Excerpt taken from Quarry, written by Myles Hume, published online 30 September 2019
Western Australian quarrying and mining companies now have access to a new set of guidelines designed to lift standards related to successful mine site rehabilitation.
The Western Australian Biodiversity Science Institute (WABSI) has published a new report – A framework for developing mine site completion criteria in Western Australia – that aims to improve mining industry practice for rehabilitation and the land’s successful transition to next usages such as development, agriculture or conservation.
“If companies need help, regulators are referring them to this report as a way of developing completion criteria.”
The framework received funding from a range of sources, including the WA Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety (DMIRS), and the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation. Construction materials company Hanson Heidelberg Cement, along with mining companies Alcoa, BHP, Rio Tinto and Mount Gibson Iron, helped fund and/or contribute to the report.
Lead author Dr Renee Young, from the ARC Centre for Mine Site Restoration in Curtin University’s School of Molecular and Life Sciences, said the government-endorsed tool was developed to address existing shortfalls and inconsistencies among mining companies when producing completion criteria for regulators. Read full article
