Glencore’s Westside open cut coal site in the Lower Hunter has received Government certification for a section of its rehabilitated mined land, a first for the State’s coal industry under contemporary mine rehabilitation criteria.

 

The Government sign-off on 38 hectares of the rehabilitation equivalent to more than 60 football fields means the rehabilitation of these former mining areas has met all rehabilitation objectives and closure criteria set out by the Department of Planning and Environment, the Resources Regulator, and the Division of Resources and Geoscience.

 

The Westside open cut mine, near Wakefield on the north - western shores of Lake Macquarie, produced coal for domestic power generators between 1992 and 2012.

 

Westside Environment & Community Manager, Ben Clibborn, said the mine had maintained a very strong focus on progressive rehabilitation during its operations and set a high standard under rigorous criteria being applied to mine closure.

 

“The focus on progressive rehabilitation throughout the operational phase meant final rehabilitation of the mine was completed in April 2012, just two months after mining finished,” Mr Clibborn said.

 

“The site has been returned to bushland consisting of native vegetation communities that are characteristic of the local environment and landform type.

 

“Our ongoing monitoring had shown that natural ecosystem functions were returning, with recent surveys identifying 69 native fauna species in the rehabilitation, including 11 threatened species.