A Review of Mine Rehabilitation Condition Setting in Western Australia Cover Photos:Maritkragtanddwer Photo: DWER Western Australia

A review of mine rehabilitation condition setting in Western Australia Cover photos:MaritKragtandDWER Photo: DWER Western Australia. TheWestern Australian BiodiversityScienceInstitute, Perth, Western Australia. Kragt, M.E.,ManeroA.,Hawkins J. and Lison,C.2019. Areviewofminerehabilitation conditionsettingin HOW TO CITE REPORT AUTHORS REPORT FUNDEDBY: The Western Australian BiodiversityScienceInstitute REPORT COMMISSIONEDBY: ISBN 978-0-646-81244-1 • • • • • • • Christine Lison(TheUniversityofWestern Australia) Jacob Hawkins(TheUniversityofWestern Australia) Ana Manero(TheUniversityofWestern Australia) Marit Kragt(TheUniversityofWestern Australia) Early CareerAward (MaritKragt)DE160101306 The Australian GovernmentthroughthesupportofAustralian Research CouncilDiscover The Western Australian BiodiversityScienceInstitute Department ofWater andEnvironmentalRegulation ii

STATUS OF MINE SITE REHABILITATION IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA Photo: DWER PHOTO ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS their timeandeffortinprovidingfeedbackduringtheproject andtofinalisethisreport: The authorofthisreportandWestern Australian BiodiversityScienceInstitutethankthefollowingfor ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS and TheUniversityofWestern Australia. © Unlessotherwisenoted,anyintellectualpropertyrightsinthispublicationareownedbyTheWestern Australian BiodiversityScienceInstitute Ownership ofIntellectualPropertyRights contained inthis,orrelated,publications. and itspartnerorganisationstake noresponsibilityfortheoutcomeofdecisionsbasedoninformation information shouldthereforenotsolelybereliedonwhenmakingcommercialorotherdecisions.WABSI to beawarethatsuchinformationmayincompleteorunableusedinanyspecificsituation.This publication comprisesgeneralstatementsbasedonscientificresearch.Thereaderisadvisedandneeds The Western Australian BiodiversityScienceInstitute(WABSI) advisesthattheinformationcontainedinthis LEGAL NOTICE • • • • Department ofWater andEnvironmentalRegulation Marit Kragt Dr GuyBoggs(TheWestern Australian BiodiversityScience Institute) Kelly Freeman(DepartmentofWater andEnvironmentalRegulation) 4.0 InternationalLicense. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ All rightsreserved.Unlessotherwisenoted,allmaterialinthispublicationisprovided underaCreativeCommonsAttribution iii

STATUS OF MINE SITE REHABILITATION IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA an agency-specific‘conditionslibraries’ bedeveloped. more reasonablereferencetargets(not‘undisturbedsites’), thatterminologyisbetterdefined,and the typeofmine, andtimeframeofrehabilitation.Expertsrecommendedthatconditionsshouldconsider they failedtoaccountforparticularitiesacrossminesites,suchastheirgeographicandclimaticlocations, concerns thatconditionsandtargetsinMinisterialStatements werefrequentlyunachievablebecause to allowthespecificationofmoredetailedtargetsinMineClosurePlans. At thesametime, experts raised the minimumstandardsthatdefineoveralloutcomeofrehabilitation,butshouldbebroadlydefined rather thanachievabletargets.Expertsagreedthatrehabilitationrequirementsshouldbeinterpretedas that rehabilitationconditionsareoftenseenasaspirationalobjectivesorperformancemanagementtools Consultation withmineclosureexperts fromminingcompanies,consultants,andresearchersindicated researchers canjointlyworktowardsachievableandacceptableminerehabilitation. points attheneedforknowledgesharingand/oradatarepositorywhereproponents,regulators,and not alwaysspecified,andcouldoftenbefoundforprojectspre-2013.Currentlackoftransparency challenging, withverylimitedinformationavailable. Thepost-mininglanduseproposedatasitewas rehabilitation progress,orevidenceonsuccessinpubliclyavailabledocumentsproved of recommendedrehabilitationand/orclosureconditions.However, obtainingcostdata,evidenceof We furtheraimedtoquantifythecostsofrehabilitationworks aspartofassessingthe‘achievability’ focussed mostoftenonthepercentageofvegetationcoverandspeciesdiversity. about 35%oftheStatements specifiedrehabilitationtargetstobemet.These requirements startingtoappearfrom1992onwards.Despitetheimportanceforassessingcompletion, have primarilybeenassignedtothedecommissioningphase, withprogressiverehabilitation Statements wereassessed,datingbackto1987. Untilthe1990s, requirementsrelatedtorehabilitation provide baselineinformationoftherequirementsforrehabilitationinstate. Atotalof277Ministerial conditions recommendedbytheEPA underPart IVoftheEnvironmentalProtectionAct1986,to rehabilitation inWestern Australia. Informationwascollatedaboutminerehabilitationand/orclosure This projectcollectedandanalysedpublicallyavailableinformationontheconditionsforminesite specified undertheMiningAct1978. through aMinisterialStatement. Thisisinadditiontotheconditionsforrehabilitationand/orclosure and/or closurerequirementsrecommendedandsubsequentlyappliedbytheMinisterforEnvironment assessed bytheWestern Australia EnvironmentalProtectionAuthority (EPA) havehadrehabilitation 2.5 millionhectaresoflandcurrentlyunderanactivemininglease. About85%ofminingproposals Rehabilitating land followingminingisamajorandgrowingissueforWestern Australia, witharound Executive Summary iv

STATUS OF MINE SITE REHABILITATION IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA CONTENTS 4

5 3 Appendices 24 References 22 2 Methods 1 Introduction Abbreviations 1 Executive Summary Achievability ofminerehabilitationconditionsandtargets 3.2 4.1 3.5 3.4 3.3 3.1 Discussion andconclusion 4.4 4.3 4.2 Results 2.3 2.2 2.1 1.2 1.1 Specific, measurableandtime-boundtargets Condition targets(completioncriteria) Policy context Offset conditions Reporting ofprogressonrehabilitation Post minelanduse Target characteristics byregion Mine siterehabilitationconditionsinministerialstatements Potential improvementsinthedefinition ofrehabilitation Specificity ofrehabilitationtargetsandconditions Differentiation betweenconditionsandtargets Evidence ofrehabilitationsuccessinWA Expert consultation conditions andtargets Review ofMinisterialStatements Study objectives Regulatory context inWestern Australia

20 iv 17 19 15 12 18 18 14 14 17 11 2 4 9 5 5 2 4 3 7 7 v

STATUS OF MINE SITE REHABILITATION IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA ABBREVIATIONS

AER Annual Environmental Reports DMIRS Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety DWER Department of Water and Environmental Regulation EPA Environmental Protection Authority EP Act Environmental Protection Act 1986 (Western Australia) EPBC Act Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 MCA Minerals Council of Australia MCP Mine Closure Plans MINEDEX Mines and Mineral Deposits System MRF Mine Rehabilitation Fund MS Ministerial Statements PMLU Post Mining Land Use SMT Specific, Measurable, Time-Bound IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA IN WESTERN OF MINE SITE REHABILITATION STATUS

1 2 1 Industry Regulation andSafety(DMIRS) The key Western Australian regulatorsinvolved withminerehabilitationaretheDepartmentofMines, 1.1 Regulatory context inWestern Australia proponent ortheregulator. Suchconditions rehabilitation, objectives,closurecriteria,orrehabilitationconditionsneedtobeestablishedbythe land isultimatelyreturnedtoastatethatsupportsagreedpost-mininguse(s).To achievesuccessful 2018b). Withvastareasoflandbeingaffectedbyminingand exploration, itisimportantthatdisturbed WA’s totallandarea.Approximately 2.5millionhectaresoflandareunderanactivemininglease(DMIRS In 2017-18,44.2millionhectaresoflandwereunderminingtenements,whichaccountsforabout17% were recordedin2018(DMIRS2018a). The vastmajorityofvalueisproducedinthePilbararegion,whereAU$62.7 billionworthofironoresales and smallermines,aswellmajormineralprocessingprojectsoperatinginallregionsacrossthestate. There arecurrently127principalhigher-valueandexport-oriented miningprojects,hundredsofquarries WA’s miningindustryin2018,representing52%ofnationalAustralian mininginvestment(DMIRS 2018a). from theWestern Australian (WA) resourcessector(DMIRS2018b).AlmostAU$18 billionwereinvestedin 2018, outputfromminingandmineralprojectsaccountedfor72%,orAU$92 billion,oftotalsalesvalue Western Australia’s mineralandpetroleumindustryisoneoftheState’s dominanteconomicsectors.In 1 Introduction vary overtime, acrossregions,orbetweenresources. in WA, evaluatewhatrehabilitation targetsaresetbytheregulator, andassesswhethertheseconditions & EPA 2015).Inthisproject,weinvestigate whatrehabilitationconditionsarerequiredofminingprojects undertaken in anecologicallysustainablemannerthatsupportsagreedoutcomesandlanduses(DMP liability totheState. TheEnvironmentalProtectionAuthority (EPA) furtheraimsforrehabilitationtobe non-contaminating, and(iv)capableofsustainingaproposedpost-mininglandusewithoutunacceptable rehabilitation objectivesas(i)safetohumansandanimals,(ii)geotechnicallystable, (ii)non-polluting/ projects inWestern Australia. TheDepartmentofMines,IndustryRegulation andSafety(DMIRS)defines It iscurrently, however, notknownwhatrehabilitationoutcomesareenvisagedforthemanymining Guidelines forPreparingMineClosurePlansarenowrequired toalsoprepareMineClosurePlans. its initialapproval.Miningoperationsandprojectsapproved priorto2011andbeforethereleaseof approved MineClosurePlanmustbereviewedandresubmitted forassessmenteverythreeyearsafter under reviewatthetimeofwriting)stipulatehowsuch plansaretobeprepared(DMP&EPA 2015). An joint DMIRS/EPA GuidelinesforPreparingMineClosurePlanspublishedin2011(revised2015 and Mine ClosurePlantoDMIRSforassessmentandapproval aspartofMiningProposalapplications.The Amendments totheMiningActwhichcameintoeffect on1July2011requireproponentstosubmita DMIRS istheleaddecisionmaker forminingprojectsthatfallundertheMiningAct1978(theAct). EPBC Act). EP Act(PtV),Mining1978,ortheEnvironmentProtectionandBiodiversityConservation1999(the DMIRS andtheDWER assesscompliance. Rehabilitation mayalsobeconditionedunderotherpartsofthe recommendations fortheMinisterEnvironment(includingrehabilitationrequirements),while (EPA) whenaproposalhassignificantenvironmental impact.TheEPA’s roleistoprovideadviceand (DWER). Rehabilitation hashistoricallybeenassessedbytheEnvironmentalProtectionAuthority

PreviouslytheDepartment ofMinesandPetroleum (DMP). recommendation orconditionislegally bindingwilldependoneachspecificcontext. or thelegallybindingconditionsimposed ontheoperator. Anefforthasbeenmadetobespecific. However, whether a In thisdocument,minerehabilitation‘requirements’ and‘conditions’ areusedtoimplytherecommendationsfromEPA 2 andtheDepartmentforWater andEnvironmentalRegulation 1 havetobeachievedbeforerelinquishmentcanoccur. 2

STATUS OF MINE SITE REHABILITATION IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA The overallobjectivesofthisprojectareto: environmental quality(‘Land’ factorsoftheEPA 2018b). 1.1). Inparticular, weconsiderrecommendationsthattargetfloraandvegetation,fauna, andterrestrial closure requirementsthatarerecommendedbytheEPA ascapturedinMinisterialStatements (Section may bepursuedbydifferentproponentsacrossthestate. Thisresearchfocussesonrehabilitationand conditions forWA miningandrelatedprojects,makingitdifficulttoassesswhatrehabilitationtargets successful rehabilitationand,ultimately, mineclosure. Thereexists currentlynooverviewofrehabilitation projects inWA. Rehabilitation conditionsandsubsequenttargetsprovidethebasisforevaluating The projectdescribedinthispaperassesseswhatrehabilitationconditionsarerequiredofmining 1.2 planning. Science andInnovation,whichmanagesState Agreements,abouttheirrequirementsformineclosure Operators areexpected toliaisewithrelevantregulators,suchastheDepartmentofJobs,Tourism, Statement. proponents arerequiredtomeettherehabilitationandclosureconditionsspecifiedinMinisterial where rehabilitationandclosureisregulatedunderPart IVoftheEPAct,EPA canrecommendthat or whentheEPA considersrehabilitationoutcomesaspartofitsEIA(EPA 2018a). Foranyprojects assesses mineclosureunderPart IVoftheEPActforprojectsthatarenotsubjecttoMiningAct, Proponents mayalsochoosetoreferaproposaldirectlytheEPA (DMP&EPA 2015).TheEPA further DMIRS isrequiredtoreferanyMiningProposalsthatappearbesignificanttheEPA forassessment. significant impactsinaccordancewith Part IVoftheEnvironmentalProtectionAct1986(theEPAct). The EPA conductsEnvironmentalImpactAssessments(EIAs)foranyproposalsresultingin our currentlevelofknowledge). constraints, thisprojectinsteadfocussesontheachievabilityofrehabilitation(i.e. whatispossiblegiven labour, aswellbiophysicalandknowledge constraints.To avoiddiscussionsaboutcompany-specific However, feasibilitypertainstowhatcanreasonably beexpected ofaminingcompanygivenfinancial, This projectoriginallysetouttoassessthefeasibilityofminerehabilitationconditionsortargets. 4. 3. 2. 1. Assess theachievabilityofcurrentminerehabilitationconditionsand/ortargets. conditions andtargets. Document towhatextend theindustryisworkingtowardsmeetingsetminerehabilitation have changedovertime. Assess whetherrecommendedrehabilitationconditionsand/ortargetsvarybetweenregionsor by theEPA. Collect publiclyavailableinformationaboutrehabilitationconditionsand/ortargetsrecommended Study objectives

STATUS OF MINE SITE REHABILITATION IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA TABLE 1Datacollectedfromresourceprojects’ MinisterialStatements ad verbatimintothedatabase. variability inrehabilitationconditions,anycondition(s)recommendedbytheEPA weremanuallyentered that wasextracted issummarisedinTable 1.Alldatawereentered intoanExcel database. Duetothe focus ofthisstudywasonconditionsspecificallyrelatedtorehabilitationfloraandfauna.Otherdata These MSswerereadtoseewhatrehabilitationconditionshavebeenimposedoneachproject.The from thereport. align withrehabilitationconditionsimposedintheMinisterialStatement, sothisinformationisexcluded into eachcompany’s MineClosurePlantoevaluatehowcompletioncriteriaspecifiedintheclosureplans full analysisofhowproponentsoperationaliserehabilitationconditionswouldrequireaseparatestudy (http://www.epa.wa.gov.au/all-ministerial-statements) and—insomecases—EPA AssessmentReports. A Note thatthedatasourcesforthisresearchwereMinisterialStatements (MSs)ontheEPA’s website key rehabilitationand/orclosureconditionsrecommendedbytheEPA. information aboutrehabilitationand/orclosureconditions.Thisreviewdocumentsalongtermhistoryof In thefirststageofthisproject,adatabasewasconstructedthatcollatespublicallyavailable 2.1 2 Methods Offsets Completion criteria Post-mine landuse Terrestrial footprintcleared(ha) Rehabilitation conditiontext Region Resource type Project type Proponent name Project title Date Number Variable Review ofMinisterialStatements Description Offset conditionsspecifiedintheMS(ifapplicable) Measurable conditiontargetsspecifiedintheconditions (ifapplicable) Post-mine landuseproposedintheMS(ifspecified) Maximum clearingproposedintheMS(ifspecified) Rehabilitation conditionsimposedontheproject (ifspecified) the WA DepartmentofPrimaryIndustriesandRegional Development) Region inwhichtheprojectislocated(basedonregionsusedby gas, limestone, sand,etc.) Type ofresourceproposedtobeminedattheproject(bauxite, ironore, oilfield, etc.) Type ofdevelopmentapproved(gasproduction,infrastructure, mining, Proponent’s nameontheMS Description ofprojectontheMS Date theMSwasapproved Number oftheMinisterialStatement (MS) 4

