Lessons for the mining industry from non-mining landscape restoration experiences

Abstract

P.H. Whitbread-Abrutat et al. 626 | Mine Closure 2013, Cornwall, UK Mining, like most human activities, inescapably causes environmental damage and can distort the social and economic structures of communities and societies (e.g., Lindberg et al., 2011; Kulkarni et al., 2011). Too often, mine closure activities have been and are insufficient to adequately reverse the environmental damage, and they leave behind communities unable to cope with the long-term after-effects of mining. Mine closure is commonly an afterthought, with the company focussed primarily on reducing environmental and public health and safety risks of the site itself. Despite the exertions of accepted good practice, little thought at the mine, in the wider corporate body or among stakeholders is usually given to the ecological/ social/ economic possibilities engendered by the 'blank canvas' post-mining landscape and its environs. The connectivity mentioned above is, arguably, most important at this stage in order to maximise the mine's success in terms of post-closure sustainability outcomes, because what happens at and after closure should be a key factor in determining how successful the mine has been in converting mineral assets to sustainable benefits to society. This paper considers accepted good practice in mine closure in relation to the wider aims and expectations of landscape restoration. It addresses the limitations of current closure good practice and the opportunities engendered in the process of closing mines, as derived from an examination of non-mining landscape restoration projects. This paper is not intended as a formal, academic review of mine closure procedures but rather a discussion of approaches and practices in the light of knowledge gained from beyond the industry itself. The aim is to address the 'silo thinking' that can occur within the industry and to encourage the dismantling of barriers between mining and other land use disciplines. The paper builds on the authors' combined 90-plus years of mine closure and landscape restoration experience, and its recommendations draw on case studies from around the world. According to the World Bank: