{"id":1215,"date":"2014-10-14T18:59:31","date_gmt":"2014-10-14T18:59:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/?p=1215"},"modified":"2016-08-02T16:21:56","modified_gmt":"2016-08-02T16:21:56","slug":"what-should-we-do-with-australias-50000-abandoned-mines","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/what-should-we-do-with-australias-50000-abandoned-mines\/","title":{"rendered":"What should we do with Australia’s 50,000 abandoned mines?"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Corinne Unger<\/a>, The University of Queensland<\/em><\/p>\n

Wandering around Australia, you might want to watch your step \u2014 the country currently has more than 50,000 abandoned mines. Some represent a significant threat from contamination; others may pose safety risks; and still others may be losing their value as cultural heritage.<\/p>\n

Recently experts met in Brisbane for the four day Life of Mine<\/a> conference to explore how to leave positive legacies from mining. This included exploring the challenges of, and long term solutions for, our abandoned mines.<\/p>\n

But cleaning up old mines is no simple matter.<\/p>\n

More new mines, time to address old mines<\/h2>\n

Prime minister Tony Abbott has declared Australia open for business<\/a>, promising to make it easier to get mining projects through assessment processes and minerals out of the ground by stream-lining environmental approvals<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Clive Palmer knows all too well<\/a> that, having been hit last year with a government order to clean up 300 abandoned coal-drilling sites, old mines represent liabilities.<\/p>\n

In 2012, the NSW Auditor General declared<\/a> that \u201cderelict mines may represent the largest category of contamination liability for the state\u201d. He also noted that the \u201cderelict mines program has many thousands of hectares of degraded and contaminated land where mining companies abandoned mines without cleaning up or stabilising the sites.\u201d<\/p>\n

And also in 2012, the Queensland Commission of Audit estimated that Queensland\u2019s 15,000 abandoned mines are a A$1 billion liability<\/a> on the state.<\/p>\n

Australia already has a national abandoned mine policy<\/a>, although it has yet to be formally implemented by state and federal governments. Until it is, we cannot expect states or the mining industry to strategically prioritise remediation of old mines.<\/p>\n

An historical problem<\/h2>\n

When a mine closes now, it\u2019s required to be safe, stable, non-polluting and have sustainable land uses. But regulations in the past were much weaker and community expectations lower, which has given rise to legacy of mines which do not meet today\u2019s standards.<\/p>\n

Abandoned mines are largely historic, have no clear ownership<\/a> and rarely meet current community and regulatory mine rehabilitation and closure expectations.<\/p>\n

Australian governments and the community have become responsible for these mines’ management.<\/p>\n

For example, the Queensland Flood Commission Inquiry<\/a> revealed that approximately 12,000 out of 15,000 abandoned mines in Queensland are located on private land and consequently are not considered the responsibility of government.<\/p>\n

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Pollution at an abandoned mine at Mt Oxide, Caves Creek.<\/span>
\nSouthern Gulf Catchments<\/span><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

What can we do with old mines?<\/h2>\n

Where abandoned mines pose safety impacts governments may undertake shaft capping programs. Where there are agricultural productivity impacts downstream of polluting sites, governments and communities may be engaged in community directed research, as at Mount Morgan<\/a> in Queensland.<\/p>\n

But old mines don\u2019t have to be a liability; instead they can become an asset. Australia\u2019s national policy<\/a> for old mines recommends \u201cvaluing abandoned mines\u201d. This could include:<\/p>\n