Are mining companies mature for mine closure? An approach for evaluating preparedness

Galo, David de Barros; Anjos, José Ângelo Sebastião Araújo dos; Sánchez, Luís Enrique

doi:10.1016/j.resourpol.2022.102919

Cited by 8 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…It also enables the implementation of measures to ensure the safety and stability of the area and contributes to the restoration of ecological functions. The inclusion of the mine closure theme starting from FEL 1 (feasibility analysis) allows for the consideration of a maximum number of strategies and options, implementation with the lowest possible cost, and the achievement of future use after closure (Galo et al, 2022;Jones & Fawcett, 2004). It is crucial to maximize opportunities and ensure the necessary processes for closure are effectively managed (Figure 4), enabling a comprehensive understanding of costs, ensuring the appropriate strategy, and allocating resources without waste.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Mine abandonment, typically driven by economic factors, can also be attributed to the absence of legislation and a lack of alignment between planning and operations (Araújo, 2016). The problems associated with inadequate mine closure encompass health and safety risks, unemployment, revenue decline, and environmental degradation (Galo et al, 2022;Ngole-jeme & Fantke, 2017). doi:10.36487/ACG_repo/2315_016…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…To support mine closure, mining ventures generally have a set of guidelines available that direct sustainable mine closure actions and the rehabilitation of areas through mitigation measures and environmental impact recovery. There are approximately 69 best practice declarations related to mine closure, which can be grouped into four categories: i) mine closure documents, ii) physical and chemical stability, iii) costs and financial provisions, iv) community engagement and social transition (Galo et al, 2022).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Mine closure commencing alongside business analysis

da Costa,

Liberal,

Vieira

et al. 2023

Proceedings of the International Conference on Mine Closure

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Anthropic activities impact more than 70% of the Earth's surface (IPCC, 2020). Historically, mining has modified landscapes, and its impacts have been the subject of numerous studies. It is estimated that globally, mining occupies five million hectares (Maus et al., 2020). In Brazil, mining covers approximately 366,000 hectares and is present in 459 municipalities, accounting for 8% of Brazilian municipalities (MapBiomas, 2021). There is no doubt about the mining sector's responsibilities towards the territories and communities affected by its activities. The market, shareholders, government, and society demand sustainable and restorative mining practices, making the practice of mine abandonment currently unacceptable. Mining companies have access to a set of guidelines and laws that guide mine closure to stabilize mining areas after operations. Based on these guiding instruments, Brazil is on its way to developing expertise in mine closure. However, it is necessary to incorporate actions beyond established in Brazilian law, such as utilizing ICMM tools and applying ISO standards, to align with corporate strategies, commitments, and market regulations. Through strategic basic research, our study considers mine closure as an opportunity for the mining sector to contribute to climate change adaptation and mitigation solutions. It also has the potential to contribute to the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals by promoting shared value. We believe that acting in the local social and environmental context is essential for the sustainable development of mining projects. Our findings indicate that starting the approach to mine closure together with business analysis enables the maximization of opportunities and the reduction of risks. As the mining project progresses, mine closure becomes more robust, allowing the implementation of closure criteria and strategies throughout the entire lifespan of the project. The inclusion of closure criteria and concepts in the FEL 1 stage allows for aligning the project development activities in such a way that future closure opportunities are expanded, ensuring greater sustainability of mining operations. In the subsequent stages of the project and operation, the criteria and concepts should be checked to ensure a better alignment with the initial vision.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Mine closure commencing alongside business analysis

da Costa,

Liberal,

Vieira

et al. 2023

Proceedings of the International Conference on Mine Closure

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“…To evaluate permanence, we examined the governance mechanisms established to guarantee conservation of the offset areas. In the case of mining, permanence of offsets should consider the company's level of preparedness (Galo et al., 2022) to overcome the limitations represented by mine closure because offsets should outlive the mine operation and the consequent absence of the mining company. To investigate the potential of offsets to last after mine closure, we reviewed documents (mine closure and mine rehabilitation plans, legal documents related to the offset land register, monitoring reports, financial provisions, and corporate guidance about mine closure) (Anglo American, 2019) and interviewed company staff (5 professionals from sustainability, environmental licensing, and strategic planning teams).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We carefully read the selected papers and searched for content that could denote discussion of foundational grounds for planning, implementation, or evaluation of biodiversity offsets. From selected papers and from practical guidance publications (BBOP, 2012a(BBOP, , 2012b(BBOP, , 2012c(BBOP, , 2012dIFC, 2019;World Bank Group, 2016), we extracted a set of offset principles and assigned to groups by comparing the concepts underlying each principle and writing descriptive statements, following Neri and Sánchez (2010) and Galo et al (2022), who compiled structured best-practice statements for land rehabilitation and mine closure, respectively. From these principles, we selected 3 core criteria with which to evaluate conservation outcomes poten-tially resulting from offsets, namely, equivalence, additionality, and permanence.…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluating the potential of biodiversity offsets to achieve net gain

Souza

Rosa

Campos

et al. 2023

Conservation Biology

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Evaluating the outcomes and tracking the trajectory of biodiversity offsets is essential to demonstrating their effectiveness as a mechanism to conciliate development and conservation. We reviewed the literature to determine the principles that should underpin biodiversity offset planning and the criteria for offset evaluation at the project level. According to the literature, the core principles of equivalence, additionality, and permanence are used as criteria to evaluate conservation outcomes of offsets. We applied the criteria to evaluate offsets of a large iron ore mining project in the Atlantic Forest in Brazil. We examined equivalence in terms of the amount of area per biodiversity value affected and fauna and flora similarity, additionality in terms of landscape connectivity, and permanence in terms of guarantees to ensure protection and restoration offsets lasting outcomes. We found an offset ratio (amount of affected area:offset area) of 1:1.8 for forests and 1:2 for grasslands. Ecological equivalence (i.e., similarity between affected and offset areas) was found for forested areas, but not for ferruginous rupestrian grasslands or for fauna. Landscape metrics showed that connectivity improved relative to the preproject situation as a result of locating restoration offsets in the largest and best‐connected forest patch. Permanence of offsets was addressed by establishing covenants and management measures, but financial guarantees to cover maintenance costs after mine closure were lacking. Offsets should be equivalent in type and size, provide conservation outcomes that would not be obtained without them (additionality), and be lasting (permanence). To monitor and evaluate offsets, it is necessary to determine how well these 3 principles are applied in the planning, implementation, and maintenance of offsets. Achieving measurable conservation outcomes from offsets is a long‐term endeavor that requires sustained management support, and is information intensive. Thus, offsets require ongoing monitoring and evaluation as well as adaptive management.

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