72 A cross‑cutting and critical benefit of the proposed framework is the integration of community participation as a core component of technical quality and social legitimacy. Co‑definition of future‑use scenarios, validation of exposure assumptions, and discussion of success criteria help align expectations and reduce social uncertainty. This collaborative approach transforms risk assessment from a purely technical exercise into a tool for shared decision‑making, strengthening trust among proponents, communities, and regulators. Finally, the prospective approach supports the productive reuse of mining land and assets, promoting protection of human and ecological receptors while enhancing the long‑term economic and social sustainability of closure. By aligning risk assessment with future‑use planning, mine closure is reframed not only as a regulatory obligation, but as an opportunity for value creation and territorial revitalization, consistent with international just‑transition principles. 5. CONCLUSIONS Mine closure planning faces the challenge of evolving from compliance‑focused approaches toward models that integrate risk management, early definition of future land uses, and long‑term environmental and social value creation. Within this context, human health and ecological risk assessment emerges as a key tool for the implementation of integrated mine closure, enabling informed design decisions that extend beyond the operational phase. The methodological framework presented in this paper demonstrates that the prospective application of staged risk assessments —across closure, post‑closure, and future‑use scenarios—enhances the identification of contaminants of concern, relevant receptors, and dominant exposure pathways. This staged approach strengthens the traceability of closure design decisions and supports the definition of verifiable, use‑specific closure success criteria. The results also confirm that risk is not an inherent property of a site, but a function of land use, highlighting the limitations of closure evaluations based solely on operational conditions. In the Peruvian context, integrating risk assessment into closure planning represents a high‑value decision‑support tool for both closure design and remediation planning. At the same time, it offers a practical pathway to address existing regulatory gaps, reduce technical and social uncertainty, and enhance closure legitimacy through structured community participation. This is particularly relevant in high‑Andean settings, where subsistence livelihoods, land‑use practices, and strong territorial dependence shape exposure scenarios and risk perception. Overall, the findings indicate that embedding risk assessment into mine closure planning facilitates a transition from closure strategies focused primarily on physical and chemical stability toward safe, functional, and socially accepted post‑mining landscapes. By aligning closure design with future land‑use scenarios and participatory processes, the proposed
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