A model for mine closure

Authors: Muhlbauer, R; Kerr-Malherbe, D Download Paper Open access courtesy of:

DOI https://doi.org/10.36487/ACG_repo/2515_23

Cite As:
Muhlbauer, R & Kerr-Malherbe, D 2025, 'A model for mine closure', in S Knutsson, AB Fourie & M Tibbett (eds), Mine Closure 2025: Proceedings of the 18th International Conference on Mine Closure, Australian Centre for Geomechanics, Perth, pp. 1-9, https://doi.org/10.36487/ACG_repo/2515_23



Abstract:
South African companies with active mining licenses are required to consider several factors as a condition to obtain their mining license in order to access their social license to operate. Mines provide the perfect ‘ecosystem’ within which to achieve the balance between environmental and social issues to deliver commercial value. Planning early for mine closure is essential to avoid future environmental and social liabilities. Current best practices and legal obligations dictate that all mines should be ‘designed for closure’, and closure plans with financial securities are required.  There is a heightened dependence between the mining community and the mine. The absence of strong social benefits and the remoteness of mines mean that, for the duration of the active mine operations, a mine community is built for the purposes of that mine. Their existence and subsistence rely on the activities and the multipliers that mine activities create. Hence, the closure of the mine can be devastating for these communities who have no means of economic existence post mine closure. Feasibility assessments were researched and conducted to develop and build on a model that looks at the full environmental scope of mine closure, alongside the public and community interests in that area. The model assesses the point at which low-capital projects, long-term investment, mine rehabilitation and long-term community sustainability converge, and how the financial, political and investment models need to be crafted and considered to create viable, investment-attractive models for mine closure. The ability to reconceptualise mine closure using a circular economy model to repurpose waste for production, to utilise mining assets for sustainable community development, and create a consciousness of environmental care, protection and activism to drive education, employment and entrepreneurship allows for the ultimate impact mining has on the society of the future to be viewed through a different lens.

Keywords: mine closure, community sustainability, financial, circular economy, South Africa

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