STATUS OF MINE SITE REHABILITATION IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA The thirdandfinalstageofthedatacollectionaimedto usepublicallyavailableinformationto: 2.3 supplemented thedata.Questionsdiscussedduringworkshop andinterviewsincluded: companies (2),consultingfirms(3),andresearchers(5).Afurthertwointerviewswithclosureconsultants experts wasconvenedonthe30thofApril2019. Theworkshop wasattendedbyexperts frommining Given thelimitedavailableevidenceaboutrehabilitation‘achievability’, aworkshop withrehabilitation different WA biomes. recommended thatafutureprojectisdedicatedspecificallytocollatingtherestorationdataavailablein general conclusionsregardingtheachievabilityofrehabilitationtargetsbasedonecologicaltrials.Itis intellectual propertyofthecompanyordifficulttofindingreyliterature. Itproveddifficulttodraw rehabilitation researchisundertaken byproponentsorconsultants,withknowledgeremainingeither restoration providessomecasestudiesofrehabilitationtrialsinspecificareas.However, much through acombinationofliteraturereviewandexpert consultation.Thescientificliteratureonecological In thesecondstage, theachievabilityofrehabilitationconditionsand/orclosuretargetswasassessed 2.2 intent ofeachcondition.Thedatawerethenexamined viapivottablesinExcel toassess: of 17categories(Table 3).Thesecategorieswerethenreviewedtoensurethattheycapturetheprimary Each rehabilitationconditionwasclassifiedindependentlybytwomembersoftheresearchteamintoone • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • What offsetsarerequired? What post-minelandusesareproposedintheMinisterialStatements? Has thedefinitionoftargetschangedovertime? What conditiontargetsorobjectivesarespecified? Are theredifferencesinrecommendationsacrossregions? Have recommendationschangedovertime? What rehabilitationand/orclosureconditionsarerecommendedintheMinisterialStatement? Evaluate proposedpost-minelanduse Quantify thecostsofrehabilitationworks Detail rehabilitationprogressagainsttargets Provide evidenceofrehabilitationsuccessorquality Quantify theextent ofon-groundrehabilitationworks thathavebeenundertaken atsites rehabilitation? Are conditionsandtargetsalignedwithsafe, stable, non-pollutingandself-sustainingaimof Should conditions/targetsbechangedtomoreambitious? How shouldtargetsbe(re-)definedtoenhanceachievability? Which rehabilitationtargetsdoyoudeemachievableandwhicharenotachievable, andwhy? Time-Bound)? Dotheyneedtobe? Are rehabilitationtargetssufficiently(ortoo)SMART (Specific,Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, targets (whichmayultimatelybeusedtodefinecompletioncriteria)? Do therehabilitationconditionsgivesufficientinformationtoenabledefinitionof Evidence ofrehabilitationsuccessinWA Expert consultation 5

STATUS OF MINE SITE REHABILITATION IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA TABLE 2Datacollectedfor40casestudyprojects(1987–2018) Plans (Table 2). and/or (whereavailable)AnnualEnvironmentalReports, AnnualComplianceReports, orMineClosure study projectsforwhichthefollowingdatawascollectedfromMinisterialStatement, EPA reports, 1987–2010, and the firstJanuaryMSandJuneforperiod2011–2018.Thisyielded40case questions. Acasestudydatasetwasconstructed,consistingofthefirstMSperyearforperiod Given thelimitedtimeframeofthisproject,analternativeapproachwasusedtoaddressStage 3 retrieve mineclosureplansandlinkthesetoprojects’ MinisterialStatements because: became clearthatdetailedinformationisnottypicallyavailabletothepublic.Ithasbeenchallenging Mine Rehabilitation Fund,andupdatestomineclosureplans.However, overthecourseofproject,it It wasexpected thatthisinformationcouldbesourcedfromcompanyannualreports,reportstothe Rehabilitation costs Post-mine landuse Reporting againstobjectives Area rehabilitated Terrestrial footprint Rehabilitation targets Year MS /Project Variable c) b) a) processing speedoftheonlineinterface, canmake evaluatingAERs atime-consumingtask. does notnecessarilylinkdirectlytotheinformationonMS.This,combinedwithslow finding therelevantprojectAERisnotstraightforwardindatabase, becausetheinformation in theDMIRS’onlineEARS2databaseforallAERs requiredundertheMiningAct1978.However, Rehabilitation progress isreportedinAnnualEnvironmentalReports (AERs), whichareavailable the DMIRS,theyarenottypicallypublicallyavailableinfull. name, orsitenamenotmatchingMS).Furthermore, wheremineclosureplansaresubmittedto MINEDEX databaseisnotalwayseasilyaccessible(registrationtitle, tenementname, project (MINEDEX) system.However, theinformationneededtolinkMinisterialStatement tothe Mine closureplansaresometimesavailableviaDMIRS’onlineMinesandmineraldeposits reported). details couldbefoundforindividualsites(typicallyoverallglobalornationalbusinessresultsare for projectsthatstartedinthe1980s–1990s.Wherecompanyreportsareavailable, verylittle Mine closureplansarenottypicallypublicallyavailableoncompanywebsites,particularly Description activities ordomains Reported costsofrehabilitation,wherepossible reportedagainst Expected post-minelanduse that wereset? To what extend isrehabilitationprogressreportedagainstthetargets Area inhectaresthathavebeenrehabilitatedtodate Area inhectaresapprovedordisturbedtodate Target (qualitative ornumerical)objectivesforrehabilitation Year theMSwasapproved Number oftheMinisterialStatement (MS)andprojecttitle

STATUS OF MINE SITE REHABILITATION IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA Closure PlanasaconditionoftheMinisterialStatement. subject totheMiningAct(e.g. pre-1899titleorState Agreement Act)couldberequiredtoprepareaMine Mining Actin2011thatmadeMineClosurePlansaconditiononthetenement.operationsnot planning requirementwasusedlessoften.Thisisprobablyduetothechangeinregulationsunder ‘planning’ conditionsshowednotrendvisibleovertime, regions,orresourcesuntilabout2013whenthe Conditions like thesedidnotspecifyanyconditiontargetsorrehabilitationoutcomes.Theuseofthe rehabilitation plan.Typical conditionsimposedincluded: By farthemostusedconditionswereassociatedwithpreparingadecommissioning,closure, and/or MS canhavemultipleassociatedrehabilitationconditionsaddressingdifferentcategories. research. The17identifiedthemes(Table 3)cover themainaspectsofeachrehabilitationcondition.One data weregroupedintocommonthemesusingthematicanalysis—amethodinqualitative such, conditionsarewordeddifferentlyacrossprojects. To provideconsistencyintheresults,descriptive compare theconditionsimposed.Thereisnostandardterminologytodefinerehabilitationconditions.As Every projecthasitsuniquesetofrehabilitationconditions,whichmakes itdifficulttoquantitatively Plans tobecompleted,theproportionofMSswithrehabilitationconditionshasdecreasedconsiderably. or closurecondition(s).Inrecentyears,especiallysincechangestotheMiningActrequiringMineClosure through aMinisterialStatement. Withoneexception in1987, MSsbefore2006allappliedarehabilitation rehabilitation conditionsrecommendedandsubsequentlyappliedbytheMinisterforEnvironment Of the277miningandresourcesectorprojectsthatwereassessedbyEPA, 236(85%)havehad 3.1 covered allregionsinWestern Australia and24differentresourcetypes(Appendix1). approvals datingfromOctober1987toDecember2018(i.e. spanningmorethan31years).TheseMSs In total,277MinisterialStatements (MSs)relatedtoresourcedevelopmentprojectswereanalysed,with 3 Results “Prepare andimplementanEnvironmentalManagementProgrammecoveringrehabilitation” (25) “Prepare andimplementadecommissioningrehabilitationplan” (34);or “Prepare andimplementrehabilitationplan” (used28times); Mine siterehabilitationconditionsinMinisterialStatements 7

STATUS OF MINE SITE REHABILITATION IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA rehabilitation “withspeciesoflocalprovenance” (categorisedas‘species selection’ inTable 3). rehabilitation”. From2005onwards,proponents wereoftenalsorequiredtoundertake (progressive) often sinceabout2001inthe formof“Address/carry out/commence/ensure/implement progressive Specific requirementsfor‘progressive rehabilitation’ wereemployedintermittentlyfrom 1988,butmore indicating thattopsoilstockpiling hadbecomecommonpractice. for futurerehabilitation.References totopsoilhandlingwerenolongermadeinthe2000s,possibly to thehandlingoftopsoil.Thesetypicallyrequiredtopsoil tobestrippedandstockpiledorsalvaged rehabilitation”). Atotalof26MinisterialStatements inthatperiodalsospecified proceduresspecific “Preserve seedandplantmaterialforrehabilitation”, or“Developseedcollectionprotocolsfor and seedcollectionprocedures(e.g. “Usethemostsuccessfulvegetationtechniquesavailable” , In earlieryears(1987–1994),genericreferencewouldsometimes bemadetorehabilitationtechniques typically quitegenericwithoutspecifyingobjectivesor targetsforrehabilitation.Forexample: common conditionduringthisperiod.Anyconditionsrelatedtorehabilitationusedinperiodare proponent willberesponsiblefordecommissioningandrehabilitatingthesiteitsenvirons” isa of plantandinstallations”. From1991–1998,rehabilitationwasaddedasagenericrequirement.“The decommissioning, suchas“Theproponentshallberesponsiblefordecommissioningandremoval the decommissioningphase. Inthefirstfiveyears(1987–1991),conditionswerepurelyfocussedon From 1987toapproximately 1998,conditionsrelatedtorehabilitationwere primarilyassignedto condition appearedinthedatasetofMinisterialStatements TABLE 3Classificationofrehabilitationconditionsandthenumbertimeseach Total None specified Dieback protocols Refers toDMPregulation Landforms Procedures andtechniques(generic) Seeding procedures Rare andpriorityflora Weed management Waste dumps,tailings,pits Research anddevelopment Topsoil procedures Progressive rehabilitationandspeciesselection Species selection Progressive rehabilitation Rehabilitation (generic) Decommissioning Decommissioning andrehabilitation Planning Category ofrehabilitationcondition “Rehabilitate disturbedland”(7times). “Commence rehabilitation(oftheminedarea/site)”(7times);or Number ofMS 594 169 69 55 26 63 23 38 33 15 15 12 12 12 12 18 14 5 3 Percentage ofMS 28.5% 10.6% 100% 11.6% 2.0% 2.0% 2.0% 2.0% 5.6% 2.5% 2.5% 0.5% 3.0% 0.8% 6.4% 3.9% 2.4% 9.3% 4.4% 8

STATUS OF MINE SITE REHABILITATION IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA condition targets(seeAppendix2forlistofprojects).Examplesinclude: rehabilitation istobedemonstratedasbeingsuccessful.Offallprojects,only98werefoundspecify rehabilitation. Suchtargetsserveasguidestodevelopcompletioncriteria,whichmustbemetif rehabilitation conditionsandspecifiedameasurable(quantifiableorqualitative)outcomefor All 277MSswereinspectedforthespecificationofconditiontargets. Targets werefoundinthe 3.2 between imposedconditionsandthesizeofaminingproject. defined theirclearinglimitintheMS,itisimpossibletodrawconclusiveinferencesaboutrelationship projects aremorelikely tocoversensitiveareasthansmallerprojects.However, giventhatnotallprojects around rareandpriorityflorawereimposedonlyonprojectswith>500hectaresofclearing. Larger of differentsizedfootprints.Theonlydifferencebetweenprojectssizeswerethatconditions rehabilitation conditionsapplied.Thesewereusedtoassessdifferencesinbetweenprojects There were205MSsthatspecifiedtheterrestrialfootprintclearedunderprojectandalsohad West, reflectingthecontext ofmininginthoseregions. Finally, weedmanagementconditionswereimposedmoreonprojectsintheGreatSouthernorSouth- and Wheatbeltregions,whilediebackrequirementsonlyappearedinthePeel andSouth-West regions. Conditions relatedtorareandpriorityflorawerepredominantlyimposedonMSsforprojectsinthe Peel average). or rehabilitationtrials,comparedtootherregions(1%ofMSsforthePilbararegion,a6% difference standingoutforthePilbaraissignificantlylowerrequirementresearch&development, Development applicationsinthePilbararegionpeaked duringthe2005–2013miningboom.Theonly had asignificantlylargernumberofassociated‘decommissioning’conditions. peaked inthe1980sandearly1990s,duetocommonconditionsatthattimethoseapplications rehabilitation conditionsimposedovertime. DevelopmentapplicationsinthePeel andPerth regions There arefewsubstantialdifferencesbetweenregions,otherthanthosecausedbyevolutionsof “Conduct researchonmethodsofrehabilitation” . 2001 onwards.Suchconditionsweretypicallyintheformof“Rehabilitation trialswillbeundertaken” or Conditions specifyingtheneedforrehabilitationresearchandtrialswereincludedmoreoftenfrom which aspects(cover, diversity, orother)aretargeted. In fact,targetssetinthe1990semployterms‘vegetation’ or‘nativevegetation’, withoutspecifying targets appearforthefirsttimein2006,priortowhich vegetationtargetsusedlessconciselanguage. target, althoughthiswasonlyusedfrom2006onwards. Likewise, percentage coverandspeciesdiversity most commontarget,appearing44times.Weed speciesorweedcover, isthesecondmostrecurrent Specifying thepercentageofvegetationcoverandtarget speciesdiversity/compositionwasbyfarthe covered morethanonetheme. Thetotalnumberofobservations isthereforemorethan98. (Table 4).Someprojectshavemultipletargets,andsomeconditiontargetswerearticulatedinwaysthat Although thetargetsvariedconsiderablyacrossprojects, aseriesofcommonthemeswereidentified • • • • • Weed coverageislessthan10%. after fiveyears;or Priority floraarere-establishedwithnotlessthan50%successafterthreeyearsand65% Species diversityisnotlessthan60%oftheknownoriginalspeciesdiversity; sites (excluding weeds); Average speciesdiversityisgreaterthan20%oftheaveragevalueanalogue foliage covervaluesofreferencesites; Projected foliagecovervaluesoflocalprovenancenativespeciesisgreaterthan20%the Condition targets(completioncriteria) 9

