Glossary

Please find below an alphabetic list of explanations (as opposed to strict definitions) of key terms relating to post-mining regeneration.

Acid (rock or mine) drainage. Many metal ore bodies and coal deposits contain significant quantities of sulphide minerals – often including the ore minerals themselves. When such minerals are brought to the surface, they react chemically with air and water producing sulphuric acid, which may dissolve other minerals containing potentially toxic elements. This “acid drainage” may pollute water courses and the surrounding land, affecting plant and animal life. This is one of the main environmental impacts of coal and metal mining around the world, and is the subject of many photogenic images illustrating the environmental damage caused by mining activities. Once the process has started, it is difficult to stop without on-going treatments which may last centuries.

Acid drainage as described here is also known as “acid mine drainage” when it is closely associated with mining activities, and “acid rock drainage” reflecting the fact that this phenomenon also occurs naturally, without human intervention. Both phrases are in common use, although particular stakeholder groups have particular preferences related to the controversial nature of this issue.

Contaminated land/ water. There are many formal definitions for what constitutes contaminated land/ water in use by different authorities around the world. In a general sense, contaminated land/ water refers to land/ water containing concentrations of potentially toxic materials (organic or inorganic) elevated above the natural background concentrations in a particular area.

In relation to mining, land or water contamination may occur through fuel spills, run-off from waste rock dumps, leaks from tailings impoundments, wind blown dust from tailings and waste rock, smelter emissions, and drainage from mine workings.

Contaminated groundwater is a particularly serious challenge caused by the seepage of contaminated waters into aquifers. Such “contamination plumes” can spread over distances measured in kilometres. Treatment in such instances can be enormously expensive (up to hundreds of millions US$) and technically very difficult, and may be required in perpetuity.

Derelict land. Land that requires intervention before beneficial use.

Restoration/ rehabilitation/ remediation/ reclamation/ regeneration. These terms are often used interchangeably, but there are many formal definitions of each which apply in different circumstances. Here, we have tried to summarise these different definitions to provide one explanation for each term.

Restoration, in an ecological sense, seeks to artificially accelerate the processes of natural succession by putting back the original ecosystem’s function and form. In an archaeological sense, the term implies the repair of old man-made structures to something approaching the original style, often using traditional materials and methods.

Rehabilitation. Some ecosystems may have been changed so dramatically that a return to the original landscape is no longer possible and rehabilitation - a partial return to a previous state - could be the only option.

Remediation generally applies to the environmental clean-up of land and water contaminated by organic, inorganic or biological substances.

Reclamation is the process of converting derelict land to usable land and may include engineering as well as ecological solutions. Restoration and rehabilitation (as explained above) are both aspects of reclamation.

Regeneration. Increasingly, society is demanding more from post-mining landscapes so that they can return economic as well as ecological benefits to offset negative closure impacts. Regeneration implies that a broad socio-economic (and environmental) perspective is being taken, including the mine site but also the environment and communities beyond the mine site itself.

Good practice. The Post-Mining Alliance considers “good practice” to be an integrated approach which embraces the local community in decision-making from the earliest stages of mine development, and keeps them engaged throughout; plans for closure at the earliest opportunity; provides on-going support for local communities, even after closure; provides on-going commitment for environmental impact management mitigation and long term monitoring; and transparency in reporting.

Integrated mine closure planning. Mine closure planning should begin at the earliest stages of mine planning and development. Closure plans are updated on a regular basis through the life of the mine until, finally, they are implemented when the mine closes. Good practice requires on-going consultation with the regulating authority and local communities. Such closure plans will inevitably change as the development and operation of a mine over a prolonged time scale - up to several decades in many cases - has to respond to the unforeseen forces of changing societal expectations, economic fluctuations, new technologies, unexpected geological conditions and political whims. All mines are affected, to a greater or lesser extent, by such influences. The earlier closure planning begins and the more consistently it is reviewed, the more robust it will be to unexpected events.

Integrated closure planning should aim to ensure that once the mine is closed:
* Future public health and safety are not compromised;
* Environmental resources are not subject to physical and chemical deterioration;
* The after-use of the site is beneficial and sustainable in the long term;
* Any adverse socio-economic impacts are minimised; and
* All socio-economic benefits are maximised.

A design for closure approach enables mining development on a trajectory that leads to successful closure. The location of mining infrastructure (eg buildings, ports, roads, railways, residential areas, etc), the sourcing and training of employees, and policies relating to supply sourcing and employee health and safety all will have an impact on the ability of a mining community to adjust successfully to life after mining.

Legacy. Although often used pejoratively when applied to the mining industry, the term "legacy" is used here as a neutral one. When prefixed by “adverse”, it refers to the negative social and environmental impacts associated with mine closure. However, there are also positive legacies of closure, such as civil infrastructure, increased economic activity, and skilled labour that are often overlooked. This positive legacy may act as a stepping stone to sustainable post-mining regeneration activities.

Local community. The people living around the mine who are directly affected (both positively and negatively) by the mine’s activities. The geographical scale of “local” varies enormously, ranging from communities literally adjacent to the mine, to isolated settlements spread over thousands of square kilometres around mines in sparsely populated areas.

Mining cycle. The processes of exploration, mining development, extraction, processing, refining, smelting, and mine closure.

MMSD – Mining, Minerals and Sustainable Development project.

Orphaned and abandoned mines. Orphaned and abandoned mines can be defined as those mines for which the owner cannot be found, or for which the owner is financially unable or unwilling to carry out clean-up. They may pose environmental, health, safety and economic problems to communities, the mining industry and governments in many countries. (see Tisch, B. and Tremblay, G. (2003). The Legacy of Abandoned Mines in Canada. Mining and Mineral Sciences Laboratory, Natural Resources Canada, 555 Booth St., Ontario, Canada, K1A 0G1).

Post-mining regeneration. As a mine approaches closure (or even after it has closed), for whatever reason, there is a risk that the local community, which may have depended on the mine for employment and social infrastructure for decades, is left economically and socially isolated. Also, unless the mine is closed responsibly, the environmental damage associated with mining may continue long after the closure of the mine. Post-mining regeneration seeks to convert this mined land into new environmental and socio-economic opportunities for its associated communities.

Tailings. The mineral wastes produced from the processing operations after the valuable minerals have been extracted. They are usually stored in surface impoundments and are some of the largest man-made single structures in existence, sometimes containing many hundreds of millions of tonnes of ground-up rock, and covering many square kilometres of surface. They may contain elevated concentrations of potentially toxic elements and acid drainage.

Waste rock. The mineral wastes produced during mine development – including overburden and barren rock – and those parts of an ore deposit below the economic cut-off grade. Often, and particularly in some metal deposits, the waste rock may contain sufficient sulphide mineral concentrations to generate long term acid drainage problems. Waste rock is usually stored at the surface in huge rock piles, often containing tens, or hundreds of millions of tonnes of material.