Closure at Kelian Equatorial Mining (KEM)
Closing a mine or other operating site does not simply mean shutting down production, rehabilitating the land and walking away.
Mine closure involves changes to social and environmental programmes and changes to community relationships as operating activities end and closure programmes are implemented. We well understand that our legacy at one site may determine our future access to land, people and capital at another.
At the Kelian gold mine, deep in the jungle of Kalimantan in Indonesia, extraction at the large open pit mine stopped in 2003. We completed processing the stockpiles in early 2005, and closure activities will be completed in early 2008. In mid 2007, 650 people were involved in mine closure activities, including mine site rehabilitation, the development of wetlands, sterilisation of alluvial resources and the establishment of post closure institutions.
Consultation is key to closure
KEM is spending $US120 million on mine closure activities. We developed the closure plan through a comprehensive consultation process with governments, communities and NGOs. The stakeholder consultation process covered key areas such as:
- Environmental standards
- Developing and managing dams
- Regional and community development
- The use of site assets
- Employee training programmes
- Establishing institutions to manage the site, post closure
After closure the site will be converted to a protected forest, with forest ranger activities and monitoring, and maintenance programmes in place to provide long term protection. The mine site plant, buildings and other facilities have been removed to make way for rehabilitation.
The forest will have three water storage areas (the pit void and two dams), with systems in place to ensure water release meets agreed compliance standards. The dams will support some fish farming and the site will also support traditional community harvesting of fruits from the forest.
We have put controls in place to prevent logging and other commercial activities. And trusts have been established to provide ongoing assistance to communities, and to ensure that post closure activities are properly funded and controlled.