STATUS OF MINE SITE REHABILITATION IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA Out of14referencesto‘undisturbednaturalanalogue’, 10areinthePilbararegion. ‘undisturbed naturalanalogue’ isintroduced,whichsubsequently adoptedbymostconditiontargets. noting that‘surrounding’ areaswaswidelyusedinthe1990sand2000s. However, in2010theterm followed by‘surrounding’ areas,whichencompassestermsas‘nearby’, ‘adjacent’and‘local’. Itisworth Baseline conditions(alsoreferredtoas‘pre-mining’conditions) wasthemostcommonreference, the referencesmentioned,byfrequencyofappearance. target levels.Insomecases,twooruptothreereferenceswerenoted.Table 5providesasummaryof Interestingly, mostconditiontargets providedanindicationofthereferencetobeusedindefining each targetappearedinthedatasetofMinisterialStatements TABLE 4Classificationofrehabilitationconditionstargetsandthenumbertimes storage facilities,soilprofiles,ecosystems,andecologicalfunctions. mentioned onlythreetimesorlessincludewasterockdumps,pastures,priorityfauna,ponds,tailing Landforms werementionedin14outof97projectswithtargets,rangingfrom1991to2012.Othertargets Before 2006,‘rehabilitation’ alsoappearsfrequentlyasanumbrellaterm,e.g.: need torehabilitatethisfootprint.Forexample, onestatementfromtheyear2000readsasfollows: ‘rehabilitation’. ‘Area’ wouldrefertotheminefootprintandassociatedtargetwilltypicallyindicate Before 2009, twowidelyusedtargetswerebasedontheloosely-definedconceptsof‘area’ and Total Other Ecosystems Area targets(formined/rehabilitated/disturbedland) Rehabilitation Landforms Vegetation Weeds Percentage vegetationcoverand/orSpeciesdiversity orcomposition Category ofconditiontarget planning” are carriedoutinacoordinated,progressivemannerandintegratedwithdevelopment “The objective(oftheRehabilitation Plan)istoensurethatclosureplanningandrehabilitation ecosystems” “Render minesiteareassafeandstableencouragere-establishmentofself-sustaining (% oftotal) times specified Number of 44 (27%) 25 (16%) 28 (17%) 16 (10%) 16 (10%) 17 (11%) 9 (6%) 6 (4%)

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STATUS OF MINE SITE REHABILITATION IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA achieve atclosure. to guideclosuredevelopmentanddesign,without clearindicationofwhattheproponentcommitsto In contrasttoafew‘Specific’ targets,inthevastmajority ofcases,targetsweregeneric,lackingtheability in a2007targetforminethePilbarastatedfollowing: to sectionsoftheMinisterialStatements wheredetailswerespecified.For example, oneofthegoalsset appear onlyafter2003.Inthesecases,targetsmadementiontotheparticularcontext oftheminesiteor to reflectauniquesetofenvironmental,socialandeconomiccircumstances’ (DMP2016 p. 30).Thesix resulting inatotalof119targets.Outthistotal,onlysix(Table 6)werefoundtobe‘Specificenough The databaseincluded98projectswithconditiontargets,someofwhichcoveredmultiplethemes,thus targets areassessedonthegroundsofbeing‘Specific’, ‘Measurable’ and‘Time-Bound’(S.M.T.). ‘realistic’ (thiswasalsonotedduringtheexpert workshop-Section 4).Hence, inthissection,condition rehabilitation practices,itisnotpossibletodeterminewhetherconditiontargetsare‘achievable’ or Time-Bound) characteristics(DMP&EPA 2015).Withoutknowledgeofparticularsiteconditionsand Conditions targetswereassessedagainstS.M.A.R.T. (Specific,Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Specific, MeasurableandTime-boundtargets Minerals CouncilofAustralia (MCA) Strategic FrameworkforMineClosure(ANZMEC&MCA 2000). found specificallyreferringtothe Australian andNewZealandMineralsEnergyCouncil(ANZMEC)/ regulators orfollowingregulatorydocuments.Between2005and2006,eightconditiontargetswere undefined. Anumberofconditiontargetsalsomake mentiontosettingconditionsinconsultationwith ‘woodland’, arementioned.Thefourthmostcommonreferenceis‘best-practice’, althoughthisisoften in 26cases,oftenwithoutspecifyingtheactuallanduse. OnlyinafewcasesPMLU, e.g. ‘Tuart forest’or References tolanduse, suchas‘post-mininglanduse’ or‘designatedendlanduse’, werereferenced each referenceappearedinthedatasetofMinisterialStatements TABLE 5Classificationofreferencesforconditionstargetsandthenumbertimes Total Designated areawithintheminesite ANZMEC/MCA Consultation withregulator Undisturbed naturalanalogue Best-practice Post-mine landuse Surrounding areas Baseline Reference statement demonstrated byEcosystem FunctionAnalysis,orothermethodologyacceptable totheCEO”; rehabilitation areasshallbe comparabletothatofundisturbednaturalanalogue sites as “The percentagecoverandspeciesdiversityoflivingself-sustaining nativevegetationinall survival of, andpossiblere-colonisationby, troglobiticfauna.” placed afterminingbothtoprotectandsupportanyprojecting 'fingers' ofrockandtomaximise Exclusion Zone(MEZ)isretainedasindicatedinFigure2;To ensurethatwasterockiscarefully “Objective forMineClosureandRehabilitation Plan(MCRP):To ensurethatanintactMining (% oftotal) times specified Number of 36 (24%) 37 (25%) 26 (17%) 17 (11%) 14 (9%) 10 (7%) 8 (5%) 2 (1%)

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STATUS OF MINE SITE REHABILITATION IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA ecological restoration,aspartoftheminerehabilitation process. specified moreoftenthanotherregionsis,perhaps,a reflectionoftheneedtoachievehighlevels regions withparticularlysensitiveenvironmentssuchas thePilbaraandSouth-West have targets proportion wasmuchhigherinthePilbara(40%),South-West (49%)andWheatbelt(50%).The factthat Esperance, Mid-West andPerth, onlyone-in-fiveprojectshadtargetsspecified.Bycontrast,the The proportionofprojectswithandwithouttargetsvaries byregion(Figure1).IntheGoldfields- Assessing targetcharacteristicsbyregion,itbecomes evident thatsomedifferences exist across WA. Target characteristicsbyregion TABLE 6FrequencyofSpecific,Measurable, Time-Boundtargetcharacteristics 18) wereusedin2008and2009. Anexample isasfollows: goals shouldbeachieved.Thefirst‘Time-Bound’targetappearsin2003,althoughthemajority(13outof Only one-in-sixtargets(18outof119)couldbeclassifiedas‘Time-Bound’byindicatingwhenrehabilitation employed qualitativereferencessuchas: “abundance ofweedsnogreaterthaninundisturbedsite"). Insteadone-in-three‘measurable’’ targets numeric criterionattachedtothem(e.g. 60%speciesdiversity, asabove)oradefinedthreshold(e.g. terms suchas‘safety’ or‘self-sustainability’. However, only29outof46‘measurable’ targetshada attributes’ wereonlyfoundfrom2006onwards,whereasbeforetargetsoftenbasedonbroad at leastoneelementthatcouldbequantitatedtodemonstraterehabilitationtrends.‘Measurable Over athirdoftheconditiontargets(46out119)werefoundtobe‘Measurable’, meaningtheyincluded distinctly differentareas, extracting differentcommodities,requiredsimilartargets: they cannotbeconsideredspecifictotheuniquecircumstancesofsites.Forinstance, twoprojectsin statements,oftenrepeatedacrosssites.Whilethesetargetsmaybeconsidered‘measurable’,the-shelf’ indication thatthesehadbeensetspecificallyforthesiteinquestion,butratherappliedasgeneric‘off- In somecases,targetsprovidedahighlevelofdetailtheobjectivestobeachieved,yettherewasno Is thetarget‘Time-Bound’? Does thetargetincludeanumericcriterion? Is thetarget‘Measurable’? Is thetarget‘Specific’? Target characteristics comparable withthatofnaturallandformsinthearea"IronOre, Pilbara,2009. “Within fiveyearsofmineclosure, thepercentagecoverofnativevegetationshallbe which occurredpriortoclearingandexcavation” MineralSands,SouthWest, 2008. “The vegetationshallhavecomparabledensitiesandabundancesofplantspeciestothose coverage isequaltoorlessthanthatofpre-clearedlevels” GasProductioninthePilbara,2010. “Species diversityisnotlessthan60percentoftheknownoriginalspeciesdiversity. Weed to exceed therecordedbaselineweedcoverlevels” MineralSandsintheWheatbelt,2009; “Species diversitynotlessthan70%oftheknownoriginalspeciesdiversity. Weed coveragenot (% oftotal) occurrences Number of 29 (24%) 46 (39%) 18 (15%) 6 (5%)

STATUS OF MINE SITE REHABILITATION IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA Note: Blanks (-)indicatethecharacteristicdoes notappearinanytargetforthenominatedregion TABLE 7FrequencyofS.M.T. characteristicsinrehabilitationtargetsbyregion very smallnumberoftargetsfoundinsomeregions. comparisons provideinsightsintogeographicdifferences,althoughthesearehinderedthe targets weretime-bound,in-linewiththeWA average. IntheMid-West, theproportionwas50%.These with onlyone-in-tenhavinganumericcriterion.InthePilbaraandSouth-West, approximately 15%of a numericcriterion(Table 7).Bycontrast,intheSouth-West, onlyone-in-fivetargetswere‘Measurable’, About halfofthetargetsinMid-West, Peel andPilbarawere‘Measurable’, andinmost cases,with FIGURE 1Numberofprojectswithandwithoutspecifiedrehabilitationtargets Goldﬁelds Esperance Gascoyne Regions Goldfields Esperance Great Southern Kalgoorlie Kimberley Mid-West Peel Perth Pilbara South-West Wheatbelt Total Great Southern South West Wheatbelt Kalgoorlie Kimberley Gascoyne Mid West Pilbara Perth Peel 0 Number of targets 119 20 55 21 12 6 5 2 8 7 1 1 1

‘Specific’ Target is 1 (20%) 6 (5%) 3 (5%) 1 (5%) 1 (8%) Without targets 40 ------‘Measurable’ Target is 46 (39%) 29 (53%) 1 (100%) 2 (25%) 3 (50%) 5 (24%) 4 (33%) 1 (50%) 1 (20%) 60 With Targets - - - criterion numeric Target includes 29 (24%) 80 16 (29%) 1 (100%) 2 (25%) 3 (50%) 3 (25%) 1 (50%) 1 (20%) 2 (10%) - - - ‘Time-Bound’ Target is 100 18 (15%) 3 (50%) 3 (25%) 1 (20%) 8 (15%) 3 (14%)

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STATUS OF MINE SITE REHABILITATION IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA (Lechner etal.2016;Pepper etal.2014;White2015; et al.2012). These bondsalone, however, typicallydon’t provideadequateresourcesand incentivesforrehabilitation rehabilitation obligations.These bondswerepublishedannuallyaspartofthetenement holder’s AER. Prior to2012,undertheMiningAct,tenementholders were requiredtoprovidebondssecuretheir mine rehabilitationcoststobeparticularlyelusiveinpublic reports. of publicdocumentssubmittedtotheDMIRSorpublished onproponents’ websites.Thisreviewfound Finally, weattemptedtodocumentthecostofmeetingrehabilitationconditions.Areview wasconducted clear reportofprogresstowardsmeetingindividualcompletion criteriainthepublicdomain. their rehabilitationprogressbeyondthearea(hectares) rehabilitated.Noneoftheprojectsprovideda cases) haddefinedrehabilitationtargetsorcompletion criteria.However, onlythreeprojectsreported on analysis for40randomlyselectedcasestudyprojects (Appendix 3).Ofthese40cases,nearlyhalf(18 To assess progresstowardsmeetingrehabilitationconditionsortargets,weconductedanin-depth meeting closureobjectivesorrehabilitationtargets. activities) makes themlargelyunusabletoanalysewhatextend proponentsareworkingtowards 4). Thelackofspecificitywithregardtothesedisclosures(intermsrehabilitationtiming, extent, and distinguish betweenrehabilitationactivities,landtypes,bioregions,orcompletiontargets(Appendix Unfortunately, thelanddisturbance categoriesusedintheMRFarebroadthatdonot land wasreported(DMIRS2018c).Ofthis,38,627hectaresof(30.6%) wereunderrehabilitation. under theMRF(DMIRS,2018c).Inperiodending30June2018,atotalof126,197 hectaresofdisturbed publishes annualreportsthatshowsthegrounddisturbancesasreportedbyeachtenementholder in reportsthatproponentshavetosubmitannuallytheMiningRehabilitation Fund(MRF).TheDMIRS to whichminedlandhasbeenrehabilitated.Someinformationonthelevelofdisturbancecanbefound As partofassessingthestatusrehabilitationinWA, thisprojectalsoattemptedtoquantifytheextent 3.4 proposed PMLU anddatasourcesareavailableinAppendix3. more informationwouldbeavailablefor‘newer’projectswerenotconfirmedbythedata.Thefulltext of on nativevegetation.TherewasnopatterninchangingdefinitionsofPMLU overtime; expectations that intensity grazingandpastoraluse, whileprojectsintheSouth-West, Peel andPerth areasfocussedmore with thepre-mininglanduse. Asexpected, projectsinthePilbara(orGoldfields)largelyproposedlow- forestry, futuremining).Nineprojects proposedreturningthelandtomultipleuses,consistent restricted access/safetyexclusion zone(2),otheruses(4:recreation,residentialdevelopment,plantation The PMLUs specified included:Agriculture/pastoraluse(13times),nativevegetation/conservation(12), Mine ClosurePlan,EPA assessmentreports,orPublicEnvironmentalReview documentsforaproject. for 21ofthem.InformationaboutPMLU wasdifficulttofindandoftenhiddeninthe textofaproposed (see Section2.3).Ofthe40projectsassessedindetail,informationaboutproposedPMLU wasfound Instead, theprojectteamtriedtoascertainproposedPMLU forasubsetof40casestudyprojects plans arepubliclyaccessible. deposits-1502.aspx). However, thisdatabaseisnoteasilysearchableandallapprovedmineclosure (Mines andMineralDepositsDatabase)querysystem(http://www.dmp.wa.gov.au/Mines-and-mineral- Since 2015,someapprovedmineclosureplansareavailableforviewingthroughtheDMIRS’MINEDEX not typicallypubliclyavailableoncompanywebsites,particularlyforprojectsthatstartedbefore2011. project’s mineclosure plan.Thisprovedtobeachallengingexercise becausemineclosureplansare To obtaininformationaboutproposedpost-minelandusesforeachproject,onewouldneedtofind State Forest(3);Conservationandrecreation(1);Water production(1). site. Theselanduseswere:Agricultureandnativevegetation(9times);Pastoral use(4);NationalPark or Only 18MSinourdatasetofMinisterialStatements identifiedtheanticipatedpost-minelandusefor proposed post-minelanduseintheMS. and landuses” or“toastandardsuitableforthenewlanduse(s)”,noneofthoseactuallystated Despite 16MSsspecifyingthatrehabilitationshouldbe“consistentwithagreedpost-miningoutcomes 3.3 Reporting ofprogressonrehabilitation Post minelanduse 14

