A guide to leading practice sustainable development in mining

During this stage of a mine’s life cycle, activity on site is often at a peak.. The
skills required in both management and labour can be significantly different to
that required once the mine is producing. The project management team during
construction and development is focused on achieving, often under high pressure,
budgetary and infrastructure completion goals. Their focus isn’t always on
sustainability aspects. Moreover, the project team often has a handover to a new
team once their role is finished. This in itself can present challenges.
It is during the development and construction phase of a mine’s life that many of the
decisions are made for the long-term, influencing and impacting on the sustainability
of the mine. This chapter provides guidance in managing the sustainability aspects
during this critical, pre-production phase
The Business Case for Sustainability
in Development and Construction
The purpose of this book and the earlier handbooks is to highlight leading
practice. However it can be argued that the most valuable lessons are learned
from the mistakes of the past. The Mt Todd mine in the Northern Territory
provides one such example. The case study is included here to highlight the
wide breadth of sustainability issues and the need for management to be
aware of all these issues. Due to a multiplicity of reasons, the mine with an
expected life of around 15 years closed after a year resulting in:
the company Pegasus Gold losing its investment of around US$350
million in this project and filing for bankruptcy protection in the USA
a large rehabilitation bill of tens of millions of
dollars which was funded by the taxpayer
significant environmental damage including heavy metal pollution
poor community relations with the local
Indigenous and business community
loss of numerous jobs
Clearly and with the benefit of hindsight, there was a strong business case for
not opening the mine.
A GUIDE TO LEADING PRACTICE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN MINING 63