A Geospatial Database for Effective Mine Rehabilitation in Australia
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Methodology and Data Sources
2.1. Data Sources and Evaluation
2.2. Data Classification and Database Compilation
- Mining site: The definition of a mining site was left relatively broad to ensure comprehensiveness, but only included site types of significant size or potential impact (such that they are reported at a state level), to reduce the chance of overestimation and the dilution of database significance. Hence, for practicality purposes, our database excludes mines that are operated at very small scales (e.g., some clay and sand mining operations), such that their environmental or socioeconomic impacts do not warrant significant consideration for national rehabilitation efforts.
- Active mine: Defined as a site on which mineral exploration, mining or processing is ongoing with regulatory approvals in place. Active mineral exploration sites are those sites included in the approved work program of the current mineral tenure holder, those sites covered by the appropriate mining permissions and those sites involved in the ongoing process of beneficiating mine commodities. An active mine incorporates the following two classifications depending on its mined resource and regulatory approvals required:
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- Work authority license sites are delineated for the extractive/quarry industries. An extractive work authority license gives quarry operators the right to extract stone (e.g., sand, gravel and hard rock) from land with the landholder’s consent. Australian states and territories may have different terms for a work authority license such as an extractive industry license.
- ○
- Mining license sites have appropriate approvals in place to mine for specified minerals (e.g., zinc, copper, coal, gold and mineral sands).
- Inactive mine: All mineral sites that are not considered active mineral sites were ultimately assigned under this umbrella term. Inactive sites may be inactive for many reasons including (a) completion of the exploration, mining or processing project; (b) standby status of exploration, mining or processing projects awaiting better market conditions; and (c) loss of owner/operator capability for any number of reasons. For any of these reasons, inactive mines can be further classified as:
- ○
- Terminated/Ceased: Where operations have ceased, with there being little to no prospects for rehabilitation.
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- Care and maintenance: A closed mine site where there is potential to recommence operations at a later date. During the care and maintenance phase, production is ceased although is managed to ensure it remains in a safe and stable condition.
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- Heritage sites: Located within World Heritage, National Heritage, or state or local government heritage sites. A site may also be classified as a heritage site due its historical importance. Active heritage sites are defined similar to an inactive heritage mine site although are currently active and operational in mineral extraction, mining or processing. Some active mines may have partial areas that may be considered heritage.
- ○
- Neglected (Abandoned/Legacy) sites: Sites that have been inactive for at least one year, with no implementation or assurance of a plan for management or remediation and with the mined land having been adversely affected by resource extraction. Further, an abandoned site can be classified as a mine site that lies on Crown Land whilst a legacy site is one that lies on Private Land. We note that VIC was the only state where we had adequate information to distinguish between abandoned and legacy sites. Similar sites in all other states were simply classified as neglected. For comparative purposes, we summarise all mines in this category as neglected in later sections.
- Mineral occurrences: Undeveloped sites were also considered for purposes of developing an indication of the potential number of sites for future mining, and hence longer-term rehabilitation requirements.
- Rehabilitated sites: Inactive mine sites that have successfully completed remediation objectives. Upon remediation, this type of site has a defined post-mining land use (e.g., agriculture, forestry and lakes) with no further mining care and maintenance required from authorities.
2.3. Spatial and Site-Specific Analyses
2.3.1. National and State-Level Analysis
2.3.2. Site-Specific Environmental Risk Assessment—Queensland Case Studies
3. Results and Discussion
3.1. National Mine Classification and Database Summary
3.2. Spatial Distribution of Inactive Mines
3.3. Site-Specific Comparative Environmental Risk Assessments
4. Evaluation and Implications
4.1. Accuracy and Data Limitations
4.2. Local Impacts and Challenges of Inactive Mines
4.3. Towards a Unified Approach: Meeting the Needs of the Senate Inquiry
4.4. Environmental Challenge or Economic Opportunity?
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- Construction works (restoration and rehabilitation) [52];
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- Tourism potential to rehabilitated sites (e.g., bike paths and recreational lakes) [53];
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- Carbon farming opportunities (e.g., via Eucalyptus plantation on rehabilitated lands);
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- Overburden waste for making building bricks and ceramic products to support regional construction industry [54];
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- Potential to use rehabilitation areas for renewable energy generation;
- -
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- Consulting practice through the monitoring of rehabilitated conditions (geotechnical and environmental).