STATUS OF MINE SITE REHABILITATION IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA (χ there werenosignificantdifferences intheproportionsofMSwithoffsetsacross thesampleasawhole A further53projectsdidnot specifyanytargetsbutdidrequireoffsets.Achi-square testshowedthat include offsets.Therewas no observabledifferenceinthe‘levels’ oftargetsbetweenthese twogroups. requirements: 30projectswith targetsalsohadoffsetrequirements,while67projects withtargetsdidnot There wasnoindicationthat projectswithspecifiedtargetswerealsomorelikely toalsohave offset through offsets.However, ananalysisattheindividualprojectleveldemonstrated thistonotbethecase. in theseregionsarerequiredtocounter-balanceanyresidual impactonrareandsensitiveenvironments proportion ofrehabilitationtargetsspecified.Thiscould indicatethat,inadditiontostricttargets,projects It mightbetemptingtodrawparallelswiththeWheatbelt, South-West, andPilbaraalsohaving thehighest Australia 2012).However, projectsthatfallundertheEPBCActarenotreviewedhere. Conservation Act1999(EPBCAct)alsoincludesanenvironmentaloffsetspolicy (Commonwealthof have offsetrequirementsimposedintheMS.Notethat theEnvironmentalProtectionandBiodiversity of offsetrequirements(36-44%allMSinthoseregions), whileonly8%ofprojectsintheKimberley (Table 8).ProjectsintheWheatbelt,Mid-West, South-West andPilbara havethehighestproportion There are83projectsoutofthe277MinisterialStatements that haveoffsetconditionsspecified additional compensationispreferable. sufficient rehabilitationoutcomes,orthataprojectislocatedinanenvironmentallysensitiveregionwhere in acumulativecontext. Thus,theuseofoffsetscouldeitherindicatethataprojectisunlikely toachieve species thatareprotectedunderinternationalagreements,andareasbeingcriticallyimpacted and animals,areaswithintheformalconservationreservesystem,importantenvironmentalsystems residual impacts(GovernmentofWestern Australia 2014),suchasthosethataffectendangeredplants The WA EnvironmentalOffset Policy specifiesthatoffsetsareappropriatetocompensateforsignificant (Government ofWestern Australia 2014). may reducethelikelihood thatoffsetsarerequired,andalsothemagnitudeofanyoffsetisrequired apply thishierarchytoreducepotentialimpactsontheenvironment.Thus,settingrehabilitationtargets (avoidance, minimisation,mitigation)hasbeenapplied.Inaprojectapplication,proponentsmustfirst counterbalance significantresidualimpacts.Offsetsareconsideredonlyafterthemitigationhierarchy Australia 2014).Whilerehabilitationoccurson-site, offsetsareundertaken outsideoftheprojectareaand significant residualenvironmentalimpactsorrisks ofaprojectoractivity(Government Western Environmental offsetsareactionsthatprovideenvironmentalbenefitswhichcounterbalancethe 3.5 but nonereferencedrehabilitationconditions/targets. MCPs reviewed.Onlyonecaseprovideddetailofcostsrelativetorehabilitationactivitiesanddomains, (e.g. throughexternal reclamationcostestimators),dollaramountswereavailableinonlyacoupleofthe sites uniformlyincludelanguagestatingthatacostestimationforminerehabilitationhasbeenperformed value forthecurrentproject.AlthoughMineClosurePlans(MCPs)preparedtenementholders’ delineated bysite, butaregivenasanoverallcostforthecompany, thusprovidinglittleinformationof by rehabilitationactivities.Forsometenementholderswithmultiplesites,thesecostsarenoteven Initiative reports,costsarelistedasanannuallumpsumwithoutanydetailorbreakdown ofcosts costs areprovidedincompanyfinancialstatements,eitherannualreportsorGlobal Reporting indication ofrehabilitationcostsforactivitiesassociatedwiththebond.Similarly, whereminerehabilitation projects. Threeprojectsreportedontheirrehabilitationbonds.However, bondamountsprovideno In ouranalysisofthe40casestudyprojects,referencetominerehabilitationcostswasmadein13 holders mayrequest(withsufficientjustification)thatcertaininformationisnotpublicallyreleased. these summariesarepublicallyavailableintheMineClosurePlansonDMIRSwebsite, tenement financial processesinordertodemonstratethatadequateprovisionhasbeenmadeforclosure. While Closure Plansmustcontainasummaryofthemineclosurecostingmethodology, assumptionsand rehabilitation andclosurecoststobeablesubmitthesetheDMIRSorDWER uponrequest.Mine Tenement holdersarerequiredundertheMiningRehabilitation FundAct2012toestimatetheir levy andisnotintendedtorepresentanestimateoftherealcostrehabilitatinganyparticularsite. includes arehabilitationliabilityestimate(RLE).TheRLEitselfseversonlyasbasisforcalculatingthe is calculatedusingtheformulaunderRegulation 4oftheMiningRehabilitation FundRegulation 2013that that ispayableforgivenyear. Theamountoflevypayableinrespecttoaminingtenementyear to provideassessmentinformationannuallyDMIRSinordercalculatetheminingrehabilitationlevy contributions totheMRF. Under theMiningRehabilitation FundAct2012,tenementholdersarerequired Since thepassageofMiningRehabilitation FundAct2012,thissystemofbondswasreplacedby 2 -test 9.00 againstχ Offset conditions 2 -critical of16.92).

STATUS OF MINE SITE REHABILITATION IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA Statements (as%oftotal) TABLE 9Types ofoffsetconditionsspecifiedinthedatasetMinisterial Two categoriesofenvironmentaloffsetsareobservedinthedatabase(Table 9): Ministerial Statements, byregion(%oftotalinparentheses) TABLE 8Numberoftimesoffsetconditionsarespecifiedinthedataset Some projectsarerequiredtoprovidemultipleoffsets(e.g. indirectfundingaswelllandacquisition). Total Wheatbelt South West Pilbara Perth Peel Mid-West Kimberley Great Southern Goldfields Esperance Rare floratranslocation Land rehabilitation Land acquisitionandconservationcovenants Direct Type ofoffset Regions Total Other (e.g. greenhouse gasoffsetpackage) Funding fortheregionalPilbara conservationinitiative Contribute fundsforresearch Contribute funds(general) Indirect Gascoyne 2. 1. conservation activities(37times). Pilbara (6times),orgeneralcontributionoffundstoState Governmentorgeneralstrategic projects (11times),contributefundsspecificallytotheregionalconservationinitiativefor affected theminingdevelopment.Theseindirectoffsetsinclude:providefundingforresearch Indirect offsetsaredesignedtoimprovingscientificunderstandingoftheenvironmentalvalues rare flora(4times). (23 times),rehabilitationofnaturalareasoutsidetheprojectarea(7andtranslocation These directoffsetsinclude:landacquisitionandplacingunderconservationcovenants Direct offsetsdesignedtoimprovevegetationconditions,orprotecthabitatrarespecies. MS indataset (% ofallMS) 277 114 25 26 29 33 16 12 13 5 4 (10%) (12%) (41%) (6%) (9%) (9%) (5%) (2%)

(4%) (1%) (% ofallMS) MS withoffsets 83 41 11 9 4 4 4 7 1 1 1 (49%) (13%) (11%) (5%) (5%) (5%) (8%) (1%) (1%) (1%)

in thatregion % MSwithoffsets requirement % MSwithoffset 20% 25% 36% 36% 38% 44% 15% 12% 31% 90% 23% 8% 37% 11% 6% 2% 4% 7%

STATUS OF MINE SITE REHABILITATION IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA meet landscapescaleenvironmentalmanagementobjectives. environments, andongoingproposedminingprojects, toevaluatewhetherindividualsiteconditions impacts atalandscapescale. TheEPA canconsiderregionaldataonlandscapefeatures,sensitive The EPA isinapositiontorecommendministerialconditionsmanagecumulativeenvironmental that, intheend,approvalisatdiscretionofMinister andmaynotnecessarilyfollowEPA advice. conditions toeffectivelyadvisetheMinisterreject developmentapplication.However, itwas noted could beauseful'performancemanagementtool'. TheEPA couldalsorecommendambitiousorstrict to achievetherecommendedrehabilitationconditions.Expertsstatedthatconditions may leadtorecommendationsthatrequirethedevelopmentofnewknowledgeandtechnicalinnovation EPA hasitspolicymandateprovidedinthe EPAct,andEPA objectivesofprotectingenvironmentalvalues Expert discussionsconsideredtheachievabilityofrehabilitationconditionsinMinisterialStatements. The expertise andresourcesavailableforthenegotiationprocess. which mayleadtovariationsacrossrehabilitationstandardssincecompanieshavedifferentlevelsof available forpublicreview. ThenegotiationsaroundtheMCPprovidesomeflexibility toproponents, opportunity forindependentscientificassessmentorpublicscrutiny, inparticularwhenMCPsarenot less relevant.Itwasnotedthatindividualnegotiationsbetweentheregulatorandproponentlimits companies whendevelopingtheMineClosurePlans.MinisterialStatements haveperhapsbecome Rehabilitation conditionsandtargetsarenowlargelynegotiateddirectlybetweenregulatorsmining 4.1 (company constraints). is beingrehabilitated(e.g. pitlakes, tailings,wastedumps,roadsetc.);andthemoneylabouravailable bioregion andclimateinwhichexploitation takes place(e.g. PilbaraversusSouthWest); thedomainthat type ofresourcebeingexploited (e.g. shallowbauxiteorsandminingversusgoldiron-orepits);the It isunderstoodthatthefeasibility/achievabilityofminerehabilitationwillvaryconsiderablywith Experts’ responsescoveredarangeoftopicsthatweregroupedintofivethemesasdescribedbelow. interview guide. ExampleconditionsandtargetsthatwerediscussedareavailableinAppendix5. Science. Theconsultationprocessusedanopen-endedquestionformat,followingasemi-structured mining companies,fourconsultants,andfiveresearchersfromthree WA universities andKings Park closure inWestern Australia. Theexpert consultationphaseinvolvedthreerehabilitationexperts from Mine siterehabilitationconditionsandtheachievabilityoftargetswerediscussedwithexperts onmine analysis ofwhatrehabilitationoutcomescanbeachievedacrossthestate. future projectcollatestheavailableknowledge(includingcompanyspecifictrials)toenableatransparent the scientificliteraturewasbeyondscopeofcurrentproject,anditishighlyrecommendedthata by proponentsorconsultantsandthusnotaccessiblefortheprojectteam.Conductingafullreviewof the trial,andthusnotgenerallyapplicable. Itwasfoundthatmuchrehabilitationdataisprivatelyowned holders. Results fromecologicalresearchandrehabilitationtrialswillbeconditionalonthecontext of studies aretypicallysmall-scaleorsite-specifictrialsthatmaynotberelevanttomostminetenement While thereisaplethoraofscientificstudiesavailableonecologicalrestorationminesites,such 4 Policy context conditions andtargets:Asummary Achievability ofminerehabilitation 17

STATUS OF MINE SITE REHABILITATION IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA ecosystems developovertime andinsufficientdataabouthow WAecosystemsrespondtodisturbances. to evaluateoverlongertime frames.Expertsagreedthatwehaveinsufficientknowledge abouthow relatively wellovercomparatively shorttimeframes,whileecosystemconditionsare notoriouslydifficult much longerperiods.Experts notedthatsafety, stability, andnon-pollutingoutcomescan beassessed take suchvariationintoaccount,thusapplyingtime-boundconditions forminesthatmayoperateover Finally, rehabilitationtimeframeswillvarywidely, yetinmanycases,thetimeframessetMSdonot vegetation’, speciesdiversityandcovertargetsareachievabledependlargelyontheregionorsystem. vs. mineralsands),eventhoughthesewouldapplytheexact samerehabilitation practices.Whether‘natural For example, thesamelevelofspeciesdiversitycannotbeexpected fromtwodifferentsites (e.g. bauxite geographies andminetypes,partlybecausetargetsare directlybasedonEPA’s guidelines(EPA 2006). Second, rehabilitationtargetstypicallyfailtorecognise the variationinrehabilitationcapacityacross rehabilitation conditionsor, whentheyare, theconditionsarenotalignedtoenvisagedfuturelanduses. climatic zoneortypeofcommodityandextractive process.Post minelanduses areoftennotmentionedin are typicallyformulatedina‘generic’ manner, withoutaccountingforparticularitiesoftheminesite, such as Experts raisedseveralconcernsabouthowconditionsandtargetswereformulatedinMSs.First, 4.3 project. Therefore, definingbroaderconditionsinaMSwasconsideredappropriate. that theEPA maynothavesufficientcapacityortechnicalknowledgetodefinespecifictargetsforeach recommend specificconditions,theyshouldinvolveknowledgeleadersinthefield.Itwasrecognised sites notsubjecttotheMiningAct).However, theconsultedexperts believedthat,iftheEPA wantedto involved (e.g. environmentallysensitiveareas),orincaseswhereaminedoesnothaveMCP(e.g. It wasnotedthatdetailedconditionscouldbeappropriateinsituationswheretherearehighrisks element, astheyshouldapplytothewholelifeofmine, acrossalldomains. (e.g. numerical completioncriteria)intheMineClosurePlans.Conditionsarebetterwithoutatime-bound should reporton).Conditionsbesufficientlybroadtoallowfurtherdefinitionofspecifictargets what guidancedocumentsandreferencesshouldbeused,typeofinformationcompanies outcome ofrehabilitation.TheseMinisterialConditionsgivethelegalcontext forrehabilitation(including Experts agreedthatconditionsshouldbeinterpretedastheminimumstandardsdefineoverall conditions maysometimescontaintoomuchdetail,while, insomeothercases,targetsaretoobroad. distinction isoftennotclearlyreflectedintheMinisterial Statements (MS).Currently, rehabilitation Rehabilitation conditions andtargetsshouldbedefinedondifferentlevelsofdetail,althoughthis 4.2 of researchisnotnecessarilyuseful. achievable. However, theyshouldbelinked todeliveringanoutcome. Doingresearchforthesake in rehabilitatedareas” “The dominantspecies,speciescomposition,percentagecoverandcommunitystructure biodiversity andecosystemfunctionalvalues”. that wouldnotbeachievableis“restorationascloselypracticable(to)thepre-disturbance with thesurroundinglandscape, butdon’t necessarilyneedtobethesame. Acontrastingexample “Reflecting thesurroundingnaturalecosystem” “Undertake trials”or“Conductlaboratoryandfieldscaleresearch percentage coveranddiversity. “Remove allinfrastructure” BOX 1.Exampleconditionsthatexperts consideredwell-defined Specificity ofrehabilitationtargetsandconditions Differentiation betweenconditionsandtargets Ticks offonvarietyofrelevantrichnessaspectsinsteadjusta Notopentointerpretationandclearlyachievable. Impliesthatecosystemsneedtobeconsistent Suchtargetsareclearly

STATUS OF MINE SITE REHABILITATION IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA

time allowingforvariationsacrossareasandtypesofmines. possible thatsuch‘library’wouldprovidegreaterconsistencyinconditionsdefinition,whileatthesame project includinga)climaticregion;b)commodity/miningmethod;c)timeframeandsiteage/maturity. Itis types ofmines.Suchconditionswouldthenneedtobefurtherdetailedaccordingthespecifics body woulddevelopaportfolioofpotentialconditionsthatarebroadlyapplicableacrossregionsand The ideaofanagency-specific‘conditionslibrary’wasdiscussed,wherebyeachrelevantregulatory here aroundthemanagementofweeds,ratherthanoutcomes. due toprocessesoutsidethecontrolofproponent.Conditionsandtargetsforweedscouldbeset by theinformationavailableatthattime, whicharelikely tochangeoverthelife-of-mine, inmanycases sites thatarebeingmonitoredandforwhichup-to-datedataisavailable. Baselineconditionsarelimited Targets forweedsshouldavoidtheuseofbaseline conditionsasareferenceand,instead,useanalogue relevant thancoveranddiversity. important tothefunctionofsystem.Ecosystemstructureand/orcompositionwereconsideredmore However, thesedonotcaptureecosystemcomplexity, ecosystemfunction,andkey speciesthatare Vegetation coveranddiversityareeasyindicatorsthatusedwidelytodefinerehabilitationtargets. make mention toreferencesorguidelinesfollow. is tightenedupandusedproperly. Conditionscouldalsoavoidusinggenerictermsentirely, andinstead Terms thatareinsufficientlydefinedleftopentointerpretation. Itwasrecommendedthatterminology 3 are impossibletoevaluate(e.g. thereiscurrentlynoagreeddefinitionsof ‘self-sustaining’ or‘resilient’). sustainable manner”, “achieveaself-sustainingandfunctioningecosystem”; or“resilientvegetation” Experts commentedthatecosystemtargetsusinggeneric,ill-definedtermssuchas“ecologically Most recommendationswererelatedtotheconditionsandtargetsspecifiedforecosystemrestoration. or droughts),and/orreferencebasedonpost-mininglandusemaybemoresuitable. trajectories thattake intoaccountdisturbancesthathaveoccurrednaturallyintheregion(e.g. bushfires the anticipatedpost-mininglanduse, and(b)thesignificantdisturbancesataminesite. Useofreference changed. Insteadofrequiringreferencetooriginalorpreviousconditions,referencesshouldconsider(a) mine. Comparisonsto“pre-miningvegetation” arealsoinappropriatebecausethebenchmarkmayhave analogue” areinappropriatebecausesuchsiteshavenotbeendisturbedtothesameextent asthe “suitable undisturbed referencesites”, "undisturbednativevegetation”, or“naturalundisturbed Many targetsdefinereferencestowhichoutcomesshouldbecompared.However, referencesto targets, experts providedaseriesofrecommendations. In responsetheconcernsraisedaboutcurrentpracticesindefinitionofrehabilitationconditionsand and targets 4.4 TheEPA’s GuidanceNote6(2006)Rehabilitation ofTerrestrial Ecosystemsdefines‘Resilience’ astheabilityofanecosystemtomaintain human managementorinterventionbeyond thatwhichwouldberequiredtomaintain comparableundisturbed nativevegetation” (MS916) Some, butnotall,MinisterialStatements describe ‘self-sustaining vegetation’ as“permanentvegetationwhichgrowsand persistswithout Guidance Note. structural andfunctionalattributesinthe faceofsevereimpactsbyexternal factors.Nodefinitionisprovidedfor‘Self-sustaining’inthe Potential improvementsinthedefinitionofrehabilitationconditions

