A social licence to close: Engaging stakeholders in agreeing post-mining land uses

By 2021, on current trends, less than 8 per cent of ex-mining land in Queensland, Australia will be rehabilitated land supporting alternative uses (Queensland Government ICFARS, 2017). Attaining and maintaining an acceptable post-mining land use for future generations is integral to the concept of sustainability of mining. Without appropriate transfer to subsequent use, areas of post- mining land may remain vacant and be unable to be used productively, as well as potentially being a source of pollution and environmental degradation. Policies and processes that optimise rehabilitation and post-mining land use planning are critical in assisting regional economies to avoid post-mining decline and transition to a viable post-mining future. This paper proposes a role for stakeholders in integrated closure planning and agreeing on a beneficial re-purposing of the land. This study demonstrated that any concerns about inadequate capacity or responsibility of stakeholders to deliberate about complex and uncertain situations such as satisfactory use of mined land are unwarranted. Rather, stakeholder groups were able to access adequate scientific and technical knowledge and make sound decisions (similarly, see Beierle, 2002). Additionally, our study concluded that there are effective models to engage stakeholders appropriate to: •The risk or issue characteristics •The people with a stake (interest, influence, networks, experience) •The purpose and scope of the stakeholder panel •Cultivating participation and dialogue not just information dissemination •Balancing experience and expertise (not all techno-scientific; not all self-interested