Costs of mine closure: learning from the past
Abstract
Costs of mine closure and reclamation of mine sites vary considerably due to factors such as location and environmental vulnerability ;the age of the mine; mining method; mineral being mined; waste characteristics and labour costs. Particular challenges arise when dealing with acidic wastes and mine-water which can take many years to remediate.
In addition to the environmental aspects of mine closure, significant social consequences can arise, especially in mono-industry situations where the economy and both direct and indirect employment opportunities are wholly dependent upon the continuance of mining. Examples of severe social distress following mine closure were evident in the coal sectors of Former Soviet Union countries (e.g. Russia, Poland and Romania) and China and in the metalliferous sector in Bolivia, Peru and Zambia. The effects of job losses are often further exacerbated due to loss of public services previously funded and maintained by the mining company such as energy and water supply, health provision and education facilities.
This paper identifies the range of social and environmental factors affecting mine closure planning. It examines the lessons learned from historic practices and how these lessons are or should be implemented in current mine closure planning. Attention is paid to the challenge of dealing with water issues from abandoned mines drawing on the experience of over 30 years of research and practice in the UK on dealing with discharges from metalliferous mines.
The paper also examines the national consequences of major mine closure schemes, how residual liabilities are handled and what lessons can be learned from hurried or incomplete closure of historic mines . These issues are discussed in broad terms drawing on the experience of closure programmes in the UK coal mining sector in the 1980s and 1990s, experience that has been applied in former Soviet Union countries with varying degrees of success.
Finally, it compares costs derived from mine closure and reclamation projects in Europe, Australia, South and America. Costs are taken from recent projects undertaken by SKM and from work at former mining sites in the UK undertaken by British Coal and others.
Author
Larraine Wilde Sinclair Knight Merz (Europe), UK