Planning for Positive Post-Mine Legacies

Dr Roger Higgins has held environmental, operations, project and executive positions in the mining industry, including Senior VP Copper for Teck Resources, VP and Chief Operating Officer BHP Base Metals, VP Project Development BHP Base Metals, Managing Director Ok Tedi Mining Ltd, and General Manager Minera Escondida. An engineering hydrologist and UQ graduate, Roger’s first mining industry jobs were in site hydrology and environmental management. In addition to now being an Adjunct Professor at SMI and a member of the SMI Advisory Board, Roger is a member (non-executive director) of the Boards of Newcrest, Worley Parsons and Ok Tedi Mining, and is Chair of junior explorer Minotaur Exploration.

The best examples of mine planning and closure work are transforming the notion of ‘the-life-of-the-mine”, so that closure is not simply the end of the mine, but a point in time in a much larger process of community development, environmental health, and economic transformation. Planning for closure can focus on:

• building socio-economic legacies based on health, education, employment and infrastructure

• building biodiversity legacies through rehabilitation and habitats

• fostering legacy innovation, including ore processing technologies, recycling and re-use

• building legacy capacity of institutions and individuals

• stewardship, turning negative to positive legacies

The seminar will provide some industry examples of how post-mine legacies have been planned and implemented, to promote discussion and identify opportunities for research and study at SMI