Closure
Closure planning is an essential part of the life cycle for every Rio Tinto operation, to ensure we achieve sustainable development objectives when a mine or plant comes to the end of its working life. Good performance in closure management can enhance our reputation and enable us to maintain access to land and capital, to continue establishing new projects with the support of local communities.
Closing an operation does not simply mean shutting down production, rehabilitating the land and relinquishing ownership to regulators and communities. People’s livelihoods can be affected, as can the social and environmental programmes established during the life of the operation.
Our Closure standard covers the design, development, operation and closure of all our operations to ensure that we leave a positive legacy. Under the requirements of the Closure standard, business decisions taken from the earliest stages of project development must integrate closure considerations to minimise financial, social and environmental risk from the outset.
- Approach
- Planning
- Engagement
- Results
We start developing and implementing closure management plans as soon as we have identified a new project. These plans are required as part of the approval process to obtain funding for the project to proceed.
Closure management plans and financial provisions are updated annually to account for changes to our operations. The plans are submitted for corporate review every five years, regardless of the time to predicted closure. This ensures that sustainable development objectives are identified as early as possible and can be efficiently incorporated into operational planning to avoid future impacts.
Operations integrated into the Group through acquisition are required to progressively develop or update closure management plans to meet the requirements of our Closure standard within fixed timeframes.
Closure planning is integrated into operational activities on an ongoing basis, including progressive rehabilitation of disturbed vegetation and remediation of contaminated areas, rather than waiting until eventual closure to start this work.
When an operation is five years away from closure, we develop detailed decommissioning plans based on criteria agreed with stakeholders.
Closure as a component of mine life planning
- Closing a mine does not simply mean shutting down production, rehabilitating the land and walking away. People’s livelihoods can be affected, as can the social and environmental programmes established during the life of the mine.
- See all "Our approach" features
Media releases
- 01 March 2010
Rio Tinto divestments reach US$10 billion with completion of Alcan Packaging Food Americas sale - 01 March 2010
Rio Tinto to acquire 15 million shares in Ivanhoe Mines - 23 February 2010
Rio Tinto expands Mine of the Future™ programme and selects partners for rapid construction of deep underground mines - See all Media releases
