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Surface-strip coal mine land rehabilitation planning in South Africa and Australia: Maturity and opportunities for improvement

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  • Weyer, Vanessa D.
  • Truter, Wayne F.
  • Lechner, Alex M.
  • Unger, Corinne J.

Abstract

At the mine approval phase, there is logically a focus on mine start-up and operational requirements, however, insufficient attention is given to rehabilitation planning aspects. To evaluate how rehabilitation planning is addressed upfront, we proposed a maturity model, which consists of three maturity performance indicators measured for seven environmental domain evaluative criteria. The maturity model, was applied to mine rehabilitation guidelines and mine approval consultant rehabilitation reports in South Africa and Australia, Queensland and New South Wales. We found that these documents were vulnerable to adequate, but not yet resilient, i.e. rehabilitation information was gathered, but seldom analysed, with limited integration and rehabilitation risk determination. Legislation, as well as the temporary and dynamic nature of mining, may inadvertently be contributing to immaturity. We conclude by discussing ways forward and the need to determine upfront, a site's total rehabilitation failure risk, as an aid to improving rehabilitation planning.

Suggested Citation

  • Weyer, Vanessa D. & Truter, Wayne F. & Lechner, Alex M. & Unger, Corinne J., 2017. "Surface-strip coal mine land rehabilitation planning in South Africa and Australia: Maturity and opportunities for improvement," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 117-129.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jrpoli:v:54:y:2017:i:c:p:117-129
    DOI: 10.1016/j.resourpol.2017.09.013
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Bureau for Food and Agricultural Policy, 2012. "Evaluating the impact of coal mining on agriculture in the Delmas, Ogies, and Leandra districts: A focus on maize production," BFAP Reports 279783, Bureau for Food and Agricultural Policy (BFAP), BFAP Reports.
    2. Unger, C.J. & Lechner, A.M. & Kenway, J. & Glenn, V. & Walton, A., 2015. "A jurisdictional maturity model for risk management, accountability and continual improvement of abandoned mine remediation programs," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 1-10.
    3. Lechner, Alex Mark & Kassulke, Owen & Unger, Corinne, 2016. "Spatial assessment of open cut coal mining progressive rehabilitation to support the monitoring of rehabilitation liabilities," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 234-243.
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    Cited by:

    1. Clinton Carbutt & Kevin Kirkman, 2022. "Ecological Grassland Restoration—A South African Perspective," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(4), pages 1-25, April.
    2. Jing, Zhaorui & Wang, Jinman & Tang, Qian & Liu, Biao & Niu, Hebin, 2021. "Evolution of land use in coal-based cities based on the ecological niche theory: A case study in Shuozhou City, China," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).

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