Integrating natural capital, life cycle assessment and industrial ecology to enhance mine closure outcomes in Australia

Authors: Evers, J; Davitt, J Download Paper Open access courtesy of:

DOI https://doi.org/10.36487/ACG_repo/2615_30

Cite As:
Evers, J & Davitt, J 2026, 'Integrating natural capital, life cycle assessment and industrial ecology to enhance mine closure outcomes in Australia', in AB Fourie, G Boggs, J Heyes & M Tibbett (eds), Mine Closure 2026: Proceedings of the 19th International Conference on Mine Closure, Australian Centre for Geomechanics, Perth, pp. 1-15, https://doi.org/10.36487/ACG_repo/2615_30



Abstract:
Mine closure planning across Australia is moving towards more transparent and defensible approaches for measuring long-term environmental performance, driven by clearer regulatory requirements, specific completion criteria and periodic review cycles. Biodiversity and ecosystem services remain weakly integrated into life cycle assessments (LCA). Current NCA and LCA methods capture a limited range of ecological pressures, resulting in closure planning that overlooks changes in habitat condition, and the long recovery periods typical of Australian systems. Natural capital accounting (NCAcc) methods can be applied alongside LCA when assessing environmental impacts to provide a structured way to quantify and value ecosystem services change throughout the mine life. Nature-positive closure outcomes are defined as measurable improvements in ecosystem condition, ecosystem service provision and residual risk reduction, assessed against agreed post-mining land uses (PMLUs), completion criteria and regulatory relinquishment objectives. While ecological recovery is inherently influenced by local conditions, this study focuses on the broader challenge that conventional assessment approaches often fail to adequately represent in a decision-relevant manner: long-term recovery trajectories, ecosystem service restoration and alternative PMLU pathways. As a result, closure opportunities that reduce future liabilities, avoid additional disturbance and create enduring environmental, social or economic value may not be fully recognised within closure decision-making frameworks. Accordingly, this paper advances the proposition that mineclosure assessment frameworks integrating LCA NCA, NCAcc and industrial ecology (IE) are better suited to contemporary Australian closure practice than conventional LCA alone. This is because they explicitly account for longterm ecological recovery trajectories, sitespecific conditions and designled asset transformation opportunities to reduce longterm liabilities. IE strengthens closure assessments by reframing closure from a predominantly remedial obligation to a system design problem, identifying opportunities for material re-use, infrastructure repurposing and circular material flows that can reduce disturbance and improve PMLU outcomes. Importantly, these opportunities are not limited to ecological restoration and may include alternative land uses such as renewable energy developments, water storage systems, industrial precincts and other productive post-mining assets that deliver value while avoiding additional environmental disturbance and long-term liabilities. Using Australian case studies, this paper demonstrates how integrating LCA, NCA, NCAcc and IE supports more transparent comparison of closure pathways, stronger restoration planning, reduced nature-related risk and more credible naturepositive closure outcomes aligned with regional and regulatory expectations.

References: