Environment: Best Practice Mine Closure

To be truly environmentally and socially responsible when opening a mine, you also need to have a plan in place for how you are going to close it when the time comes. Mining operators are increasingly beginning to think about mine closures sooner, even prior to mine commencement, thanks to the introduction of tools such as the ICMM Closure Maturity Framework, writes Atlantech Director and Environmental Lead, Jason Desmond.

Sustainably rehabilitating a mine that has passed its useful life benefits the ecosystem, the community and the mining company’s reputation. When planning for the closure, careful planning is needed between government, industry, and communities to understand the environmental, social, and economic (ESG) impacts, and actions are required to address those impacts.

The International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM) has made the process of planning for a mine closure more streamlined, with the introduction of the ICMM Closure Maturity Framework.

What is the ICMM Closure Maturity Framework?

The framework is a tool for companies to build a collective understanding of closure concepts across an asset’s life cycle and across mining disciplines. Its intent is to map, motivate and measure the status of assets on their journey to a sustainable closure. It also identifies what elements are needed to strengthen an operations systems, processes, or practices to improve their maturity level.

The Closure Maturity Framework is best suited for assets in the earlier phases of development, where decision-making and planning can still be incorporated into the mine plan.

What are the considerations for a mine closure?

A responsible closure comprises the removal of infrastructure and facilities and the rehabilitation of surface land, while taking measures to ensure land can be safely used beyond the mine’s life. The closure also ensures the rehabilitation aligns to the final land use such as agricultural use for cattle grazing.

When companies mine with principles, they plan, design for, and implement responsible closure strategies at the start of a project, including making financial provisions to fulfill such plans.

As the approach taken for closure will vary depending on the asset’s intended life, criteria have been developed for the five main asset stages. These are: exploration, early operations, mature operations, pre-closure and closure execution, and post closure monitoring. The approach is useful for both large and small mining companies.

The criteria for each phase of the asset life cycle are based on the fourteen key elements presented in the Integrated Mine Closure: Good practice guide. Current and aspirational maturity levels can be recorded, with outputs recorded on visual diagrams. This fosters communication and understanding between teams and business units.

What are the steps of an effective closure?

As the ICMM correctly states, a balanced closure approach fully incorporated into mine planning activities will lead to better outcomes across a range of considerations, including health, safety, social, environmental, legal, governance and human resources. According to ICMM’s framework, effective closure planning results in:

• Consistent and transparent engagement with stakeholders.
• Community participation in planning and implementing actions that underpin successful closure.
• Stakeholder support of closure decisions.
• Better management of closure throughout the mining life cycle.
• More accurate closure cost estimates.
• Early identification of risks and mitigation strategies.
• Progressive reduction of liabilities.
• Working towards an agreed-upon vision for the post-closure period.
• A better social transition for affected stakeholders as the mine moves from operations to closure.
• Opportunities for lasting benefits being recognised and planned for.

Visit the ICMM Closure Maturity Framework, including the Excel tool and factsheet for download, click here.

Click on this link to visit ICMM's dedicated Integrated Mine Closure: Good Practice Guide website.

For related reading about the different ways mine voids can be rehabilitated, see our blog about mine voids.

How we can help

Atlantech provides advice, management, planning and operational support to miners wanting to achieve environmental best practice for mine closure. Please get in touch with us today if we can be of assistance.

Sources

• ICMM