Remediation & Mine Closure

Program

An increasing number of Western Australian mining operations are edging closer towards mine closure, with a lack of certainty in the process for relinquishment of rehabilitated land to the State and the potential for trailing liabilities.

To meet the challenge of mine closure and to support the Western Australian Biodiversity Science Institute’s Research Priorities and other work happening across government, the research priority areas in Program 6 are intended to systematically advance knowledge and capability toward developing new technologies and approaches for mine remediation and alternative land use, while filling knowledge gaps to ensure a sustainable positive legacy for the industry and surrounding communities.

In doing so, the research will:

• position Western Australia as a global leader in mine closure
• decrease the capital and operating costs associated with remediation and mine closure
• allow for evidence-based decision making

Themes and intended outcomes

Acid Mine Drainage and Treatment of Tailings

Removal of contaminants from tailings and prevention of acid mine drainage

Sustainable Land Use Post-mining

Planning and delivery of novel post-mining land uses which provide a sustainable positive legacy for the industry, environment and surrounding communities

Data Driven Decisions

Improved information management platforms to facilitate aggregation, interpretation and access to data, to build predictive capability, more effective costing and increase understanding of the cumulative environmental impacts of an action on a region over time

Regulatory Tools and Processes

Evidence-based tools to increase confidence and provide certainty and efficiency in regulatory processes for mine closure and relinquishment

Safety, Social and Environmental Sustainability

Processes across the ‘Life of Mine’ which eliminate exposure to hazards, improve social wellbeing and reduce the environmental footprint resulting from mine closure and optimise environmental outcomes post mine

Read the complete MRIWA Research Priority Plan