Abstract
Over the next 25 years, up to 50% of Australia’s large-scale mines are expected to close.1 Mine closures and regional transitions to post-mining economies will have major environmental, economic, and social impacts, particularly in rural and Indigenous communities. The cumulative impacts of mining and mine closure create both opportunities and limitations for future land use and development pathways.
Despite recent advances in regulation, technology, and methodologies for assessing cumulative impacts across Australian and International jurisdictions, there is no comprehensive framework or guidance for cumulative impact assessment (CIA) for mine closure at regional scales. Current approaches to CIA mainly focus on either the project-proposal and environmental approval stage of mining, or on managing the cumulative impacts of specific industries. Likewise, although technologies and cultures of data sharing are improving, platforms for digitally sharing environmental, social and economic data require integration across jurisdictions (WABSI, 2021).
As a foundational project within the Transformations in Mining Economies Cooperative Research Centre (CRC TiME), this research focused on collaborative solutions to support mine relinquishment, post-mining land use planning and regional economic development. It was designed to be the first stage in developing a dynamic digital platform for assessing cumulative environmental, economic, and social impacts of mining and mine closure for Indigenous and non-indigenous Australians.
This project delivers state-of-the-art knowledge about current practices, regulatory status, benefits, challenges, barriers, and required attributes of regional scale CIA, culminating in a research and development agenda for future work.
This report was designed to inform the next stage of projects within CRC TiME, which would progress the research and development agenda to create a detailed framework for RCIA, including technical guidance on specific tools and methodologies. The framework will be combined with digital tools to deliver a dynamic digital platform that supports relinquishment and post-mining regional transition planning. It is intended to be adaptable across a variety of socio-ecological contexts.
Despite recent advances in regulation, technology, and methodologies for assessing cumulative impacts across Australian and International jurisdictions, there is no comprehensive framework or guidance for cumulative impact assessment (CIA) for mine closure at regional scales. Current approaches to CIA mainly focus on either the project-proposal and environmental approval stage of mining, or on managing the cumulative impacts of specific industries. Likewise, although technologies and cultures of data sharing are improving, platforms for digitally sharing environmental, social and economic data require integration across jurisdictions (WABSI, 2021).
As a foundational project within the Transformations in Mining Economies Cooperative Research Centre (CRC TiME), this research focused on collaborative solutions to support mine relinquishment, post-mining land use planning and regional economic development. It was designed to be the first stage in developing a dynamic digital platform for assessing cumulative environmental, economic, and social impacts of mining and mine closure for Indigenous and non-indigenous Australians.
This project delivers state-of-the-art knowledge about current practices, regulatory status, benefits, challenges, barriers, and required attributes of regional scale CIA, culminating in a research and development agenda for future work.
This report was designed to inform the next stage of projects within CRC TiME, which would progress the research and development agenda to create a detailed framework for RCIA, including technical guidance on specific tools and methodologies. The framework will be combined with digital tools to deliver a dynamic digital platform that supports relinquishment and post-mining regional transition planning. It is intended to be adaptable across a variety of socio-ecological contexts.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Publisher | CRC TiME Limited |
| Commissioning body | Cooperative Research Centre for Transformations in Mining Economies Ltd |
| Number of pages | 149 |
| ISBN (Print) | 978-1-922704-13-9 |
| Publication status | Published - Apr 2022 |
