Mine closure and rehabilitation

From strategic planning and collaborative design to effective implementation, our team delivers the full spectrum of tailored mine site rehabilitation solutions for responsible and efficient mine closure and asset transition.

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Integrated mine closure solutions

To minimise closure liability and maximise closure efficiency and effectiveness, integrated mine closure is a critical part of mine planning and operations. We understand that closure is a multidisciplinary platform, balancing all considerations to successfully transition an asset to its next life. Achieving successful and responsible mining operations through to post-closure and asset transition requires an approach that considers the needs of today, as well as those of future generations.

We collaborate with our clients from early phases for integrated life of asset planning, through progressive rehabilitation to full closure execution and transition to the next land use(s). Our global mine closure team brings together the many disciplines required for tailored closure solutions. With a wealth of experience and expertise to assist you in every phase of closure, we take a holistic view to help you reach your closure objectives.

Experience in execution informs our designs

We develop tailored solutions for improved durability, safety, and value creation for our clients, minimising risk and maximising opportunities, at every stage in the mining lifecycle to enable successful closure and transition outcomes.

With our real-world mine closure execution experience to inform closure designs, we apply solutions that are practical, constructible and cost-effective. Our project management and execution teams manage closure execution planning and activities with emphasis on safety, quality control, liability management, contract and cost management.

STRATEGIC PLANNING

COLLABORATIVE DESIGN

EFFICIENT IMPLEMENTATION

Expertise for a successful mine closure

Successful integrated mine closure can be determined by a range of criteria, from physical and geochemical stability, to reducing risk and liability, to achieving environmental and social transition goals, to obtaining community and Indigenous peoples support. Our multi-disciplinary team can help with partial and site-wide closure and transition planning, design and execution.

In addition to the comprehensive technical closure services provided by WSP, such as pit lake modelling and geochemical analysis, the following closure planning and advisory services are available.

Strategic planning

Strategic closure planning and integration advisory services
Closure standard, procedure and guideline development
Due diligence, independent reviews
Stakeholder mapping, impacts assessment and engagement
Closure vision, objectives and criteria development
Closure risk and opportunity assessment
Closure knowledge maturity assessment, and gap analysis
Closure, rehabilitation, post-mining land capability and land-use, decommissioning and asset transition planning
Closure options assessment
Closure readiness assessments
Closure and post-closure monitoring plans, and performance assessment
Closure cost estimation
Regulatory approvals, compliance assessments

Collaborative design

Strategic closure design advisory
Closure Readiness study management - conceptual, prefeasibility, feasibility, execution
Facility-specific detailed closure designs (landforms, water structures, covers, revegetation, etc.)
Trial design, implementation, monitoring and reporting

Efficient implementation

Strategic closure implementation advisory
Asset closure planning and execution (decommissioning, demolition, deconstruction, de-energisation, dismantling or transition)
Closure and post-closure monitoring and reporting
Execution readiness assessments
Project planning, scheduling and optimisation
Closure visualisation
Closure cost estimation and scheduling

Abandoned mines and legacy assets

Over time the standards for integrated closure planning have changed significantly and abandoned mine lands and legacy assets are a reality of historic mining that must be addressed. Efficient remediation of these sites, which can have both physical and environmental hazards, is critical for protecting public safety and the environment, while identifying opportunities for beneficial value assists to manage the liability and expenditure.

Our team has extensive experience in successfully remediating legacy and abandoned mine sites. Whether small openings to surface from historic underground mines, or a site-wide remediation including surface infrastructure, waste piles and more, we bring the right experts and approach to each unique scenario.

Specialised mine closure services

These specialised mine closure services are among the many and varied disciplines that we bring together to support successful closure

Landform design
Erosion, sediment and dust control
Physical stability assessments
Acid rock drainage management
Pit lake modelling and monitoring
Water quality modelling and monitoring
Passive and active water treatment
Adit and shaft surveys and closure
Mine waste management, including cover design
Reclamation and revegetation
Contamination remediation
Construction management
Social assessments and transition planning
Regulatory approvals
Closure cost estimation

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Fast facts about mine closure and rehabilitation

What are the activities of mine closure?

Typical closure activities include facility inspections, soil and water sampling, geophysical surveys, cover system engineering, runoff design and water balance assessments.

What are the keys to success in mine closure?

Successful mine closure is measured by physical and geochemical stability, minimised risk and liability, achievement of environmental and social transition objectives, and gaining support from communities and Indigenous peoples.

What is a mine rehabilitation plan?

A mine rehabilitation plan is a documented strategy outlining progressive, concurrent rehabilitation activities, including both an annual rehabilitation plan and a final rehabilitation plan that together define the site’s post-mining vision, long‑term land use objectives, anticipated costs, and associated environmental risk assessments.

What is a progressive mine closure plan?

The ongoing rehabilitation effort embedded into the mining lifecycle that leads from early-stage planning through to full closure execution and subsequent transition to post‑mining land use.

What is the mine closure stage?

Mine closure is one of the life‑cycle stages in mining, alongside exploration, pre‑feasibility, feasibility, operation, and decommissioning.

What is the strategic framework for mine closure?

It comprises strategic planning, collaborative design, and efficient implementation to support integrated life‑of‑asset planning, progressive rehabilitation, and full closure execution.

Need help with responsibly closing your assets?

Get in touch with our mine closure experts today.

Discover some of our mine closure projects

Las Ventanas, Chile

Ventanas Smelter closure engineering: a milestone in Chile’s environmental history

The definitive closure of the Ventanas Smelter, operated by Codelco, marks not only the end of an industrial era but also the beginning of a new standard in environmental remediation and sustainable mining.

mine water, mine closure, sustainable approach

Wales, UK

Reducing water pollution from historic metal mines across Wales

Collaborating with Cardiff University, we designed a sustainable approach to treating polluted metal mine water and are implementing it on the first site of Natural Resources Wales’ nationwide programme.

mine rock, pioneering open pit approach, predicting waves

United States

Pioneering Open Pit Mine Approach to Predicting Potential Waves

Owners of a large open-pit mine in the United States embarked on a program to minimize ongoing risks and plan for responsible closure after the ore body is exhausted.

Northwest Territories, Canada

Drones Support Underground Investigations at Giant Mine Remediation Project

The remediation of the former Giant Mine in Yellowknife, NWT, co-managed by the governments of Canada and the Northwest Territories, is a massive undertaking. The Giant Mine Remediation Project’s focus is on managing the arsenic trioxide waste and remediating the entire site.

mine rock, photogrammetric 3D models, pit slope stability

Project

Photogrammetric 3D Models Serving Pit Slope Stability Monitoring

Using photogrammetry and 3D point cloud capabilities, teams can now record, analyze, and monitor mine slope stability more efficiently and, most importantly, from a safe distance.

Mine water, restoration, innovative environmental solutions

Project

Restoring Clear Creek's Watershed

Demonstrating the power of innovative environmental solutions, the North Clear Creek Water Treatment Plant removes heavy metal contaminants from creek waters to safeguard water quality, restore aquatic habitat and support the region's recreational opportunities.