Closure planning consultants a key part of the mining ecosystem

This month we polled Johan du Plooy, Donna Pershke, Dr Carl Grant, Jonathan Sanders and Andrew Hutton. The below is an amalgamation of their responses, reflecting the perspective of consultants who work primarily on the strategic aspects of closure planning.

It’s hard to think of a more exciting time to be either currently employed as a closure planning practitioner or someone who is thinking about heading down that career path.

Closure planning has been very clearly acknowledged as a discipline that is integral to the whole lifespan of a mining area. What once might have been viewed as something of a ‘nice to have’ and largely the domain of environmental staff is now far more multifaceted and a core aspect of any project.

That’s very positive news for closure planning practitioners who consult to the mining industry, as it means our services are strongly in demand.

As consultants focussed largely on the strategic aspects of mine closure planning, one thing we definitely share in common is quite a few years of experience!

But we come from a range of backgrounds, which is a pointer to the fact there are many avenues to a career in closure planning. Among the five of us there are qualifications in hydrology, hydrogeology, botany/zoology, environment science and management, geology, environment technology and natural resources management.

Another trait we share is that throughout our careers in industry, we branched out into a lot of areas beyond our initial qualifications. Mine closure planning is a wholistic discipline that requires you to have a level of knowledge and understanding in a wide range of areas, such as mining operations, land use planning, environmental management, rehabilitation, risk assessment and, of course, people management.

As strategic mine closure planning consultants, the scope of work we take on really depends on the capability and resources of a client and also the nature of the project. But some of the more common tasks include project management and the coordination of a wide range of subject matter experts, closure cost estimation and budget, strategic closure advice and planning (including developing a vision and objective), preparation of mine closure and execution plans, developing and implementing rehabilitation plans, stakeholder engagement, conducting closure risk assessments and helping map out the transition to post-mining land use.

Our roles often see us working with or overseeing multidisciplinary teams, which is one of the most enjoyable things. Collaborating with and learning from diverse groups of fellow professionals is really rewarding.

Rewarding is actually a good way to sum up the full mine closure planning experience. There are great opportunities to work on significant projects from their outset (in Australia and overseas), take on exciting challenges and help ensure mines deliver positive social and economic outcomes after they transition from operations.

A great deal of what we do is problem solving and the fact that no two projects are ever the same leads to continual learning and the addition of fresh skills.

One of the fastest-developing and most interesting areas in which we work is planning for future use of land within the boundaries of mining projects, which often involves new and innovative opportunities for local, regional and Indigenous communities.  There are a wide range of possibilities when you take to the time to ask the relevant stakeholders. 

It’s very pleasing to see closure planning increasingly recognised for the value it brings to projects. There is still a long way to go for it to be embedded in the full life cycle of a mine – but we are certain we will get there.

Quality closure planning leads to good decisions, which in turn lead to good outcomes. Reduced costs, better risk management and trust and reputation benefits for project proponents are among them.

Who wouldn’t want that?

It’s also quite evident that mine closure planners are going to have an even bigger role in the industry of the future and that there will need to be many more of us, either employed directly by projects or in a consultancy capacity.

For people considering a career in closure planning, our best advice would be “go for it.” It’s a job in which you get to tackle complex issues, collaborate with a wide variety of people and help create  positive legacies for the sites you work on.

But it is worth thinking about how you will make closure planning your career. You don’t necessarily have to jump straight in and, in many ways, it may be better if you didn’t.
The vast majority of today’s closure planning professionals will have started out as we did, in a separate but related discipline and then broadened their skills as they moved down this pathway.

Take the opportunity (and the time) to learn the ins and outs of how mining operations and processes work, spend a period working as one cog within a closure team, develop your people and relationship skills, grab every chance you can to learn new disciplines and, above all else, just persist with it.

You won’t regret it!

Stay tuned to the CPPA website for more articles profiling experiences in closure planning.