Megan Davison, executive director, Minerals Council of Australia, Victoria
While the Australian minerals industry recognises the concerns about historic mines, it is important that discussions about the number of abandoned mines in Australia – including in central Victoria – occur in an accurate context (‘Mine bid withdrawn’, Midland Express, October 23).
The Australian minerals industry is committed to ensuring current mines meet their rehabilitation requirements. And while it is estimated there are more than 50,000 abandoned mines across the country, most are historic, single-mine features, including individual shafts, tunnels or mine workings (e.g. gold-rush era features around central Victoria, Gympie in Queensland and Kalgoorlie-Boulder in Western Australia).
Few of these have material ongoing environmental impacts, and most were developed long before modern mining regulation.
This does not reduce the importance of addressing the abandoned mine issue, and the minerals industry will continue to ensure that efforts by government and industry are pragmatic and focused on those sites that present the highest risks to community health and safety and the environment.
