Rehabilitation and mine closure

Xstrata's Biodiversity and Land Management Standard requires all operations to rehabilitate disturbed and contaminated land progressively. With the exception of sealed sites, such as smelters and refineries, all our operations have procedures in place to ensure that disturbance is minimised and that, once land is disturbed, it is rehabilitated to an agreed land use.

Closure plans exist for all Xstrata mines including detailed closure cost estimates. These plans form the basis of financial planning for closure.

Land rehabilitated

Our operations more than met their commitment to increase the land rehabilitated by almost doubling the amount rehabilitated in 2005 compared with the previous two years. In 2005, 1,122 hectares of disturbed land were rehabilitated, compared with 659 hectares in 2004 and 610 hectares in 2003. During the year, 2,142 hectares of land were disturbed, compared with 2,362 hectares in 2004. Xstrata Coal operations accounted for 90% of land rehabilitated and 85% of land disturbed.

As part of its mine closure plan, the Minera Alumbrera copper-gold mine in Argentina is developing an intensive species revegetation programme to encapsulate and rehabilitate the tailings dam and waste rock dump – one of the first intensive mine revegetation programmes to be undertaken in Argentina. The programme aims to protect water resources by controlling surface and rain water seepage, control erosion, stabilise restored lands, provide a method for vegetative cover development, and integrate the rehabilitation into the existing landscape. The initial stage of the Native Vegetation Species Survey of the project area was completed in October 2005. The joint survey between Alumbrera and botanists from the Lillo Center under Universidad Nacional de Tucumán identified 93 vegetation species. Four species had not been previously reported in prior studies from Catamarca. Fruit and seed specimens were gathered for taxonomic identification and subsequent growing in the mine's plant nursery. A hothouse was constructed at Alumbrera during the year and 800 seeds were planted in local substrates for germination and feasibility trials.

Geologist Nick Horspool inspecting core samples: Mount Isa exploration