IN a statement designed to inspire and invoke rational debate, a leading mining industry environmental scientist said the coal industry creates lakes.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
“It is the only industry that does that,” said Clint McCullough, principal environmental scientist, Golder Associates.
Dr McCullough is a specialist internationally-recognised advisor on mine closure based in Perth, and has worked on developing mine closure plans but more specifically designing environmentally viable “pit lakes” in what is known in this country as the open cut mine’s final voids.
He visited Singleton last week as a special guest of the Upper Hunter Mining Dialogue and delivered a very interesting speech on the success of mine pit lakes, not only in Australia but also throughout the world.
Dr McCullough’s main theme was the need for mine closure plans to be one of the central parts of the initial mine design rather than what exists today where they are simply an afterthought in the planning process.
These plans would also need to be progressively updated throughout the life of the mine Dr McCullough told the meeting.
He also wanted the community and industry to see mine closures and the development of pit lakes in final voids as a positive rather than something that is viewed as an economic, environmental and a social risk.
But he stressed the need for competent planning and much scientific rigour to achieve this positive outcome.
“We can change the mine site post-mining from a terrestrial to an aquatic landscape that proves beneficial to the entire community,” he said.
“No longer should we simply see mine rehabilitation as the return of the site to large tracts of woodlands and forests.
“You can’t plant trees on a landscape covered in 200m of water.”
Dr McCullough called on the mining industry to embrace new technologies to develop what he called “pit lake districts”.
He sees their creation as opportunity triumphing over risk.
For example, he spoke about the Collie district located three hours’ drive south of Perth where currently 13 pit lakes have been created – and more are on their way.
Open cut mining in the district has completely changed the landscape but rather than seeing mine closure as a risk the industry has taken the opportunity to use the pit lakes to create other uses, he said.
According to Dr McCullough, with good planning and design the uses for pit lakes are wide and varied.
“Throughout the world pit lakes have been used for boating, fishing, wildlife habitats; in some cases aquaculture industries have been developed, we are looking at prawns in the Northern Territory as well as amphitheatres, film sets, race tracks and in Germany new housing and tourism developments,” he said.
In the Golder Associates brochure promoting their international work it states, “Closure plans require documented consideration of post-mining land uses that minimise social and environmental risk and maximise social and environmental benefit. Landscape modification by pit lakes presents risks but also new opportunities that other closure landforms do not.”
The Hunter Valley is expected to have 30 mining voids that would cover 7500 to 10,000 hectares, according to the Department of Planning.
The proposed void for the expanded Warkworth Mount Thorley open cut will be 950 hectares and 300 metres in depth.
When talking specifically about the Hunter Valley, Dr McCullough said presently there was a lack of data available on the local voids and what will be created once mining ceases.
And he said data was important in designing mine closure plans that worked.
“End uses for the pit lakes have to be achievable and mining companies must understand that fact very clearly,” he said.
“In this region you could develop a model open to all companies where collected data could be processed and establish monitoring procedures suited to the mine sites.”
Dr McCullough’s enthusiasm for pit lakes even had him suggesting the establishment of a Hunter Lake District post-mining.
He suggested water quality in some pit lakes in the Hunter preclude swimming, however boating and fishing were most likely quite possible.