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Topic Presenter: Cherie McCullough (Mine Lakes Consulting)

Date: 24 January 2024

Time: 12:30 to 13:30 (Australian Western Standard Time)

Presentation Overview:  

Pit lakes may present significant risks to ecological and human receiving environments but can also provide beneficial end use opportunities. From initial planning to long-term closure, regulation and corporate management of pit lake closure can be improved to realise more sustainable pit lake legacies. This presentation recommends strategies to structurally improve the practice of pit lake closure for the mining industry, identifying barriers that often limit the understanding of pit lake processes and closure practices and suggesting ways that closure practitioners and regulators can improve pit lake closure practice.

Presenter Profile

Dr Cherie McCullough is Director of Mine Lakes Consulting with over 25 years research and consultancy experience focused on environmental management issues. She is an international expert on mine pit lake sustainability, closure planning and rehabilitation and has expertise with aquatic ecology and geochemistry; particularly in mine closure and mining impacts on waters. Dr McCullough has published over 100 peer-reviewed scientific journal and conference proceeding papers, book chapters, Commonwealth and state leading practice and industry guidelines, a book and regular international industry articles on pit lakes, mine closure, aquatic ecology and ecotoxicology. Dr McCullough has also helped develop guidance for mine closure, pit lakes and mine water impacts for separate Australian states and Commonwealth, Papua New Guinea, Canada and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC).