Publication Name

MINING FOR CLOSURE

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;

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;

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

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