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.
Stakeholder consultation is a key element in ensuring that closure management plans deliver sustainable development outcomes. Our Closure standard and Communities standard require that our operations engage regularly with stakeholders, including employees, traditional land owners, local communities and governments. Together, we identify preferred sustainable development options for closure and seek stakeholders' endorsement for these options.
Examples include:
- At one of our Jamaican legacy sites we have provided support for local agricultural scholarships. The 30 operational and security personnel employed for the remedial works we are undertaking were recruited locally.
- At the Beauharnois smelter in Canada, options for ongoing industrial activities were assessed to minimise employment impacts and sustain socio-economic input to the region. As a result a casthouse was retained at the site and future industrial development projects were identified.
- At the Anglesey smelter in Wales, alternate uses for the site infrastructure and waterfront property were investigated to create jobs and support the local economy. A re-melt business employing 90 people has continued and berthing tourist cruise ships at the jetty, with flow-on economic benefits for the region, has been successfully trialled.
Through our partnership with the Eden Project, we are working with the Post Mining Alliance, an organisation that encourages and promotes regeneration of old mine sites for the sustainable benefit of the local communities and the natural environment. We also continue to participate in initiatives to enhance closure planning guidance for our industry through recognised bodies such as the International Council on Mining and Metals, the Responsible Jewellery Council and the Minerals Council of Australia.