STATUS OF MINE SITE REHABILITATION IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA rehabilitation costsshouldbe reportedandhow. DMIRS couldsetupaharmonisedaccountingframework andprepareguidancenotesthatlayoutwhat successful rehabilitation.Thereiscurrentlynostandard reportingframeworkforclosurecosts.The of rehabilitationconditionsandalsoaddingtoalack foresightandplanningoffundsneededfor meeting rehabilitationtargetsarehardlyeveryreported, complicatinganyanalysisofthefeasibility with referencetomeetingrehabilitationconditionsortargets, norspecifiedbydomain.Thecostsof Progress towardrehabilitationisonlyreportedinterms ofhectaresrehabilitated,butrarely(ifever) values. recommended rehabilitationconditions/targetsarealigned withproposedPMLU andenvisagedfuture are feasibleindifferentminingenvironments.Sucha project wouldthenneedtoassesswhetherEPA outcomes andlanduses.Afollow-upprojectisrecommended toanalysewhatpost-minelanduses typically identified,whichmakes itimpossibletoevaluatewhetherconditionsareinlinewithagreed Environmental conditionsmaybespecifiedinMinisterial Statements, butpost-minelandusesarenot A challengeincompletingthisprojectwasthelackofreadilyaccessibledataaboutrehabilitation. targets. trials andon-siteresearchtobetterunderstandthebio-physicalecologicalfeasibilityofrehabilitation allow in-depthanalysis.Thereisaneedtocollatetheinformationandmanagedatagainedfrom spread acrosscompanies,notpubliclyavailableinoneplace, andnotavailableinacoherentwayto can beusedtoassesswhetherrehabilitationtargetsareachievable. Alotofthisknowledgeis,however, agreed thatthereisalreadymuchknowledgeavailableaboutthestructureofnaturalecosystems how WA ecosystemsrespond tonaturaldisturbancessuchasdroughts,floods,andfires. Yet, experts The experts consultedaspartofthisprojectnotedthatfurtherresearchisneededtobetterunderstand rehabilitation conditionssetinMinisterialStatements. regulator andproponent,aninterestingprojectcouldevaluatewhethercompletioncriteriacorrespondto rehabilitation objectivesorcompletioncriteria)throughanopaquenegotiationprocessbetweenthe Mine ClosurePlansmeetministerialconditions.Giventhatrehabilitationtargetsareoftenidentified(as Closure Plans.ThecurrentprojectdidnotevaluatewhetherrehabilitationtargetsspecifiedinMSsor specified inMSs. Targets shouldnowbedefined aspartofCompletionCriteriaincompanies’ Mine specific, withafewincorporatingnumericthresholds. Post 2013,rehabilitationtargetswerenolonger terms suchas‘vegetation’ or‘rehabilitation’. Overthelast10years,conditiontargetshavebecomemore During the1990sandearly2000s,rehabilitationtargetsweregeneralinnature, andbasedonbroad A cleartimetrendis,however, visiblewhenassessingrehabilitationtargets(wherespecifiedinthe MS). projects ofdifferentsizes. trends wereobservedinrecommendedrehabilitationconditionsovertime, betweenregions,or and/or rehabilitationplan,withoutspecifyinganyconditiontargetsoroutcomes.Limited instead. Mostrehabilitationconditionswereassociatedwithpreparingadecommissioning,closure, decreased, mostlikely transferringdefinitionsofrehabilitationtargetsfromMSstoMineClosurePlans Since 2013(followingchangesintheMiningAct),proportionofMSwithrehabilitationconditionshas 236 (85%)havehadrehabilitationorclosureconditionsrecommendedintheirMinisterialStatement. Of the277miningandresourcesectorprojectsthatwereassessedbyEPA between1987and2018, to safety, stability, andcontaminationwerenotcoveredinthis project. subsequently appliedbytheMinisterforEnvironmentthroughaMinisterialStatement. Conditionsrelated conditions relatedtoecologicalrestorationandthe‘land’factorsrecommendedbyEPA and conditions forminingprojectsinWestern Australia. Thefocusofthisworkhasbeenonrehabilitation recommended bytheEPA, aimingtodocumentalong-termhistoryofrehabilitationand/orclosure This projectcollectedpubliclyavailableinformationaboutrehabilitationand/orclosureconditions 5 Discussion andconclusion 20

STATUS OF MINE SITE REHABILITATION IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA 3 websites mine proposalsandclosureplanning,particularlywithpublicationofdataontheEPA andDMIRS Progress isbeingmadetoincreasethetransparencyofinformationanddecision-makingaround of rehabilitationconditionsandtargetsforprojectsassessedbytheEPA. still unavailable. Thecurrentprojecthopestoimprovetheinformationavailabilitybycreatingadatabase (registration title, tenementname, projectname),andcombinedfiguresfor Western Australian regionsare http://www.dmp.wa.gov.au/Environmental-Assessment-and-1471.aspx ; http://www.epa.wa.gov.au/all-ministerial-statements http://www.dmp.wa.gov.au/Mines-and-mineral-deposits-1502.aspx; and 4 . However, theinformationneededtosearchthesedatabasesisnotalwayseasilyaccessible 21

STATUS OF MINE SITE REHABILITATION IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA ANZMEC, &MCA. 2000. 'Strategic FrameworkforMineClosure'. Canberra,Australia References Government ofWestern Australia (2014).WA EnvironmentalOffsetsGuidelines.Perth, Western Australia. Government ofWestern Australia (2013).MiningRehabilitation FundRegulations 2013.Perth, Western Government ofWestern Australia (2011)WA EnvironmentalOffsets Policy. Perth, Western Australia. EPA. 2018b. 'Statement ofEnvironmentalPrinciples,FactorsandObjectives'. Perth, Western Australia: EPA. 2018a.EnvironmentalImpactAssessment(Part IVDivisions1and2)ProceduresManual.Perth, EPA. 2014.WA EnvironmentalOffsetsGuidelines.Perth, Western Australia: DepartmentofWater and http://www.epa.wa.gov.au/sites/default/files/Policies_and_Guidance/WAEnvOffsetsPolicy-270911.pdfEPA EPA. 2006.GuidanceStatement No. 6:Guidancefortheassessmentofenvironmentalfactors:rehabilitation DMP, &EPA. 2015.GuidelinesforPreparingMineClosurePlans.May2015.Perth: GovernmentofWestern DMP. 2016.GuidelinesforMiningProposalsinWestern Australia. DMIRS. 2018c.‘MiningRehabilitation Fund(MRF)2018Data Release’. viewed. DMIRS. 2018b. ‘Mineralandpetroleumcommodityreview2018’. viewed22March2019. DMIRS. 2018a.‘2018reviewofmineralandpetroleumindustryactivity’. viewed22March2019. Commonwealth ofAustralia. 2012.EnvironmentProtectionandBiodiversityConservationAct1999 http://www.sernageomin.cl/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Strategic-Framework-Mine-Closure.pdf Offsets%20Guideline%20August%202014.pdf https://www.epa.wa.gov.au/sites/default/files/Policies_and_Guidance/WA%20Environmental%20 Australia. http://www.epa.wa.gov.au/sites/default/files/Policies_and_Guidance/WAEnvOffsetsPolicy-270911.pdf Principles%2C%20factors%20and%20objectives_29062018_0.pdf http://epa.wa.gov.au/sites/default/files/Policies_and_Guidance/Statement%20of%20Environmental%20 Western Australia: EnvironmentalProtectionAuthority. files/Policies_and_Guidance/WA%20Environmental%20Offsets%20Guideline%20August%202014.pdf Environmental Regulation, EnvironmentalProtectionAuthority. https://www.epa.wa.gov.au/sites/default/ Regulation, EnvironmentalProtectionAuthority. (2011). WA EnvironmentalOffsets Policy. Perth, Western Australia: Departmentof Water andEnvironmental GS6-Rehab-Terrestrial-Ecosystems-260606.pdf Environmental ProtectionAuthority. http://www.epa.wa.gov.au/sites/default/files/Policies_and_Guidance/ of terrestrialecosystems.Perth, Western Australia: DepartmentofWater andEnvironmentalRegulation, http://www.dmp.wa.gov.au/Documents/Environment/ENV-MEB-121.pdf Australia: Department ofMinesandPetroleum (DMP)andtheEnvironmentalProtectionAuthority (EPA) http://www.dmp.wa.gov.au/Documents/Environment/ENV-MEB-213.pdf http://www.dmp.wa.gov.au/Environment/What-is-the-MRF-19522.aspx http://www.dmp.wa.gov.au/About-Us-Careers/Latest-Statistics-Release-4081.aspx http://dmp.wa.gov.au/About-Us-Careers/Latest-Resources-Investment-4083.aspx Environment, Water, Population andCommunities. Environmental Offsets Policy, October 2012.Canberra: Australian GovernmentDepartmentofSustainability, 22

STATUS OF MINE SITE REHABILITATION IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA Lechner, A.M.,Kassulke, O., &Unger, C.2016.‘Spatialassessmentofopencutcoalminingprogressive White, B.,Doole, G.J., Pannell, D. J., &Florec,V. 2012.‘Optimal environmentalpolicydesignformine White, B.2015.‘Docontrolrightsdeterminetheoptimalextension ofliabilitytoinvestors? Thecaseof Pepper, M.,Roche, C.P., &Mudd,G.M.2014.‘Mininglegacies—Understandinglife-of-mineacrosstimeand rehabilitation tosupportthemonitoringofliabilities’. Resources Policy, 50, 234-243. Agricultural andResource Economics , 56(2),280-301. rehabilitation andpollutionwithariskofnon-complianceowingtofirminsolvency’. Australian JournalOf environmental policyformines’. JournalofRegulatory Economics,48(1),26-52. space’. ProceedingsoftheLife-of-MineConference. 23

STATUS OF MINE SITE REHABILITATION IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA Statements (MSs)usedinthisstudy Descriptive statisticsforthedatabaseofMinisterial Appendix 1 Resource types Project types Date range Number ofMSsassessed Variable silica, titanium,vanadium) Others (coal,copper, granite, gypsum,lead,limestone, molybdenum, Uranium Salt Rare earthminerals Oil Nickel Mineral sands Iron ore Gold Gas Diamonds Clay Bauxite Aggregates (gravel,hardrockandclay) Oilfield development Infrastructure development(general) Mining –Infrastructure Mining –Construction Gas production–Infrastructure Gas production–Construction Sample characteristics 15/10/1987–28/12/2018 223 277 114 20 22 24 43 12 18 14 6 5 5 5 5 5 8 8 3 3 7 24

STATUS OF MINE SITE REHABILITATION IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA Number ofMSwithoffsetconditionsspecified Number ofMSwithconditiontargetsspecified Number ofMSwithpost-minelandusespecifiedin Terrestrial footprintcleared(rangeinha) Region Variable Wheatbelt South-West Pilbara Perth Peel Mid-West Kimberley Great Southern Goldfields-Esperance Gascoyne Sample characteristics 4–26,925 114 98 26 29 25 83 33 18 16 12 13 5 4 25

STATUS OF MINE SITE REHABILITATION IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA Source: EPA MinisterialStatements in theirMinisterialStatement List ofprojectswithrehabilitationtargetsspecified Appendix 2 923 No. Statement Ministerial 918 916 915 912 899 880 873 867 862 857 855 854 852

1883 1937 1494 1908 1669 1848 1892 1754 1865 1841 1847 1781 1738 1756 No. Assessment EPA Infrastructure Project Brockman Railway NP Pits inMilstreamChichester Rail DuplicationandBorrow Cape Lambert toEmuSiding Sand DredgeMining Extension ofKemerton Silica Ferraus PilbaraProject Red HillQuarryDevelopment Pilbara Cloudbreak LifeofMine, Rail Duplication Cape Lambert toEmuSiding Roebourne Shire ofAshburtonand Facilities andInfrastructure. – GasProcessing,Export Wheatstone Development Mine ExtensionPhase2B Brockman 2DetritalIronOre Solomon IronOreProject Newman, ShireofEastPilbara 40 kilometresEastof Jimblebar IronOreProject, Shire ofEastPilbara Marillana IronOreProject, Shire ofEastPilbara Hope Downs4IronOreMine Shire ofYilgarn north eastofKoolyanobbing, approximately 60kilometres Carina IronOreMine, Project Title Brockman IronPtyLtd Robe RiverMiningCoPtyLtd Kemerton SilicaSandPtyLtd FerrAus PtyLtd Pty Ltd Hanson ConstructionMaterials Fortescue MetalsGroupLtd Rio TintoPtyLtd Chevron Australia PtyLtd Hamersley IronPtyLtd Fortescue MetalsGroupLtd BHP BillitonIronOrePtyLtd Brockman Resources Ltd Hamersley HMSPtyLtd Polaris MetalsPtyLtd Proponent Pilbara Pilbara South West Pilbara Perth Pilbara Pilbara Pilbara Pilbara Pilbara Pilbara Pilbara Pilbara Esperance Goldfields Region 26

STATUS OF MINE SITE REHABILITATION IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA 847 No. Statement Ministerial 844 843 840 839 834 833 829 824 823 818 816 814 813 812 811

