A framework to prioritise high-risk abandoned mine features for rehabilitation in Western Australia

Authors: Mitchell, I; Hryczyszyn, K; Read, T Download Paper Open access courtesy of:

DOI https://doi.org/10.36487/ACG_rep/1915_11_Mitchell

Cite As:
Mitchell, I, Hryczyszyn, K & Read, T 2019, 'A framework to prioritise high-risk abandoned mine features for rehabilitation in Western Australia', in AB Fourie & M Tibbett (eds), Mine Closure 2019: Proceedings of the 13th International Conference on Mine Closure, Australian Centre for Geomechanics, Perth, pp. 123-132, https://doi.org/10.36487/ACG_rep/1915_11_Mitchell



Abstract:
Mining has occurred in Western Australia for more than 150 years, resulting in thousands of abandoned mine features across the state, such as shafts, costeans, large pit voids and waste rock landforms. The Abandoned Mines Program was made possible following the enactment of the Mining Rehabilitation Fund Act 2012 (WA) in July 2013. The Act provides a source of funding to address abandoned mine features in Western Australia. The Abandoned Mines Program was formally established following the release of the Western Australian Government’s Abandoned Mines Policy in January 2016. A key component of the program is to develop a framework to actively identify and prioritise high-risk abandoned mine features so that associated safety and environmental risks can be addressed through suitable management practices and/or site rehabilitation while protecting the residual mineral value for potential future extraction. The health, safety or environmental risks and the potential historical, cultural, social, environmental, educational or economic value of these sites inform decisions about risk and future management.

Keywords: abandoned mines, risk assessment, prioritisation, risk management, rehabilitation

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