Short Courses

ENVT5517 Rehabilitating Mined Landscapes

Unit overview:

Mining and processing of mineral and energy resources can cause significant land-based environmental impacts. The overall aim of this course is to equip participants with the skills and knowledge required to design and implement effective rehabilitation plans for mining environments. This unit, comprising three modules, will provide participants with an understanding of key concepts, and practical skills, in mined land rehabilitation, including restoration versus alternative end land uses and novel ecosystems, how to characterise and amend mine site materials for successful rehabilitation and closure, building ecosystems, designing monitoring schemes and completion criteria, closure costing, and considerations for minimising ongoing management inputs and increasing overall sustainability. Online lectures are supported by a virtual field trip to examine rehabilitation strategies in action, and recorded laboratory tutorial sessions to build practical skills in analytical procedures and interpretation of results, and rehabilitation and closure costing.

 

Outcomes:

After completion of the full unit, participants will be able to:

1. identify major sources of land-based environmental impacts resulting from mining and refining operations and assess the likely magnitude of these impacts;
2. discuss the factors that need to be considered when selecting rehabilitation targets and overall end land use goal in post-mining landscapes;
3. critically assess analytical methods, and analyse and interpret data for characterisation of mine site materials, integrating these data in formulation of impact assessments and proposed management strategies;
4. formulate practical plans for the rehabilitation of land used for mining and/or refining operations based on an in-depth knowledge of the fundamental scientific processes causing these impacts and an awareness of best practice management strategies; and
5. critically assess the adequacy of land rehabilitation and monitoring plans and develop creative and innovative strategies for improving them.

Who should attend?

This course is aimed primarily at junior and mid-career participants pursuing careers in environmental management and rehabilitation within the mining industry, either in consultant roles, in government agencies, or within industry companies. Those making lateral moves from other roles in environmental assessment and management (e.g. contaminated sites assessment, EIA of urban landscapes etc.) or other mining industry roles (e.g. exploration geology, chemical engineering etc.) are encouraged to register. Late career/senior role participants are welcomed where their primary role is not environment-focussed, and they wish to build a firm understanding of environmental impacts and management in mining operations.

Unit structure:

Module 1: Global context and approaches to mined land rehabilitation and closure
Outcomes: 1, 2

• Review of global mining impacts and drivers
• Closure and rehabilitation definitions and goals
• Causes and risks of rehabilitation failures
• Post-mining landscapes as part of natural landscapes: to rehabilitate, remediate, reclaim, or restore?
• Post mining substrates as soils: how to generate a 'soil' from wastes

Module 2: Remediating chemical, physical, and biological properties of mine site materials for successful rehabilitation and closure
Outcomes: 3, 4 (and building on 1)

• Chemical, physical, and biological transformation and stabilisation of post-mining landforms
• Key properties to be corrected: micro- and macro-scale impacts
• Common remediation strategies and their pros and cons in various contexts
• Caps and cover systems, and in situ remediation
• Building vegetation and fauna communities

Module 3: Measuring success, minimising burden, and maximising sustainability
Outcomes: 4, 5 (and building on 1, 2, 3)

• Selecting rehabilitation indicators and setting completion criteria
• Designing and implementing monitoring schemes
• Reporting and moving towards closure and relinquishment
• Long-term implications of rehabilitation approaches for management after closure
• Budgeting for management of post-mining landforms
• Measuring and reporting on sustainable development and Triple Bottom Line outcomes in mining