A guide to leading practice sustainable development in mining

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Biodiversity and Closure Introduction An example of taking biodiversity into account when closing a mine is the Timbarra gold mine. The primary aim of revegetation was to re-establish the majority of target vegetation consistent with the seven natural vegetation communities that occurred in the area disturbed (LP Closure p.25). Figure 5.2 – Habitat corridor Timbarra gold mine An example where mining companies can have a positive effect on biodiversity is the jarrah forests of Western Australia (LP Biodiversity). A plant disease (dieback) caused by the introduced soil-borne pathogen Phytophthora cinnamomi, can lead to severe degradation in the most susceptible sites. Many of the dominant jarrah species (Eucalyptus marginata) are killed in these infested areas, along with a range of mid-storey and understorey plants. This can result in significant impacts on the biodiversity values of severely affected areas. Alcoa’s bauxite mining operations occur in the jarrah forest and degraded sites are present within the mine envelope. In 1979 the company made a commitment to support a rehabilitation program for these sites within the mine envelopes of its three mines. Figure 5.3 – Dieback rehabilitated area A GUIDE TO LEADING PRACTICE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN MINING 135
MINE: Jarrahdale bauxite mine LOCATION: Jarrahdale Western Australia BRIEF DESCRIPTION: Surface bauxite mining AREA OF LEADING PRACTICE: Rehabilitation; closure and completion HANDBOOK(S) REFERENCE: Mine rehabilitation; mine closure and completion DESCRIPTION OF INNOVATION: The published rehabilitation objective at Alcoa’s WA bauxite mines is ‘. . . to establish a stable, self regenerating Jarrah forest ecosystem, planned to enhance or maintain water, timber, recreation, conservation and/or other nominated forest values’. Achieving such a broad objective to the level expected by society, however, required the evolution of increasingly stringent, specific targets and operating standards. This in turn depended on the constant evolution of improved restoration technologies, requiring significant levels of ecological research. Alcoa’s completion criteria contained broad guidelines about how an area of rehabilitation would be relinquished and a certificate of acceptance issued, but no detail about how this would be administrated. An area containing 975 ha of rehabilitation at the Jarrahdale Mine was identified as the first area to be submitted for a certificate of acceptance; and subsequently the first certificate of acceptance for a significant area of mining rehabilitation in Australia was issued in November 2005. This represented about a quarter of the area mined and rehabilitated at Jarrahdale. A second area that includes 380 hectares of rehabilitated land has subsequently been signed off and two further areas have been submitted. Substantial areas of Jarrahdale have met the required completion criteria. This should allow these areas to be managed in an integrated manner with the surrounding unmined Jarrah forest. Although the rehabilitated areas are not identical to the pre-mined condition, all the sites at Jarrahdale have reached approximate compositional goals to unmined sites and to have demonstrated processes of self-perpetuation. Key components of Alcoa’s strategy have been a commitment to study the baseline native ecosystem and the restored ecosystem, and to seek convergence in similarity of biodiversity and function. Specific applied knowledge gained from this research are the use of directreturned topsoil; the sowing of seed of a wide range of native species; the proximity of colonization sources for other species; propagation and planting of difficult to propagate species; and the refinement of ratios of species to duplicate the forest structure and function. Researchers will never have all the answers to the full suite of challenges raised by mine rehabilitation and environmental management. Alcoa’s ongoing research and improvements to rehabilitation treatments suggest, however, that 10 years from now, mine restoration achievements are going to 136 LEADING PRACTICE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM FOR THE MINING INDUSTRY
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LEADING PRACTICE SUSTAINABLE DEVELO
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Disclaimer This publication has bee
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3.0 DEVELOPMENT AND CONSTRUCTION 61
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The Leading Practi
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viii LEADING PRACTICE SUSTAINABLE D
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1.0 INTRODUCTION The Purpose and La
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Airborne Contaminants, Noise and Vi
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Water Management (LP Water) This ha
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Site water team Corporate managemen
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Sustainable Mining There is no one
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Mining the resource efficiently. Th
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Efficiency SUSTAINABLE MINING PRACT
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LOCATION: Vilabouly District, Savan
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Leading Practice The handbooks in t
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2.0 PRE-DEVELOPMENT: MINERAL EXPLOR
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The application of high standard en
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The Business Case for Sustainabilit
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The information obtained from these
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conditions are appropriate. In NSW,
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Such richness also brings challenge
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The dunefields of Shelburne Bay had
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Community Engagement in the Early S
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Baseline studies and social impact
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Upon completion of the study, resea
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The scenarios envisaged for the Wat
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2. Reflections on the significance
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Engaging with Indigenous communitie
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Figure 2.9 - A New Township under C
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Geochemical assessment aims to iden
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Regardless of the project phase (ex
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Evaluating Performance: Monitoring
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For these reasons, it is important
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Risk Management and Exploration Exp
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Post-mining & closure Resource deve
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level of family diversity was maint
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Introduction The development and co
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MINE: Mt Todd LOCATION: Near Kather
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Airborne Contaminants, Noise and Vi
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Biodiversity Management During Deve
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Rather than taking a generic approa
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Step 2: Working in collaboration On
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course was designed to train and pr
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Adjustments for changes in the mine
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indicators of high importance durin
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Operating major mining projects pre
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the earliest stage of development,
Page 95 and 96: Watercourse diversions In order to
Page 97 and 98: Figure 3.7 - Morwell River after di
Page 99 and 100: tailings disposal techniques contin
Page 101 and 102: Figure 4.2 - Predicted blast overpr
Page 103 and 104: Responsible management of biodivers
Page 105 and 106: Leading practice management of wate
Page 107 and 108: MINE: Pierina Mine LOCATION: Distri
Page 109 and 110: Weipa - a sustainable approach to t
Page 111 and 112: Adopting the International Cyanide
Page 113 and 114: Box 1: Major recent incidents invol
Page 115 and 116: MINE: Chatree gold mine LOCATION: P
Page 117 and 118: The audit outcomes also highlight t
Page 119 and 120: Mercury for gold recovery in small/
Page 121 and 122: Figure 4.9 - Geological control to
Page 123 and 124: highest rating group for the whole
Page 125 and 126: Figure 4.13 - Beverley uranium mine
Page 127 and 128: from 2.5 - 3.0 tonnes/man-shift to
Page 129 and 130: Figure 4.17 - Sunrise Dam TSF Taili
Page 131 and 132: Dry stacking bauxite residue is now
Page 133 and 134: Once the water is used underground
Page 135 and 136: The Rio Tinto “Excellence in Wate
Page 137 and 138: Background Image: Sourced from GOOG
Page 139 and 140: Company policies and government reg
Page 142 and 143: 5.0 MINE REHABILITATION AND CLOSURE
Page 144 and 145: Closure involves the implementation
Page 148 and 149: e better than the high standard bei
Page 150 and 151: Figure 5.7 - Pasture and shelter tr
Page 152 and 153: The Argyle Diamonds case study (see
Page 154 and 155: support and on site accommodation a
Page 156 and 157: Having the right information to mak
Page 158 and 159: Figure 5.13 - Misima after rehabili
Page 160 and 161: In January 2011, the PNG government
Page 162 and 163: MINE: Former lignite mines LOCATION
Page 164 and 165: Fig 5.16: Former Minister Stein Coa
Page 166 and 167: Figure 5.19 - Rehabilitated mine si
Page 168 and 169: Figure 5.21 - Pit water treatment p
Page 170 and 171: Final Rehabilitation Rehabilitation
Page 172 and 173: Figure 5.23: Aerial view of Area 4
Page 174 and 175: Landform construction In general, e
Page 176 and 177: The Hsin-Chen Shan quarry terrain i
Page 178 and 179: Figure 5.29 - Spreading topsoil at
Page 180 and 181: Risk Management Risk at closure and
Page 182 and 183: During the 1980s and 1990s, a numbe
Page 184 and 185: An example of direct vegetation is
Page 186: Water Management Central to a mine
Page 189 and 190: Department of Resources, Energy and
Page 192 and 193: GLOSSARY AND ACRONYMS Abandoned min
Page 194 and 195: Biodiversity offsets Conservation a
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Cultural heritage Cultural heritage
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Engagement At its simplest, engagem
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High rate thickener A thickener thr
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NAPP Net Acid Producing Potential,
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Product stewardship This is perhaps
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Risk management process The risk ma
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Sustainable development Sustainable
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A guide to leading practice sustainable development in mining

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