PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Diversified miner Glencore’s Oaky Creek opencut coal mine, in Queensland, has been transformed into natural and productive land thanks to an impressive rehabilitation programme, state Resources Minister Scott Stewart said.

“Up to 133 ha of land that was once part of an opencut mine is now verdant landscape with native vegetation and is on track to being safely and sustainably passed on for the next land use,” Stewart said on Monday.

The Queensalnd government in 2018 passed mining rehabilitation legislation to ensure land no longer used for mining is returned to its original state, or better.

“It is great to see companies like Glencore take on their rehabilitation responsibility with real enthusiasm and produce impressive results like we see here today.

“These rehabilitation programs help create more jobs for Queenslanders well after a mine is no longer in use,” Stewart added.

Located 90 km north-west of Emerald in the Bowen basin, the Oaky Creek coal mine produces metallurgical coal for export, with six-million tonnes produced in 2020.

Since the closure of opencut operations in 2006, after more than 20 years in action, Glencore has focused on backfilling open cut voids and revegetating with native species.

Glencore’s GM of environment and community, John Watson, said the certification covered two areas on the site that now supported native vegetation and had potential for cattle grazing.

“This is the fifth successful certification application in the past three years by a Glencore site in Queensland and the seventh across Glencore’s Australian coal business,” Watson said.

“Achieving government sign-off on these areas of rehabilitation is reward for many, many hours invested by our workforce in returning mined land to the agreed post-mining purposes.”

Stewart said with advances in modern regulatory framework, mine rehabilitation is now a key component of company policies and the life-of-mine planning cycle.

“We know resource developments bring significant benefits to regional communities and Queensland,” he said.

“These advances in rehabilitation ultimately provide certainty for business, industry and ongoing benefits for local communities. To date, Glencore has completed 10 375 ha of rehabilitation across its Queensland coal mines, equivalent to more than 17 000 football fields.”