1849 1838 1753 1717 1745 1833 1686 1822 1589 1677 1801 1596 1812 1783 1803 1653 No. Assessment EPA Hedland East Pilbara,Town ofPort Shire ofAshburton, Roy HillInfrastructureRailway, Shire ofAshburton Macedon GasDevelopment Deposit, ShireofYilgarn. Project –MtJackson J1 Koolyanobbing IronOre Roebourne Development –Shireof Cape Lambert Port B Boulder and theCityofKalgoorlie – of Menzies,ShireLaverton Tropicana GoldProject,Shire Project Orebody 24/25Upgrade Shire ofAshburton Marandoo MinePhase2, Newman, ShireofEastPilbara 110 kilometresNorthof Project Stage 2, Roy Hill1IronOreMining East Pilbara North ofNewman,Shire Project Stage 1,110kilometres Roy Hill1IronOreMining of Roebourne Project, CapePreston,Shire Balmoral SouthIronOre Shire ofAshburton Chichester Rail deviation, proposal mine – SouthdownMagnetite Albany IronOreProject Mining Operations Cundaline andCallawa Mine atMoora Silicon Project,Kemerton and Port Hedland BHP BillitonRGP6Project, Dredging atNelsonPoint, shipping oreminingproject Koolanooka/Blue Hillsdirect Project Title Roy HillInfrastructurePtyLtd BHP BillitonPetroleum PtyLtd Ltd Cliffs Asia Pacific IronOrePty Pilbara IronOrePtyLtd and IndependenceGroup) (AngloGold AshantiAustralia Tropicana JointVenture BHP BillitonIronOrePtyLtd Hamersley IronPtyLtd Roy HillIronOrePtyLtd Roy HillIronOrePtyLtd Mineralogy PtyLtd BHP BillitonIronOrePtyLtd Grange Resources Ltd BHP BillitonIronOrePtyLtd Simcoa OperationsPty. Ltd. BHP BillitonIronOrePtyLtd Sinosteel MidwestCorpLtd Proponent Pilbara Pilbara Wheatbelt Pilbara Esperance Goldfields Pilbara Pilbara Pilbara Pilbara Pilbara Pilbara South West Pilbara Wheatbelt Pilbara Mid West Region 27

STATUS OF MINE SITE REHABILITATION IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA 810 No. Statement Ministerial 809 808 807 806 800 799 795 794 790 789 781 775 773

1580 1796 1795 1786 1633 1221, 1323 1660 1710 1770 1749 1768 1759 1685 1743 No. Assessment EPA Mine Keysbrook MineralSands Pilbara Modification ShireofEast Wheelarra HillMine mine, ShireofKondinin Spotted Quollopenpitnickel Shire ofAshburton Section 10IronOreProject, Western Turner Syncline, Geraldton 220km east-southeastof Mungada IronOreproject, Nature Reserve Proposal: BarrowIsland Revised andExpanded Gorgon GasDevelopment Project Tutunup SouthMineralSands of Roebourne Project, GnooreaPoint, Shire Devil CreekDevelopment Roebourne west ofWhimCreek,Shire project, 10kilometresnorth- Balla magnetitemining Dandaragan north-west ofCatabyshire extension approx 10km Cooljarloo Mine–Falcon Deposit Burekup MineralSands Project toincludethe Dardanup MineralSands Western extension tothe Port Hedland BHP BillitonRGP5Project, Dredging atFinucaneIsland, and Town ofPort Hedland Hedland, ShireofEastPilbara direct shippingfromPort Pardoo ironoremineand Shire ofMountMagnet below thebaseofweathering Land clearing andmining Windimurra Vanadium Project: Project Title Matilda ZirconLtd BHP BillitonIronOrePtyLtd Western AreasNL Rio TintoPtyLtd Karara MiningLtd Chevron Australia PtyLtd Iluka Resources Limited Apache NorthwestPtyLtd Ferro MetalsAustralia PtyLtd Tiwest PtyLtd Doral MineralSandsPtyLtd BHP BillitonIronOrePtyLtd Atlas IronLtd Windimurra Vanadium Ltd Proponent Peel Pilbara Wheatbelt Pilbara Mid West Pilbara South West Pilbara Pilbara Wheatbelt Perth Pilbara Pilbara Mid West Region 28

STATUS OF MINE SITE REHABILITATION IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA 772 No. Statement Ministerial 769 767 756 753 748 736 730 723 721 720 719 718 717 715

1657 1716 1301 1574 1538 1496 1658 1619 1491 1577 1612 984.1526 1259 1543 1605 No. Assessment EPA East Pilbara. East ofMarbleBar, Shireof project, 50kilometresNorth- Spinifex RidgeMolybdenum Jansz FeedGasPipeline Gelorup, ShireofCapel Pit, Lot 2CalinupRoad Southern ExtensionofSand Ashburton of Pannawonica, Shireof Ore Project43kmwest Mesa A/Warramboo Iron Yalgoo Infrastructure Project,Shireof Mt GibsonIronOreMineand Barrow IslandNatureReserve Gorgon GasDevelopment: of CapelandBusselton mining andprocessing;Shires Cloverdale MineralsSands, Shire ofDandaragan mining operationML70/1161, Expansion ofJurienGypsum Denham, ShireofSharkBay 84 kilometressouth-eastof Coburn MineralSandProject, Break (nobeneficiation) Infrastructure Project:Cloud Pilbara IronOreand Cataby, ShireofDandaragan Cataby MineralSandsProject, associated mining 4.4MTPA aluminaand to maximumcapacityof Worsley Alumina–Production Mine, ShireofCapel Gwindinup MineralSands Project Brockman Syncline 4IronOre Derby-West Kimberley and Port Facility, Shireof Koolan IslandIronOreMine Project Title Moly MetalsAustralia PtyLtd Company PtyLtd Mobil Australia Resources 198 887) APH Contractors(ACN 009 Cotton HoldingsPtyLtd t/as Robe RiverMiningCoPtyLtd Mount GibsonMiningLtd Chevron Australia PtyLtd Iluka Resources Ltd CSR GyprockFibreCement Gunson Resources Ltd Fortescue MetalsGroupLtd Iluka Resources Ltd Worsley AluminaPtyLtd Cable Sands(WA) PtyLtd Hamersley IronPtyLtd Aztec Resources Ltd Proponent Pilbara Pilbara South West Pilbara Mid West Pilbara South West Wheatbelt Gascoyne Pilbara Wheatbelt South West South West Pilbara Kimberley Region 29

STATUS OF MINE SITE REHABILITATION IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA 712 No. Statement Ministerial 711 708 707 706 704 703 695 684 683 682 679

1609 1606 1607 1520 1413 1604 1573 1590 1571 1558 1568 1555 No. Assessment EPA Newman, ShireofEastPilbara 8 kilometresnorth-eastof Orebody 25extension project Wyndham –EastKimberley south ofKununurra, Shireof Underground Project,110km Argyle DiamondMine, South ofKwinana Looping Project,Loop 10, Gas Pipeline, Southern Dampier toBunburyNatural (Stage B) West Railway andminesites Infrastructure Project:East- Pilbara IronOreand Northam Avon Location 1881,Shireof 14 HortonRoad, TheLakes, Voyager Quarry, Lots 11& Kemerton, ShireofHarvey Lateral GasPipeline, Gas Pipeline, Kemerton Dampier toBunburyNatural Conservation Areas andTransfer ofLand for Proposal, AdditionalMining Kemerton SilicaSandMining 274SA, ShireofEastPilbara East Mine, MiningLease Yandicoogina JunctionSouth- Derby –West Kimberley West Kimberley, Shireof Ellendale 4DiamondProject, Newman, ShireofEastPilbara 266SA, 40kmeastof Proposal MiningLease Extension Life-of-mine Wheelarra HillIronOre Port Hedland 100-170 kilometreseastof extension project Goldsworthy IronOreMines Shire ofEastPilbara 90km North-West ofNewman leases 270SA% 47/292, Life-of-Mine proposalmining Marillana Creek(Yandi) Project Title BHP BillitonIronOrePtyLtd Argyle DiamondMinesPtyLtd DBNGP PtyLtd Fortescue MetalsGroupLtd BGC (Australia) Pty Ltd DBNGP PtyLtd Kemerton SilicaSandPtyLtd Hamersley IronPtyLtd NL Kimberley DiamondCompany BHP BillitonIronOrePtyLtd BHP BillitonIronOrePtyLtd BHP BillitonIronOrePtyLtd Proponent Pilbara Kimberley Peel Pilbara Perth South West South West Pilbara Kimberley Pilbara Pilbara Pilbara Region 30

STATUS OF MINE SITE REHABILITATION IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA 670 No. Statement Ministerial 639 627 606 571 559 557 551 548 521 514 509 453 442 426

1506 1385 1374 1445 1317 1262 1272 1348 1250 1049 1144 1199 1033 1032 954 No. Assessment EPA Dongara, ShireofIrwin Development, 20kmsouthof Cliff HeadOilField Shire ofCapel Mine 34kmSouthofBunbury Ludlow TitaniumMinerals Yilgarn and MtJackson Shireof Expansion WindarlingRange Koolyanobbing IronOre Desert Telfer GoldMine, GreatSandy Telfer Project,Expansionof Project, ShireofLeonora Mt MargaretNickel-Cobalt Project, Wiluna Magellan Lead Carbonate Project Cooljarloo MineralSands Carey, ShireofLaverton Wallaby GoldMine, Lake South-East ofKambalda On Lake Lefroy, 7kilometres Gold MineDevelopments Oceon Road, Denmark Portion ofReserve A24913, Mining, OceanBeachQuarry, Continuation ofLimesand Ashburton andRoebourne Project ShiresofEastPilbara, West AngelasIronOre Ravensthorpe Bandalup HillShireof Ravensthorpe Nickel Project, Boddington Operation, Shireof Extended Basement Boddington GoldMine, 2km southofYarloop Mining ofTitaniumMinerals, next toGalliumPlantPinjarra of AlcoaAluminaRefinery and Rare earthproject4kmsouth Project Title Roc Oil(WA) PtyLtd Cable Sands(WA) PtyLtd Portman IronOreLimited Newcrest MiningLtd Anaconda Nickel NL Magellan MetalsPtyLtd Tiwest PtyLtd Limited Placer (GrannySmith)Pty WMC Resources (St IvesGold) Shire ofDenmark Robe RiverMiningCo Comet Resources NL Worsley AluminaPtyLtd Cable Sands(WA) PtyLtd Australia PtyLtd Rhone-Poulenc Chimie Proponent Mid West South West Wheatbelt Pilbara Esperance Goldfields Mid West Wheatbelt Esperance Goldfields Esperance Goldfields South West Pilbara Southern Great South West South West South West Region 31

STATUS OF MINE SITE REHABILITATION IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA 423 No. Statement Ministerial 415 405 335 326 303 286 282 239 227 199 117

984 995 969 787 794 753 599 501 624 563 354 352 No. Assessment EPA activities, Boddington associated bauxitemining at Worsley Refinery, and 3.5 milliontonnesperannum Production from2.0to Expansion ofAlumina Tailings Storage Upgrade Mt Keith Nickel Project lease operation, Yandi Minemining Duplication ofironoremining Reward Mine, Westonia Reserve 18584Rutherfords Gold Minein'C' ClassNature Kimberley Creek, LissadellStation East Mining intoBeefwood Extension ofDiamond Project Area,EastPilbara Project Phase2–Yarrie Goldsworthy Extension Central PilbaraRailway Marandoo IronOreMineand Collie Ewington OpenCutMine, Dardanup Mineral SandsMine, South West Highway, Byford Extension ofExistingQuarry Quarry Operation Relocation ofHerneHill Leonora Yakabindie Nickel Projectat Project Title Worsley AluminaPtyLtd Ltd Western MiningCorporation BHP IronOrePtyLtd Rutherford Resources PtyLtd Mine PtyLtd Poseidon BowRiverDiamond BHP IronOrePtyLtd Hamersley IronPtyLtd Company PtyLtd The GriffinCoalMining Doral MineralSandsPtyLtd Pioneer (WA) PtyLtd (WA) PtyLtd) (previously PioneerConcrete Hanson ConstructionMaterials Dominion MiningLimited Proponent South West Kalgoorlie Pilbara Wheatbelt Kimberley Pilbara Pilbara South West South West Perth Perth Esperance Goldfields Region 32

STATUS OF MINE SITE REHABILITATION IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA Case study projects for detailed assessment Case studyprojectsfordetailedassessment Appendix 3 Bremer Bay Mineral Sands, 130/Heavy 1069) MS 728and (Amended by (J00779) expansion refinery Alumina 95/ Wagerup (J00340) Coolgardie Gold Project, Mile Hill 75/Three (J00481) Range Hamersley Mining Project, 16/Channar Lancelin Extraction, 7/Limesand MS/project 7 1989 1988 1987 1991 1990 Year MS Not defined Not defined Not defined Not defined Not defined targets Rehabilitation 1 Not mentioned approved (2011) 2,500ha Not mentioned Not mentioned (2018) 183ha disturbed (2006) 183ha approved footprint Terrestrial 2 Not found Not found Not found Not found Not found rehabilitated Area 3 Not found Not found Not found Not found Not found objectives Reporting against 4 Proposed PMLU Not specified Not specified Not specified future use) range ofoptionsfor to retainthemaximum and landscapevalues existing conservation (Maintenance of with nativevegetation Unvested reserves Not specified 5 costs Rehabilitation Not mentioned Not mentioned Not mentioned Not mentioned Not mentioned source Information No AER Aug 1987). No AERfound (Jul 1989). EPA report394 No AERfound (Dec 1987). EPA report310 (Bulletin 294, EPA report No AERfound (Jan 1991). EPA report494 No AERfound 2019). Report (Mar Compliance Refinery Annual Wagerup (Dec 1989). EPA report423 6 found

STATUS OF MINE SITE REHABILITATION IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA (J00026) Gold Mine Boddington 299/ Pannawonica Development, J IronOre 208/Mesa MS/project 1992 1993 Year MS River Pools). ecosystems (Robe significant natural threaten surrounding landforms doesnot 6) Erosionfrom local area. are presentwithinthe rehabilitation areas recorded within 5) Anyweedspecies reference sites. areas isnotlessthan within rehabilitated native perennialplants 4) Speciesrichnessof is observed. native perennialplants 3) Recruitment of and/or fruit. observed toflower rehabilitated areasare 2) Nativeplantswithin of localprovenance. rehabilitation works is 1) Seedusedin MCP operations’ in2012 Framework formine ‘Completion Criteria Refer toTable 8-1: targets Rehabilitation 1 (2007) 1,927ha approved (2018) 3,634ha disturbed (2018) 4,132ha approved footprint Terrestrial 2 Not found 399ha (2018) rehabilitated Area 3 Not found and Terrestrial Fauna for BlackCockatoo Management Plans clearing area,and in 2018ACR reports against Conditions’ of Compliance Table 1:‘Summary objectives Reporting against 4 Proposed PMLU relevant stakeholders in consultationwith planning phasesand to closureduringfinal be determinedprior The finallandusewill village site Livestock grazingat • • • Forestry • Recreation • Nature identified: potential PMLUs Combination of Future mining Water catchment conservation 5 costs Rehabilitation Not mentioned Not mentioned source Information AER 2018 Report (Jun2018). Compliance Gold Annual Boddington Newmont (Dec 2012). No AERfound (Jul 2018). Closure Plan Mesa JHub (Aug 1991). EPA report574 Closure Plan Boddington Gold Newmont (Dec 1994). EPA report766

STATUS OF MINE SITE REHABILITATION IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA lease (J00571) Mine mining operation, Yandi mining of ironore 405/Duplication Hedland Project, Port Briquetted Iron 393/Hot (J03294) Westonia Reward Mine, Rutherfords 335/Gold Mine MS/project 1995 1994 1996 Year MS occurring. have occurredorare that adverseimpacts monitoring indicate measures should 3) Rectification to nearbymangroves. 2) Monitoringchanges construction. the 3halostduring to orgreaterthan far aspracticalequal the areashouldbeas causeway areaand recolonising the this programmeto and methodsof apply thetechniques proponent should Creek area,the program intheEast re-establishment largescale mangrove that thereisa replaced. Recognising of mangroveslostbe accordingly the3ha from theareaand net lossofmangroves 1) Thereshouldbeno Not defined Not defined targets Rehabilitation 1 (1995) 500ha approved Not mentioned (1995) 510ha approved footprint Terrestrial 2 Not found Not found Not found rehabilitated Area 3 Not found Not found Not found objectives Reporting against 4 Proposed PMLU Not specified vegetation Self-sustaining native Not specified 5 costs Rehabilitation Not mentioned Not mentioned Not mentioned source Information No AERfound (Jun 1995). EPA report784 No AERfound (Oct 1993). EPA report712 No AERfound (Dec 1995). EPA report802 35

