ENVIRONMENT IN FOCUS
PLANNING FOR AN
EVER-CHANGING ENVIRONMENT
By Eamonn Ryan
The Department of Mineral Resources (DMR) is increasingly policing the Financial Provisioning Regulations
relating to rehabilitation. This responsibility is something relatively new in quarrying and mining.
The iconic quarry rehabilitation Eden Project in Cornwall, UK.
J
acqui Hex, head of the
environmental management
department at Jones &
Wagener as well as a technical
director and environmental practitioner,
says: “Our point of departure in a
successful environmental practice is the
collaboration between our environmental
and engineering disciplines. From a
quarry perspective, we can assess all
30 _ QUARRY SA | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2018
environmental issues. This includes
undertaking the necessary environmental
approvals and licences, namely
Environmental Impact Assessments, Water
Use Licences, Waste Management Licences,
Integrated Water and Waste Management
Plans, Mining Right Applications and
Permits, Environmental Audits and other
legislative requirements; and from an
environmental engineering perspective,
the financial provision for closure, closure
design, and rehabilitation of quarries.
“Environmental legislation changes
constantly. In the mining industry, the
most significant recent amendment is
the changes to the Financial Provisioning
Regulations concerning rehabilitation
and closure (regulation 1147) that is
currently being revisited. A draft has been
gazetted that will replace the existing 1147