Parshley, JV, Bauman, W & Blaxland, D 2009, 'An evolution of the methods for and purposes of mine closure cost estimating', in AB Fourie & M Tibbett (eds), Mine Closure 2009: Proceedings of the Fourth International Conference on Mine Closure, Australian Centre for Geomechanics, Perth, pp. 187-200, https://doi.org/10.36487/ACG_repo/908_13
(https://papers.acg.uwa.edu.au/p/908_13_Parshley/)
Abstract: The last two decades have seen a significant evolution in both the methods for and purposes of closure cost 
estimating. As part of this evolution, changes in the uses of closure cost estimates have resulted in coincident 
changes in the scope, methods employed and level of detail required. 
Prior to the development of regulatory requirements to prepare closure cost estimates, closure cost estimates 
were typically intended for planning, design and contracting of the actual closure, and were often developed 
late in the mine life cycle. The level of detail required was largely determined by the number of years 
remaining in the operational life of the mine at that time. The nearer to the time of closure, the more detailed 
the closure design and cost estimate became. These closure designs became the basis for construction 
contract bidding and tracking purposes.  
As mining laws changed and the need to provide financial surety for closure activities became a priority, the 
focus of closure cost estimating in many countries was to reduce the liability of the government that would 
assume responsibility should the operator abandon the site prior to planned closure.  
The latest evolution of closure cost estimating techniques has been focussed on improving closure cost 
estimating for the purpose of accurate reporting of financial liabilities to shareholders, lending institutions 
and governments. Requirements for reporting mine closure liabilities have added a new dimension to the 
scope and detail of closure cost estimating.  
This paper documents the history of mine closure cost estimating since the 1970s and discusses the influence 
that different purposes for mine closure cost estimates have had on the evolution of methods used to develop 
those estimates. Several examples of successes and failures in closure cost estimates for actual mine sites 
and the regulatory programmes that oversee the closure of these mine sites are presented as illustrations of 
the progression of closure cost estimating and demonstrate the importance of this discipline in the mining 
life cycle process. Current trends in the current best practice and their probable impact on the future of 
closure cost estimating are also discussed.