STATUS OF MINE SITE REHABILITATION IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA Mine, Kalgoorlie Charlotte Gold 505/Mt MS 290) (Amendment to (J00772) near Northam at Meenaar, Processing Secondary Laverton & at MtWeld, Beneficiation Mining and 476/Rare Earths offsets added) MS 1012— (Amended by (J00623) Mine, Newman 18 IronOre 439/Orebody MS/project 1999 1998 1997 Year MS communities. vegetation with surrounding dominant species comparison ofkey favourable 3) Showastatistically communities. vegetation to surrounding when compared structures areattained vegetation community 2) Satisfactory provenance. native speciesoflocal 1) Bepropagatedwith Not defined Not defined targets Rehabilitation 1 (2015) 18ha disturbed 380ha approved. (2015) 793ha approved (2019) 352ha disturbed footprint Terrestrial 2 0ha (2015) Not found rehabilitated Area 1.11ha (2019) 3 Not found Not found objectives Reporting against Not found 4 Proposed PMLU Restricted access Not specified Not specified 5 costs Rehabilitation site rehabilitation. costs formine calculating the Estimator for Reclamation Cost to theBarrick the MCPrefers costings. Instead, not provide the MCPdo provisions in Financial Not mentioned Not mentioned source Information No AERfound (Mar 2015). Closure Plan KCGM Mine (Dec 1998). EPA report919 No AERfound (Dec 1996). EPA report840 accessible not publically MCP 2019 AER 2019. (Mar 1998). EPA report884

STATUS OF MINE SITE REHABILITATION IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA (J02263) Leonora Nickel-Cobalt, Margaret 571/Mt (J02379) Facilities Natural Gas Liquefied additional Gas Project West Shelf 536/North MS/project 2000 2001 Year MS Not defined TSF rehabilitation ofthe 2) Optimise vegetation a self-sustaining stable andsupport 1) Waste dumpsare fauna visitation. of faunautilisationor demonstrate evidence communities vegetation 6) Rehabilitation communities. analogue vegetation comparable tolocal weed speciesis abundance of 5) Weed species producing seed. and insomecasesbe emergent vegetation mature, juvenileand appropriate consistof sustaining andwhere 4) Revegetation isself- targets Rehabilitation 1 (1999) 276ha approved (2001) 11,100ha approved footprint Terrestrial 2 Not found Not found rehabilitated Area 3 Not found Not found objectives Reporting against 4 Proposed PMLU Not specified pastoral use Conservation and 5 costs Rehabilitation Not mentioned Not mentioned source Information No AERfound (Dec 1999). EPA report962 No AERfound (Aug 2001). EPA report1025 37

STATUS OF MINE SITE REHABILITATION IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA 1055) 1039, andMS MS 855, (Amended by (J00571) Newman Creek, 679/Marillana (J00460) of Gingin 2.5km NW Sands Mine, 666/Mineral (J02258) Busselton Titanium, 621/Tutunup 1025) MS 893and (Amended by (J00685) NW ofNewman Mine, 75km Downs IronOre 584/Hope MS/project 2005 2004 2003 2002 Year MS Not defined Not defined Not defined post-mining land use. requirements ofthe that meetsthe functioning ecosystem a safe, stableand capacity tosupport viable andhasthe C12. Topsoil remains practice inthePilbara. line withminingbest will bemanagedin C11. Noxious weeds pre-disturbed state. habitats thatreflect communities andfauna sustaining vegetation will bereturnedtoself- C10. Impactedareas targets Rehabilitation 1 (2006) 370ha approved (2003) 174ha approved (2002) 3,750ha approved (2016) 4,558ha approved footprint Terrestrial 2 Not found Not found 2,990ha (2002) Not found rehabilitated Area 3 Not found Not found Not found Not found objectives Reporting against 4 Proposed PMLU vegetation Pastoral andnative Agriculture to anativeecosystem pastoralism orreturn include achangeto under consideration Land useoptions status pastoral wilderness and reverttoitspre- become de-stocked or allowthelandto land forpastoralism continue leasingthe intention toeither State Government’s dependent onthe land useis The post-mining 5 (page 69) costs Rehabilitation bond) performance (Rehabilitation $2,400,000 $400,000 monitoring of measures and rehabilitation costs forsome estimates EPA report Wolli Spring) water toWeeli maintenance of backfilling and costs of year (estimated and $500,000/ $190,000,000 26-38) costs forYears relinquishment maintenance, and caretaker, (estimated $204,600,000

source Information No AERfound (Dec 2002). EPA report1085 No AERfound (Sep 2004). EPA report1146 No AERfound (Nov 2015). EPA report1562 (Dec 2011). EPA report1424 (Aug 2001). EPA report1024 No AERfound (Aug 2016). EPA report1577 Costs (Jul2010). Closure Planand Brockman Mine (Apr 2005). EPA report1166 38

STATUS OF MINE SITE REHABILITATION IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA (J00027) Kalgoorlie Gold Mine, 782/Fimiston Sand Pit,Capel Extension of 767/Southern (J00456) Sands, Capel Mineral 736/Cloverdale MS) (Amended by (J00623) Newman 25 extension, 712/Orebody MS/project 2008 2007 2006 2009 Year MS Mine 505/Mt CharlotteGold As perMS505: Not defined Not defined 2016 MCP Completion Criteria’ in mining operations ‘Eastern Ridge Refer toTable 7: targets Rehabilitation 1

footprint Terrestrial (2015) 2,450ha disturbed 2,955ha approved (2008) 19ha approved (2007) 350ha approved (2006) 800ha approved 2 505ha (2015) Not found Not found 38ha (2005) rehabilitated Area 3 objectives Reporting against Not found Not found Not found Not found 4 Proposed PMLU natural ecosystems’ activities, ‘modified zone, openpitmining Safety exclusion development future residential will besuitablefor The restoredlandform Native vegetation conservation area form ofnatural or inclusioninsome by miningactivities), not directlyaffected land useforareas grazing (thecurrent low intensitycattle Water Reserve 6), are locatedwithin (mining operations is eitherwaterreserve land useforthearea The mostlikely final 5 costs Rehabilitation Section 6 includes upto document only publicly available but the2016 in Section11, methodology a costing MCP includes states thatthe MCP checklist Estimator Reclamation Cost using theBarrick describes costing MCP only Not mentioned Not mentioned source Information No AERfound (Mar 2015). Closure Plan KCGM Mine (Dec 2007). EPA report1273 No AERfound (Aug 2005). EPA report1194 No AERfound (Apr 2014). EPA report1507 (Nov 2006). EPA report1233 No AERfound (Jan 2016). operations, MCP Ridge mining Ore Eastern BHP BillitonIron (Nov 2005). EPA report1210

STATUS OF MINE SITE REHABILITATION IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA (J02889) Stage 2 Mining Project 1 IronOre 829/Roy Hill MS/project 2010 Year MS is less. proposal, whichever implementation ofthe been disturbedduring land whichhasnot comparable, nearby that existent on operations, orexceed commencement of undertaken priorto baseline monitoring that identifiedin shall notexceed rehabilitation areas weeds) withinthe and environmental both declaredweeds weeds (including 3) Coverageof proposal. implementation ofthe area asaresultofthe introduced intothe weeds) shallbe and environmental both declaredweeds of weeds(including 2) Nonewspecies proposal. implementation ofthe been disturbedduring land whichhasnot with thatofnearby shall becomparable all rehabilitationareas of livingvegetationin 1) Percentage cover targets Rehabilitation 1 footprint Terrestrial (2019) 6,389ha disturbed approved 10,342ha 2 325ha (2019) rehabilitated Area 3 objectives Reporting against method ofcontrol. to beaveryeffective equipment) appears time, manningand allocated (bothin and resources control method current Parkinsonia over theyears, point monitoring comparison ofphoto Based uponthe being juvenileplants. the majorityofthese priority areas,with and coveredall of Roy Hilltenure covering 5,000ha 30,000 plants approximately program controlled The 2018Parkinsonia 4 Proposed PMLU activities grazing andpastoral Low intensitycattle 5 Estimator (SRCE). Reclamation Cost the Standardised model basedon develop acost consultant to a thirdparty has engaged reviews. Roy Hill from thirdparty based onfigures Rates were required. man-hours costs Rehabilitation usage or of equipment placement, hours material requiring volumes of estimated project and the proposed disturbance for the totalareaof was basedon methodology closure costing The RHIO

source Information AER 2019 MCP (Mar2015). Roy HillProject (Dec 2009). EPA report1345 40

STATUS OF MINE SITE REHABILITATION IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA (J03423) Koolyanobbing Iron Ore, 852/Carina MS/project 2011 Year MS is less. proposal, whichever implementation ofthe disturbed during which hasnotbeen by condition10–1(3) land, determined comparable, nearby that existing on 10–1(2) orexceed survey condition in thebaseline exceed thatidentified areas shallnot weeds) inrehabilitated and environmental declared weeds (including both 3) Coverofweeds proposal. implementation ofthe areas asaresultofthe into therehabilitated weeds) areintroduced and environmental both declaredweeds of weeds(including 2) Nonewspecies natural analoguesites. to thatofundisturbed shall becomparable rehabilitation areas vegetation inall sustaining native cover oflivingself- 1) Thepercentage targets Rehabilitation 1 footprint Terrestrial (2019) 952ha disturbed 1,675ha approved 2 182ha (2019) rehabilitated Area 3 objectives Reporting against Not found 4 Proposed PMLU Yet tobedeveloped 5 costs rehabilitation but nolistingof AU$6.115 million, costs Rehabilitation bond of Current total

source Information Ore Project Extended Iron Proposal, Carina Pty Ltd Mining Polaris Metals (Oct 2010). EPA report1368 accessible. not publically MCP 2018 AER 2019. (Nov 2012).

STATUS OF MINE SITE REHABILITATION IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA MS 131) (Extension of (J03932) Phase 2B Extension, Ore Mine 2 DetritalIron 867/Brockman MS/project 2011 Year MS DMP. with theDECand chosen inconsultation reference sitestobe nearby land,withthe reference siteson average ofthree greater thanthe areas shallbeno within rehabilitated environmental weeds) declared weedsand (including both 3) Coverageofweeds proposal. implementation ofthe area asaresultofthe shall establishinthe environmental weeds) declared weedsand weeds (includingboth 2) Nonewspeciesof CEO. acceptable tothe other methodology Function Analysisor by Ecosystem as demonstrated natural analoguesites to thatofundisturbed shall becomparable all rehabilitationareas native vegetationin of livingself-sustaining and speciesdiversity 1) Percentage cover targets Rehabilitation 1 footprint Terrestrial (2019) 571ha disturbed 1,029ha approved 2 87ha (2019) rehabilitated Area 3 objectives Reporting against Not found 4 (MCP 2010) wilderness status pre-pastoral Proposed PMLU and reverttoits become de-stocked or allowthelandto land forpastoralism continue leasingthe intention toeither State Government’s dependent onthe land useis The post-mining

5 costs Rehabilitation 2010 MCP) pages 23–24of MS 131(Refer to closure costsof $204,600,000 for Reported source Information AER 2019. (Apr 2011). EPA report1393 MS 131). Costs 2010(for Closure Planand Brockman Mine 42

STATUS OF MINE SITE REHABILITATION IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA (J04475) Ore project 940/Shine Iron Railway project 923/Brockman MS 1010) MS 962and (Amended by Pilbara Life ofMine, Cloudbreak 899/ (J03040) Meekatharra project, Expansion 886/Jack Hills MS/project 2013 2012 2012 2013 Year MS flora site. function toanalogue maintaining equivalent 2) Target species and diversitytargets). (i.e. meetsstructural resilient community a self-sustainingand provenance speciesin comprised oflocal 1) Revegetation acceptable totheCEO. other methodology Function Analysis,or by Ecosystem as demonstrated natural analoguesites to thatofundisturbed shall becomparable all rehabilitationareas native vegetationin living self-sustaining species diversityof Percentage coverand Not defined Not defined targets Rehabilitation 1 2012) 1,588ha (approved footprint Terrestrial (2019) 114ha disturbed 131ha approved approved (2012) 13,633ha (2019) 144ha disturbed 192ha approved 2 Not found 4ha (2019) Not found 26ha (2019) rehabilitated Area 3 Not found objectives Reporting against Not found Not found Not found 4 Proposed PMLU Not specified purposes Conservational Pastoral grazing Not specified 5 costs Rehabilitation Not specified domain. specified by of $4,249,995 closure costs Estimated Costs Estimator. Reclamation Standardised Estimated using Not specified Not specified source Information No AERfound. (Nov 2012). EPA report1455 Plan (Jul2012). Project Offset Infra-structure Pty Ltd, Rail Brockman Iron 2013 Project: MCP Shine IronOre AER 2019. (Dec 2012). EPA report1472 No AERfound. (Feb 2012). EPA report1429 accessible. not publically MCP 2017 AER 2019. (Aug 2011). EPA report1413

STATUS OF MINE SITE REHABILITATION IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA (J02815) Ore Project 968/Hinge Iron (J02458) Rutile Plant Synthetic Chandala 958/Tronox MS/project 2014 2014 Year MS Not defined in 2017MCP ‘Completion Criteria’ Refer toTable 7: fauna andguilds supports pre-mine 5) Revegetated habitat extent. greater thanpre-mine disease spreadno 4) Weed coverageand to analogueflorasites. disturbance equivalent to controlled community /species target revegetated 3) Response of targets Rehabilitation 1 footprint Terrestrial (2018) 165ha disturbed 312ha approved (2014) 53ha approved 2 134ha (2018) Not found rehabilitated Area 3 objectives Reporting against Not found Not found 4 Proposed PMLU Not specified production.) forms ofagricultural or moreintensive grazing, cropping (that mayinclude agriculture landuse rehabilitated tomixed Freehold landwillbe communities. native vegetation representative of stated thatisbroadly rehabilitated backtoa Crown Land willbe Unallocated 5 costs Rehabilitation activities. not specificto report 2017, but Reporting Initative Tronox Global is providedin rehabilitation expenditure on Overall given. no specificcost of theMCP, but page 103–104 included in methodology Costing Not specified source Information No AERfound. (May 2017). Assessment 1974 Review, EPA Environmental Project, Public Titanium Minerals Cooljarloo West (Nov 2015). Mine, MCP Tronox Cooljarloo (Oct 2013). EPA report1490 accessible. not publically MCP 2016 Gindalbie AER). – BlueHills/ reported inKarara of threemines AER 2018(one (Mar 2014). EPA report1505

STATUS OF MINE SITE REHABILITATION IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA MS 434) to MS140and (Amendment (J05349) Mine, Beenup Mineral Sands 1007/Heavy (J04193) Project Star Magnetite 993/North MS/project 2015 2015 Year MS • • • • envelope, comprising: 697ha project 336.2ha withina area ofnolessthan Total rehabilitation Not defined targets Rehabilitation – 196.62ha ephemeral wetlands vegetation and pasture, native rehabilitated to disturbance) project related areas, general dams, stockpile (decommissioned un-mined areas Disturbed but 25.46ha Trial MiningAreas– 42.60ha Storage Area– Mine Development wetlands) –71.50ha permanent ponds (now Former dredge 1

footprint Terrestrial (2014) 1ha stilldisturbed 336ha approved (2019) 5,251ha approved 2 335ha (2014) Not found rehabilitated Area 3 objectives Reporting against rehabilitated of 336hahavebeen AER indicates335ha Not found 4 Proposed PMLU Not specified (livestock grazing) a pastorallanduse will bereturnedto Lease boundaries Areas withinPastoral native vegetation. returned toUCL– Crown Land willbe land use:Unallocated Return topre-mining 5 costs Rehabilitation Not specified Not specified source Information No AERfound. (Jun 2014). EPA report1514 (Aug 2013). (Apr 2015). EPA report1545 AER 2014. Review Environmental Public

