Closure
The closure stage of a Newmont mine can be a time of transition for both the Company and the communities around the mine.
Newmont is committed to ensuring long-term environmental stability and leaving a positive legacy for local communities. In part, this commitment means developing an integrated closure approach: taking into account community interests while managing technical environmental challenges and reclaiming mine-disturbed lands in a manner suitable for long-term beneficial use after our mines close.
Planning for closure begins during the earliest stages of project evaluation, well before construction starts at a new site. Reclamation activities commence during the production stage and continue post-operations until closure objectives can be achieved. Our goal is to minimize, to the extent possible, the disturbance of land in all stages of the mine lifecycle beginning with our exploration activities. Our goal is to reclaim all areas disturbed concurrently, when land is no longer needed for future mining operations, and to leverage facilities (e.g., roads, housing, etc.) for their long-term benefit to communities around the mine site.
Lands occupied by mine facilities are progressively reclaimed during the mine’s lifecycle.
Our Closure and Reclamation Technical Teams use a systematic approach to complete annual updates to closure and reclamation planning, cost estimates and concurrent reclamation opportunities. This approach provides a globally consistent reclamation and closure process at every stage of the mine lifecycle.
In developing and implementing reclamation plans, Newmont seeks to apply the latest thinking, technologies and approaches to effectively manage mining impacts and deliver reclamation and closure performance. All operations look to balance environmental solutions with post-mining beneficial land use.
Lands occupied by mine facilities are progressively reclaimed during the mine’s lifecycle.
Our reclamation and closure plans are designed to deliver:
- Long-term, environmentally stable mining surfaces that meet mutually acceptable post-mining land use expectations.
- Water management approaches that effectively meet water quality and quantity objectives to support beneficial post-closure water resource uses.
To restore the landscape for future uses such as ranching, recreation or wildlife habitat protection, we progressively rehabilitate areas of disturbed land in the mining area, which offers a number of advantages:
- Improves the visual appearance of the disturbed areas
- Establishes a cover to provide erosion control
- Improves run-off water quality by minimizing the transportation of fine particles
- Controls dust
