Bengalla Mining Company Pty Limited - Rio Tinto Coal Australia

Rehabilitation & Landscape
Management Plan
3.0 Rehabilitation Management Plan
3.1 Objectives
The main objective of rehabilitation at Bengalla is to develop an undulating, free-draining
landform with an optimum land capability which supports agricultural land for
predominately cattle grazing and native habitat.
The proposed landform and rehabilitation strategy at Bengalla is shown in Figure 1 as
adapted from the Bengalla SEE and MOP. The final landform will be undulating, with
slopes generally to 10 o , and up to a maximum of 18 o on the low wall. Erosion and
sediment control and water management structures will be incorporated into the
landform as rehabilitation progresses. The landform will be predominately revegetated to
improved pastures and trees. Where possible, any tree planting will be connected to
remnant areas of forest or woodland, so as to provide corridors for wildlife migration.
The Synoptic Plan: Integrated Landscapes for Coal Mine Rehabilitation in the Hunter
Valley of New South Wales (Synoptic Plan) (DMR, 1999) identifies potential vegetation
corridors across the Hunter Valley and encourages the integration of mine rehabilitation
with remnant vegetation. The Synoptic Plan recommended the reconstruction and
enhancement of the riparian corridor along Dry Creek (see Figure 1). As the riparian
corridor along Dry Creek will not be disturbed by currently approved mining operations,
the recommendations of the Synoptic Plan have not been incorporated into this RLMP.
The management of the riparian corridor along Dry Creek will be further considered
during the detailed development of the final Mine Closure Plan. Tree plantings completed
for rehabilitation purposes at Bengalla will aim to link to remnant vegetation.
The post-mining land capability for Bengalla is shown on Figure 2. A comparison of the
pre and post-mining land capability within the DA area are shown in Table 3, with a
relatively small reduction in Class V land capability area resulting due to the final void.
Table 3
Pre-Mining & Post-Mining Land Capability Comparison
Class
Pre-mining
(ha)
Postmining
(ha)
III 75.7 75.7
IV 188.6 188.6
V 1,378.2 1,272.4
Class M
(Void)
Land Description
Regular cultivation with intensive soil conservation
measures such as contour banks and waterways
Grazing and occasional cultivation with simple practices
such as stock control and fertiliser application
Grazing and occasional cultivation with intensive soil
conservation measures such as contour ripping and banks
- 105.8 Unsuitable for rural production
Ref: 071025 bmc rehabilitation & landscape mp Page 7