mine rehabilitation
What if the key to slashing tailings closure costs and winning community trust is to start the work decades before the mine shuts down?
For Justin Walls, Principal Consultant (Tailings Engineering) at SRK Consulting, the best time to plan for tailings storage facility (TSF) closure is now – not when the mine is about to shut down.
When Elsabe Muller, president and vice president operations of Alcoa Australia, took the stage at Optus Stadium for the WA Mining Club’s July luncheon, she knew the audience expected candour.
If there was one thing the panel on safe mine closure made clear at this year’s Life of Mine - Mine Waste and Tailings Conference in Brisbane, it’s this: closure is no longer just about sealing off the last truckload and planting grass.
A new compliance crackdown by the NSW Resources Regulator will see underground coal mines, tailings dams, and small-scale quarries come under fresh scrutiny as part of a statewide push to address safety risks and regulatory non-compliance from July through December 2025.
A convergence monitoring revolution is underway in Tasmania.
What if you could fast-forward a century to see whether your rehabilitated mine landform holds its shape or collapses into a network of gullies?
At a recent seminar hosted by the Office of the Queensland Mine Rehabilitation Commissioner (OQMRC), one message rang clear: erosion and landscape evolution models are no longer just academic exercises—they’re digital crystal balls for mine closure planning.
