161 MINE CLOSURE AND REPURPOSING: LEAVING A POSITIVE LEGACY G. Boggs*1,2, J. D’Urso1,2, D.Brereton1,3, B. Maybee1,4 N. Wolfe5 H. Turner5 and T. Measham1,3. 1Cooperative Research Centre for Transformations in Mining Economies, (*Presenting author: guy.boggs@crctime.com.au) 2University of Western Australia 3Sustainable Minerals Institute, University of Queensland 4Curtin University 5The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy ABSTRACT In the next few decades, many large mines around the world are likely to cease production, either because of resource depletion, unfavourable market conditions, increasing operating costs, or some combination thereof. At the same time, the world needs a range of new minerals and growth in mines to maintain living standards and provide materials for the Net Zero transition. This raises the important question of what to do with mines – and the lands on which they are located – once mining comes to an end. To date, the policy dialogue around ‘responsible closure’ has largely focused on the minimization and management of geotechnical and contamination risks relating to tailings dams, mining voids, and waste rock dumps, and on environmental restoration of disturbed areas. Overall, much less attention has been given to whether, when and how mined lands and associated infrastructure can be repurposed to leave positive post-mining legacies for impacted communities and regions. This paper draws on research undertaken through the Australian-based Cooperative Research Centre on Transformations in Mining Economies (CRC TiME), a partnership of over 80 mining and supply chain companies, leading Australian research institutions, government bodies, Indigenous and regional community organizations. The paper identifies and addresses four inter-related challenges: (1) creating an enabling regulatory and policy environment that removes unnecessary barriers to repurposing while appropriately managing risk; (2) enabling mining core business to facilitate appropriate land stewardship beyond the completion of mining; (3) ensuring that the voices of local communities and Indigenous people are heard, involved in decision making and derive value from repurposing (4) developing methodologies for identifying and assessing viable options for beneficial and productive post-mining land use and repurposing. Making progress on addressing these challenges is critical for the future of the sector as closure and legacy asset liabilities grow with material significance. New mining operations are also at risk of being delayed through lengthy approval processes that are designed to provide
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTM0Mzk2