Nigel Fisher discusses best practices for integrating mine closure into everyday operations. He notes that mine site rehabilitation requires both technical knowledge of below and above ground ecological components as well as effective management. Key technical issues include understanding soil microbial communities, pollinator and seed dispersal availability, and protecting genetic diversity through seed collection. Major obstacles to successful rehabilitation are technical/scientific challenges, inconsistent regulatory environments, and attitudes prioritizing costs over outcomes. Sustainability is measured by establishing biodiverse vertical vegetation structure through all life cycles and monitoring for reproductive success over generations.

1. Q&A with Nigel Fisher, Research Assistant at Centre for
Sustainable Ecosystem at the University of Newcastle
Mine Rehabilitation and Closure Queensland 2011
www.minerehabilitation.com.au
Mining IQ
Mine closure today is less of a technical challenge, and more of a
management one. One part of this evolution is the integration of mine
closure practices to everyday practices. What are the best practices to
this?
Nigel Fisher
Mine site rehabilitation and revegetation is just as much a technical issue as it is
a management one.
Depending on final use criteria, sustainable revegetation will succeed or fail
depending upon the interaction of below and above ground components.
Leaving to one the side the abiotic factors of soil physicochemical conditions and
their effects upon plant growth, the soil microbial community is essential for
sustainable vegetation communities. The nitrogen and phosphorous cycles are
mediated both by symbiotic and saprophytic (free-living) bacteria and fungi. The
symbiotic microbes may have specificity requirements (that is, will only form
associations with particular plants) that may need to be investigated site by site
and species by species. Their distribution, full function and identity or indeed
even their existence in some cases, remain to be fully understood.
Above ground, how the vegetation is able to reproduce and disperse is
dependent upon the availability of pollinators and/or suitable dispersal
mechanisms, and the herbivory pressures at all stages of the vegetation life-
cycle, from seed predating ants to insectivorous and mammalian grazing. All of
which requires comprehensive knowledge of the total ecology. Population
genetics of areas to be mined need to be investigated thoroughly to ascertain
whether seed collections have covered the genetic diversity necessary to ensure
the viability of revegetated areas.
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2. Recognizing that these technical issues exist, the difficulties they may or may not
pose to successful, sustainable revegetation and then the level of resources that
will be committed to overcoming any identified obstacles is then the management
issue.
Mining IQ
What do you think are the major obstacles to successful mine
rehabilitation? How can companies overcome these?
Nigel Fisher
Apart from the some of the technical issues outlined in the previous question,
obstacles to successful rehabilitation include can be divided into three broad
categories:-
1) Technical/Scientific/Environmental, some of which were outlined above
2) Regulatory. The government acts as both benefactor and regulator of
mining. This is an inherent conflict of interest, where for instance, mining
consent can be granted in areas that are environmentally deleterious, but
are allowed for the collection of revenue. “Shifting goalposts” whereby
consent conditions, in response to public attitudes, scientific knowledge
and government policy may change over the lead up to, and during the
lifetime of the mine itself. This may also lead to different rehabilitation
requirements for different mines within a mining precinct, leading to
inconsistent rehabilitation across a region with consequent poor public
perceptions of the efforts of the industry as a whole.
3) Attitudes to rehabilitation. While this is not applicable to the sector as
whole, there is still a perception in some quarters that rehabilitation is a
cost to be reduced, rather than a desired outcome or moral imperative of
the mining process. Attitudes of “doing what we can get away with” rather
than abiding by the spirit or even, in extreme examples, adhering to
consent conditions can still be found within the industry. This would
appear to require a combination of solutions that range from further
education regarding the benefits of successful rehabilitation to better
enforcement of compliance. Rapid turnover of environmental staff results
in a lack of knowledge of local conditions and issues. High turnover and
inadequate detailed scientific knowledge produces inefficient use of limited
funds, with duplication of efforts and inadequate scrutiny of consultancy
reports and recommendations. Mine site rehabilitation is itself a fulltime
job, but environmental staff must be “jack of all trades” with regards to
legislative, administrative and environmental issues (which is not just
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3. rehabilitation). Environmental officers are often graduates, without
mentoring, equipped with generalist degrees/qualifications that requires a
steep on the job, learning curve working in an industry where production is
paramount, for obvious reasons.
Mining IQ
How do we measure the sustainability of a mine’s environment during
operations? What do you think are the best tools and strategies here?
Nigel Fisher
Sustainability will be dependent upon attainment of adequate vertical structure,
and this structure should extend from the canopy to the soil micro-ecology. This
will provide niches for pollinators and dispersal agents, as well all organisms
involved in nutrient cycling, including symbiotic nitrogen-fixing bacteria,
mycorrhizal fungi and saprophytic bacteria and fungi. The key to attaining this
vertical structure is biodiversity. The more species that can be incorporated into a
rehabilitation project, the greater the biodiversity and the greater the niches.
Sustainable rehabilitation is dependent on successful completion of all stages of
the vegetation life cycles. Monitoring for evidence of reproductive structures,
viable seed set and then establishment and growth of juveniles, followed for
several generations can be considered evidence of sustainability for vegetation.
Identifying the obstacles or bottlenecks to each key process can then be done
through monitoring and appropriate remedial action undertaken. Once
sustainability has been achieved, no further remediation will be necessary.
Nigel Fisher is speaking at the Mine Rehabilitation and Closure
Queensland, to be held on the 28 - 30 June, 2011, Holiday Inn, Brisbane.
For more information about this event, please visit
www.minerehabilitation.com.au, email enquire@iqpc.com.au or call 02 9229
1000.
This event sits under the IQPC’s Mining IQ portfolio. Mining IQ is a global
portal for mining professionals, with regularly updated content featuring
key speakers, industry experts, case studies, Q&A and interviews. Visit
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