Supplementary Materials
Author Contributions
Funding
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
References
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State | Dataset | Database Notes and Accuracy |
---|---|---|
Queensland (QLD) | QSpatial (Queensland Mineral Occurrence Data and Coal Resource Sites) [18] |
|
Victoria (VIC) | VIC Open Data Repository [19,20] |
|
Northern Territory (NT) | NT Wide Geoscience Datasets [21] |
|
Tasmania (TAS) | Mineral Resources Tasmania [22] |
|
New South Wales (NSW) | MinView/NSW Geodata warehouse [23] |
|
South Australia (SA) | SARIG [24] |
|
Western Australia (WA) | Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety [26] |
|
National | Australian Mines Atlas [25] |
|
Overlay Category | Rationale | Format Source(s) |
---|---|---|
Major Urban Centres | Proximity to major urban centres has a twofold implication: on the one hand, access to populous areas will create employment opportunities during rehabilitation; conversely, adverse impacts on urban areas may be felt from legacy issues. | Polygons [28] |
Major Road and Rail Infrastructure | Proximity to road and rail infrastructure determines accessibility for resources required to conduct mine site rehabilitation, to remove waste materials, or to transport products, should the sites be deemed economically viable in future. | Lines [29] |
Major Waterways and Lakes | Proximity to major waterways and lakes allows us to understand the potential environmental impact of rehabilitation measures on downstream natural aquatic environments. | Lines and Polygons [30] |
Heritage and Indigenous Areas | Contain areas of international and Indigenous significance, relevant to the EPBC Act (1999) and within the scope of effects relevant to Commonwealth intervention. | Polygons [31] |
National parks | Contain areas of national environmental significance, also relevant to the EPBC Act (1999) and within the scope of effects relevant to Commonwealth intervention. | Polygons [32] |
Acid Sulphate Soils | Acid and metalliferous drainage (AMD) is a key environmental challenge induced by the exposure of sulphate rocks to rainfall, areas highlight the likelihood of acid sulphate soil prevalence. | Polygons [33] |
Average Annual Rainfall | To establish potential interactions with receiving watercourses and lakes and with regions of high acid sulphate soil prevalence, we used long-term spatial average annual rainfall. | Raster [34] |
State/Territory | VIC | NSW | WA | SA | QLD | TAS | NT | TOTAL | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Inactive | Terminated/Ceased | 1 | 19,728 | N/A | 132 | N/A | 112 | 118 | 20,091 | |
Neglected | Mines | 18,171 | 7183 | 20,303 | 3759 | 2820 | 4266 | 738 | 58,017 | |
Quarries | 559 | 218 | ||||||||
Care and Maintenance | 1 | 42 | 671 | 148 | 104 | N/A | 28 | 994 | ||
Rehabilitated | N/A | N/A | 3068 | 13 | N/A | N/A | N/A | 3081 | ||
Heritage | 2175 | N/A | N/A | N/A | 394 | N/A | 42 | 2611 | ||
Active | Mining License | 2070 | 3447 | 1098 | 957 | 711 | 1305 | 11 | 10,526 | |
Work Authority | 750 | 888 | ||||||||
Heritage | N/A | N/A | ||||||||
TOTAL | 23,168 | 30,400 | 26,587 | 5009 | 3536 | 5683 | 937 | 95,320 |
Mount Morgan | Greenvale Nickel | Cobra Central | Adventure Tin | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Mine impact area [km2] | 3.07 | 6.93 | 0.71 | 0.37 |
Area score [-] | 5 | 5 | 5 | 3 |
Distance to closest water course [km] | 0.07 | 6.54 | 1.27 | 2.27 |
Watercourse score [-] | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
Distance to closest protected area [km] | 7.74 | 46.5 | 8.41 | 10.8 |
Protected area score [-] | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
Distance to closest Ramsar site [km] | 86.6 | 225 | 81.7 | 299 |
Ramsar score [-] | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Total Risk Score [-] | 11 | 9 | 10 | 7 |
Environmental Risk Category | High | Medium | High | Medium |
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Share and Cite
Werner, T.T.; Bach, P.M.; Yellishetty, M.; Amirpoorsaeed, F.; Walsh, S.; Miller, A.; Roach, M.; Schnapp, A.; Solly, P.; Tan, Y.; et al. A Geospatial Database for Effective Mine Rehabilitation in Australia. Minerals 2020, 10, 745. https://doi.org/10.3390/min10090745
Werner TT, Bach PM, Yellishetty M, Amirpoorsaeed F, Walsh S, Miller A, Roach M, Schnapp A, Solly P, Tan Y, et al. A Geospatial Database for Effective Mine Rehabilitation in Australia. Minerals. 2020; 10(9):745. https://doi.org/10.3390/min10090745
Chicago/Turabian StyleWerner, Tim T., Peter M. Bach, Mohan Yellishetty, Fatemeh Amirpoorsaeed, Stuart Walsh, Alec Miller, Matthew Roach, Andrew Schnapp, Philippa Solly, Youming Tan, and et al. 2020. "A Geospatial Database for Effective Mine Rehabilitation in Australia" Minerals 10, no. 9: 745. https://doi.org/10.3390/min10090745