A Geospatial Database for Effective Mine Rehabilitation in Australia

Abstract

The Australian landscape is affected by abandoned mines that pose environmental, public health and safety risks. To promote the beneficial reuse, rehabilitation and/or remediation of these sites and understand their spatial arrangement, we compiled, classified and analysed a country-wide geospatial database of all known inactive hard rock mine sites. Following extensive review and classification of disparate records of such sites that have been terminated, neglected or classified as heritage, plus those under care and maintenance in Australia, we assessed state-by-state reporting and cross-border rehabilitation requirements. This was enabled by the development of the Mining Incidence Documentation & Assessment Scheme (MIDAS) that can be used to catalogue and compare active or inactive mine data regardless of reporting conventions. At a national level, and with four case studies, we performed GIS-based spatial analyses and environmental risk assessments to demonstrate potential uses of our database. Analyses considered the proximity of sites to factors such as infrastructure and sensitive environmental receptors. As Australia struggles to manage the ongoing technical, socioeconomic and environmental challenges of effective mine rehabilitation, the insights enabled by this national-level spatial database may be key to developing coordinated responses that extend beyond state boundaries. Our classification and methodology are easily transferable, thereby encouraging more formalized, systematic and widespread documentation of abandoned mines worldwide.

Systematic Review of GIS and Remote Sensing Applications for Assessing the Socioeconomic Impacts of Mining

“…Only two studies were carried out during the pre-mining stage, both of which used the spatial analytical hierarchy process (AHP) to identify the most suitable location either for pit development (Risk et al, 2020) or a gilsonite processing plant (Kazemi et al, 2020). On the other hand, three studies were carried out on post-mining landscapes (Rich et al, 2015;Tao & Wang, 2021;Werner, Bach, et al, 2020) with 2 studies on coal mines and 1 study on quarry commodity. Forty papers (56%) reported on the type of mineral extraction studied which included either or a combination of underground, artisanal small-scale mining (ASM) and surface mining (Figure 3 D).…”

Spatiotemporal mapping of (ultra‐)mafic magmatic mine areas: Implications of economic and political realities in China

“…The spatiotemporal extension/expansion of mine areas is affected by multiple factors, which provides a possibility to facilitate mine waste risk assessments and promote better management; meanwhile, it also reflects social development at a regional or global scale (Liang et al, 2021;Maus et al, 2020Maus et al, , 2022Sonter et al, 2017Sonter et al, , 2020Tang et al, 2020;Werner, Bach, et al, 2020;Werner, Mudd, 2020). Based on the study of six variables (slope, elevation, percentage of production derived from open-cut mining, product value, years of operation, and cumulative production volumes), the total production volume was found to be the most significant factor affecting the size of mine areas (Werner, Mudd, et al, 2020).…”

“…Meanwhile, it is clear that human development positively correlates with the mine footprint. The artisanal gold mining in the Peruvian Amazon was proven to have led to nearly 1000 km 2 of deforestation (Werner, Bach, et al, 2020), and the footprint of small‐scale gold mines was found to be potentially seven times greater than that of industrial mines (Sonter et al, 2017). However, very little has been done to examine the interaction between mine areas and economic or political realities.…”

“…Notable past studies have, for example, produced data sets of the distribution of regional‐ or global‐scale mine sites. For example, one regional data set contains 5189 tailings ponds sites in China (Tang et al, 2020), while another comprises 95 320 active and inactive mine sites in Australia (Werner, Bach, et al, 2020). Globally, the spatial distribution of 295 representative mineral producers was mapped using geographic coordinates, which included entailed delimitation and classification of 3736 open pits, waste rock dumps, water ponds, tailings storage facilities, heap leach pads, milling infrastructure, and other features (Werner, Mudd, et al, 2020).…”

Rehabilitation and mine closure policies creating a pathway to relinquishment: an Australian perspective

“…The Australian mining industry's “social license” continues to be impacted by negative environmental and social outcomes following mine closure and this has driven significant changes to rehabilitation and closure policy over the last few decades (Glenn et al 2014; Laurence 2021). Closure planning and rehabilitation practices have also evolved over this time and while there are examples of successful mine rehabilitation within Australia, they remain low when compared with the total number of known active and inactive mine sites nationally (Lamb et al 2015; Werner et al 2020).…”