STATUS OF MINE SITE REHABILITATION IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA to MS862) (Amendment (J01646) Production Sustaining project – Iron Ore 1062/Solomon (J03442) Mineral Sands 1052/Cyclone MS 77) to MS28and (Amendment J01140) (J00116, Kalgoorlie Plant, near Processing Gidji Gold 1032/ (J04330) Mineral Sands Yoongarillup 1030/ MS/project 2017 2017 2016 2016 Year MS (100-PL-EN-0023)” Management Plan and Revegetation Rehabilitation with Fortescue’s out inaccordance activities arecarried that “Rehabilitation 2015 MCPonlystates Completion Criteria’ in Provisional Objectives and Table 6:‘Closure Not defined Mine 505/Mt CharlotteGold As perMS505: Not defined targets Rehabilitation 1

footprint Terrestrial (2019) 4,676ha disturbed approved 10,309ha (2017) 1,272ha approved (2015) 68ha disturbed 73ha approved (2016) 97ha approved 2 193ha (2019) Not found 0ha (2015) Not found rehabilitated Area 3 objectives Reporting against Not found Not found Not found Not found 4 Proposed PMLU grazing) use (low-intensity returned topastoral proposed tobe pastoral leases and MtFlorence Hamersley Station be returnedtoUCL: UCL isproposedto Not specified Not specified reserves vegetation inroad Forest; andNative Dryland pasture;State on thesiteoverall: Three landuses 5 costs Rehabilitation Not specified Not specified Estimator Reclamation Cost using theBarrick describes costing MCP only bonds rehabilitation $6,200,000 in source Information (May 2016). EPA report1566 (Mar 2015). AER 2019. (Nov 2016). EPA report1588 Plan (Oct2015). Mine Closure Solomon Project No AERfound. (Aug 2016). EPA report1575 Closure Plan KCGM Mine No AERfound. (Jul 2015). EPA report1552 (Sep 2014). Preliminary MCP Project, Mineral Sands Yoongarillup

STATUS OF MINE SITE REHABILITATION IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 (J04723) Ridge Project 1078/Sandy to MS491) (Amendment (J00576) Area C 1072/Mining MS/project NumericaltargetsorcompletioncriteriadefinedinMSMCP

AER =AnnualEnvironmentalReport Hectares rehabilitatedasreportedinAERyeardefined Extend ofdisturbanceinhectaresapprovedbytheEPA ( potential footprint),areadisturbedasreportedinAERyeardefined PMLU =Post-Mine Land Use public domain. J-numbers areDMIRSprojectidentificationcodes.NotethattheabsenceofdatadoesnotnecessarilymeancompanyhasnoMineClosurePlanorCompletionCriteria,butsuchinformationwasavailablein To whatextend isrehabilitationprogressreportedagainsttargets/mineclosureobjectives? 2018 2018 Year MS Not defined 2017 MCP Completion Criteria’ in ‘Mining AreaC Refer toTable 10: targets Rehabilitation 1 (2018) 276ha approved approved (2018) 21,824ha footprint Terrestrial 2 Not found Not found rehabilitated Area 3 Not found Not found objectives Reporting against 4 Proposed PMLU Not specified intensity grazing of supportinglow ecosystem, capable Native pastoral 5 costs Rehabilitation Not specified Not specified source Information No AERfound. (Dec 2017). EPA report1611 No AERfound. (Dec 2017). EPA report1610 MCP (Oct2017). Mining AreaC, BHP Billiton, 47

STATUS OF MINE SITE REHABILITATION IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA Western Australia 2013) The followingtablehasbeenreproducedfromSchedule1oftheMRFRegulations (Governmentof Rehabilitation LiabilityCategoriesandUnitRates Appendix 4 • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Description ofinfrastructureorland – Rehabilitated land – Land underrehabilitation, Exploration operations: Topsoil stockpile exploration operations) Land underrehabilitation(otherthanlandthathasbeendisturbed by been disturbedbyexploration operations Land (otherthanlandunderrehabilitationorrehabilitatedland) thathas cleared ofvegetationandisnototherwisedescribedin thisTable Land (otherthanlandunderrehabilitationorrehabilitatedland) thatis extraction Processing equipmentorstockpileassociatedwithBasic Raw Material Borefield Borrow pitorshallowsurfaceexcavation (withadepthoflessthan5meters) Core yard Laydown orhardstandarea Mining void(withadepthofatleast5meters)—abovegroundwaterlevel Airstrip Transport orserviceinfrastructurecorridor Building (otherthanworkshop) orcampsite Run-of-mine pad Sewage pond Low-grade ore stockpile(Class2) Dam —freshwater Diversion channelordrain Landfill site Mining void(withadepthofatleast5meters)—belowgroundwaterlevel Workshop Fuel storagefacility Plant site Low-grade ore stockpile(Class1) Waste dumporoverburdenstockpile(Class2) Tailings orresiduestoragefacility(Class2) Dam –salinewaterorprocessliquor Evaporation pond Heap orvatleachfacility Waste dumporoverburdenstockpile(Class1) Tailings orresiduestoragefacility(Class1)

Category No rateapplicable D C A B E (per ha) Unit rate $50,000 $30,000 $18,000 $2,000 $2,000 48

STATUS OF MINE SITE REHABILITATION IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA Source: EPA MinisterialStatements discussed duringexpert consultationphase Example rehabilitationconditionsandtargets Appendix 5 2011 2011 2015 2006 2017 2009 2017 2010 2017 2008 2017 2013 2018 2018 CONDITIONS Proponent shallundertake progressiverehabilitationwith speciesoflocalprovenance with vegetationcomposedof nativeplantspeciesoflocal provenance Areas disturbedthroughimplementation oftheproposal,shallbeprogressivelyrehabilitated and compositionofvegetationiscomparabletonatural surroundingtheproposal infrastructure isundertaken usingnativespeciesoflocalprovenanceandthatthecondition The proponentshallensurethatprogressiverehabilitation ofareasnotrequiredforpermanent Rehabilitation willbeundertaken onwasterockdumpsandTSF collection, managementandremediation(ifrequired)of the soilprofile, andrehabilitationtrials) potential forrehabilitationsuccess(includingtopsoilcollectionandappropriatestorage, seed Provisions requiredfortheenvironmentalmanagementplan shallincludemaximisingthe including PriorityandDeclaredRare floraspecies Undertake trialstodeterminecriteriaforsuccessfulre-growth,usinglocalnativefloraspecies, surface treatmentstopreventerosiononthecoversysteminformcondition established, theeffectofvegetationcoveronerosionrateandneedforalternative Conduct laboratoryandfieldscaleresearchontherateatwhichrevegetationcovercanbe areas disturbedbythedevelopment Within fiveyearsofthecessationoperations,removeallinfrastructureandrehabilitate to visualamenityconsistentwiththeendlanduseforconservationandrecreation Ensure thattheproposalisrehabilitatedandcontouredinamannerwhichminimisesimpacts environmental valuesoverthelong-term ecosystem(s) thatis/areconsistentwiththesurroundinglandscapeandmaintain(s)key The proponentshallimplementtheproposaltoachievestable, self-sustainingandfunctioning the surroundingnaturalecosystemandprovidesappropriatehabitatforfauna Ensure thatthefloraandvegetationofrehabilitatedareasreflectsenvironmentalvalues outcomes andlanduses,withoutunacceptableliabilitytotheState ofWestern Australia rehabilitated inanecologicallysustainablemanner, consistentwithagreedpost-mining Prepare MineClosurePlanandensurethatthemineisclosed,decommissioned manner Ensure thattheproposalisdecommissionedandrehabilitatedinanecologicallysustainable habitat suitableforuse, includingforagingandburrowing Progressive rehabilitationfortheproposalwillbeundertaken inamannerthatwillresult 49

STATUS OF MINE SITE REHABILITATION IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA 1988 1989 1991 1999 2013 2009 2010 2012 2014 CONDITIONS • • • satisfaction oftheEnvironmentalProtectionAuthority andtheDepartmentofMines successfully met,theproponentshallundertake remedialoradditionalworks tothe Should monitoringindicatethatrehabilitationasrequiredundercondition2isnotbeing satisfaction oftheDepartmentMines. and shallundertake decommissioningoftheplantandrehabilitationminesiteto The proponentshallprepareareportannuallyasrequiredontherehabilitationprogramme disturbed areasforuseinrehabilitationworks Wherever practicabletopsoilwillberemovedfromlargerbuildingsites,borrowareasandother Address topsoilmanagement diversity andinvasivecharacteristicsofweedsweedcover, theproponentshall: Where theresultsofmonitoringindicateadversechangesinpresence, extent, species Prepare andimplementRehabilitation andMineClosurePlan Prepare andimplementFinalDecommissioningPlanthatprovidesdetailonfinalrehabilitation decommissioning andrehabilitationmanagementplan At leastsixmonthspriortotheanticipateddateofclosure, theproponentshallsubmita manner, consistentwithagreedpost-miningoutcomesandlanduses operations areclosed,decommissionedandrehabilitatedinanecologicallysustainable The proponentshallprepareandimplementMineClosurePlanensurethatthemining implementation maycease. implement weedcontrolandrehabilitationmeasuresuntilsuchtimeastheCEOagrees becoming awareofadversechanges;and, proposed rehabilitationmeasurestobeimplementedtheCEO, within21daysof submit detailsofweedcontrolmeasuresthathaveorwillbeimplementedandany affected areastothesatisfactionofCEO; immediately implement,and/orproposeappropriatelytimedweedcontrolmeasuresin 50

STATUS OF MINE SITE REHABILITATION IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA 2011 2009 2010 2011 2012 2009 2011 2009 2009 2011 2011 Weeds comparable withthatofnaturallandformsinthearea. Within fiveyearsofmineclosure, thepercentagecoverofnativevegetationshallbe land whichhasnotbeendisturbedbyindustrialdevelopment. structure inrehabilitatedareasaretobecomparablewithsuitablereferencesitesonnearby The dominantspecies,generalspeciescomposition,percentagecoverandcommunity rehabilitation areasshallbecomparabletothecompletioncriteria. the percentagecoverandspeciesdiversityoflivingself-sustainingnativevegetationin After fiveyearsofthecompletionrehabilitationthoseareastemporarilydisturbed, acceptable totheCEO. Authority GuidanceStatement Number51(or subsequentupdates)orothermethodology determined bybotanicalsurveyscarriedoutinaccordancewithEnvironmentalProtection rehabilitation areasshallbecomparabletothatofundisturbednaturalanaloguesitesas The percentagecoverandspeciesdiversityoflivingself-sustainingnativevegetationinall References TARGETS • • • • • • comparable withthatofnatural landformsinthearea. Within fiveyearsofmineclosure, thepercentagecoverofnative vegetationshallbe Species diversityisnotlessthan60percentoftheknown originalspeciesdiversity native vegetationoflocalprovenancespeciesandtomeet thefollowingcriteria: Rehabilitation completioncriteriatoprovide aself-sustaining,functionalecosystemcomprising Species diversityandcover than thedistributionandabundanceofweedspriorto implementationoftheproposal. Within fiveyearsofmineclosurethedistributionandabundanceweedsshallbenogreater Weed coverageisequaltoorlessthanthatofpre-clearedlevels. flora speciesdiversitynotlessthan70%thatofpre-mining vegetation. (not includingweedspecies);and flora andvegetationarere-establishedataratioof1:1 with notlessthan70%cover Petroleum. Department ofEnvironmentandConservationtheMines sites onnearbyland,withthereferencetobechoseninconsultation within rehabilitatedareasshallbenogreaterthantheaverageofthreereference The coverageofweeds(includingbothdeclaredandenvironmentalweeds) shall establishintheareaasaresultofimplementationproposal. No newspeciesofweeds(includingbothdeclaredandenvironmentalweeds) (ii) (i) exceed thelesserof: Cover ofdeclaredweedsandenvironmentalinrehabilitatedareasshallnot the rehabilitatedareaswhicharelikely tobeattributabletheProposal. No newspeciesofdeclaredweedsandenvironmentalshallbeintroducedinto implementation oftheProposal. that existing oncomparablenearbylandwhichhasnotbeendisturbedduring that identifiedinthebaselineweedsurvey;and

STATUS OF MINE SITE REHABILITATION IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA 2012 1992 1996 2003 1993 2006 2006 2008 2009 following objectives: The proponentshallensurethattherehabilitationandclosureofproposaladdresses • • • • Objectives TARGETS • • • • • • • • • Rehabilitation to anacceptablelanduse. Revegetation activities willcontinueuntilstablecommunitiesareestablished. of Tuart forest. Optimise soilprofilereconstructionmethodstore-create soilprofilessuitableforestablishment Other to astableconditionwithfloraandfaunawhichapproaches thenaturalconditionofsite. Objective istoensurethatalldisturbedsurfaces(withthe exception ofminepits)arereturned non-polluting andwillconformwithsurroundinglandscape. Objective ofrehabontailings:ensureresultinglandforms safe, stable, minimaleroding, Objective proponentcommitments: Objectives ofrehabplan: The objectivesofthePlanareto: private propertyowner. environmentally stableandsustainableconditionsmeetstherequirementsof to ensurethatrehabilitationofminedareasonprivatepropertyleavesthelandinan ensure managementofrehabilitationcontinuesuntilaffectedareasareself-sustaining. out inamannerconsistentwithindustrybestpractice;and ensure planning,implementation,monitoringandreportingonrehabilitationiscarried and functionalvalues; its landuses,andrestoresascloselypracticablethepre-disturbancebiodiversity systems whicharecomparableandcompatiblewithsurroundingnativevegetation design rehabilitationofnativevegetationtoultimatelydevelopintoviableecological possible followingcessationofminingthoseareas; ensure disturbedareasarerehabilitatedusinglocalprovenancespeciesassoon better informanyon-goingrehabilitationandpost-closurerehabilitation. and, ensure managementofrehabilitationcontinuesuntilaffectedareasareself-sustaining; out consistentwithindustrybestpractice; ensure planning,implementation,monitoringandreportingonrehabilitationiscarried and ecosystemfunctionalvalues; its landuses,andrestoresascloselypracticablethepre-disturbancebiodiversity systems whicharecomparableandcompatiblewithsurroundingnativevegetation design rehabilitationofnativevegetationtoultimatelydevelopintoviableecological Nature Reserve; as partoftheirsurroundingsconsistentwiththeconservationobjectivesaclass‘A’ planned inamannerwhichpromotesself-sustainingecosystemsabletobemanaged ensure thattherehabilitationofterrestrialareasfollowingconstructionisproperly comprising habitatscapableofsupportingalltypesbiodiversity. reaching agreednumerictargetsforvegetationrecovery;and resilient andself-sustainingvegetationcomprisedoflocalprovenancespecies; 52

STATUS OF MINE SITE REHABILITATION IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA REPORT AUTHORS: PROJECT FUNDEDBY: Department ofWater andEnvironmentalRegulation Government of

Western Australia Photos: DWER andMarit Kragt 53

STATUS OF MINE SITE REHABILITATION IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA wabsi.org.au

Photo: Marit Kragt

PROUDLY SUPPORTED BY:

Environmental Protection Authority

Government of Western Australia Government of Western Australia Government of Western Australia Department of Jobs, Tourism, Science and Innovation Department of Mines, Industry Regulation Department of Water and Environmental Regulation and Safety