
mentioned above.
Extend &/or establish
monitoring programmes,
and/or early warning systems for the assessment
of ongoing chronic pollution, and for the detection
of pollution events.
Similarly, within the immediately coming years
there is some urgency to establish the following ac-
tivities to progress rehabilitation or risk ameliora-
tion at abandoned and orphaned mine sites. These
next steps can be read in the context of flagship pi-
lot remediation projects for learning.
Inventorise & prioritise
amongst abandoned and
orphaned sites in order to ensure the best use of
public and private funds. It is unavoidable that
this will require the building of detail inventories
of mining activities and mine related sites in Na-
tional jurisdictions complete with salient content
such as complete details of current ownership and
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