Mine closure guidance: review and comparative analysis
Research Program
Regional Economic Development
Project Leader
Dr Pietro Guj
Project ID
1.9
Summary
Increasingly stringent societal expectations and the drive towards sustainability have resulted in significant enhancements in mine closure planning and implementation by industry. Mine closure is a complex, multidisciplinary process requiring coordinated and ongoing effort from industry, governments, landholders and communities.
To inform improvements to its regulatory regime, the Northern Territory Government has requested a comparative analysis of selected leading and international mine closure guidance. Project analysis will help the government to identify which guidance may best suit its needs. In addition to this analysis, it is envisaged the project will produce a generalised version of the comparative analysis that may be useful for other jurisdictions.
University of Western Australia researchers will undertake the project in consultation with identified regulatory bodies and mining representatives and companies. This consultation will help understand expectations and inform analysis and the process will highlight the strengths and weaknesses of different regimes that may be compared using some form of qualitative weighting of individual attributes regarding effectiveness in facilitating mine closure planning and compliance.
Project Partners
The University of Western Australia, Department of Industry, Tourism and Trade (NT), Department of Environment, Parks and Water Security (NT)
Duration
5 months