Nichols, OG 2006, 'Developing Completion Criteria for Native Ecosystem Reconstruction ― A Challenge for the Mining Industry', in AB Fourie & M Tibbett (eds), Mine Closure 2006: Proceedings of the First International Seminar on Mine Closure, Australian Centre for Geomechanics, Perth, pp. 61-74, https://doi.org/10.36487/ACG_repo/605_Nichols
(https://papers.acg.uwa.edu.au/p/605_Nichols/)
Abstract: Companies throughout Australia and in other countries are increasingly adopting an objective of establishing 
a sustainable native ecosystem following mining. This raises significant issues associated with the mine 
closure process, specifically in relation to developing and meeting completion criteria for this native 
ecosystem rehabilitation – will the regulators and the broader community accept defined standards as part of 
an overall mine closure plan, so that if met, they will agree to lease relinquishment?  
Early attempts to set specific completion criteria, for example in the mineral sand mining industry, resulted 
in targets that were not based on what was known to be achievable using current accepted best practicable 
rehabilitation methods. As a result, a detailed review of rehabilitation monitoring methods and data at RGC 
Mineral Sands Eneabba mine was undertaken in 1996 and revised criteria were developed (Nichols, 1996; 
Peterson et al., 1996). Difficulties with establishing specific criteria for mine rehabilitation in semi-arid areas 
of the WA Goldfields were also encountered by Brearley and Osborne (2000).  
Both regulatory authorities and mining companies are now addressing this issue across Australia, but there 
are still relatively few examples of mine closure strategies that have been through a full public and technical 
review process and then been signed off by both the mining company and all regulatory authorities. 
Recent examples from Australian mining projects in different parts of the country demonstrate that 
significant progress has been made in relation to the development of achievable ecological completion 
criteria. Detailed work has been conducted at Alcoa World Alumina’s bauxite mines in WA (Nichols et al., 
2005), mines in the goldfields of WA (Brearley and Osborne, 2000), coal mines in Queensland’s Bowen 
Basin and NSW’s Hunter Valley (Nichols 2004, 2005), CRL’s heavy mineral sand mine on North Stradbroke 
Island, Queensland (Nichols and Foot, 2002) and other mines. This paper reviews the approaches these 
companies have taken, and by focusing specifically on the coal mining studies, illustrates principles that 
could be adapted to a wide range of situations where the goal is to establish a sustainable native ecosystem 
following mining.