New South Wales has introduced a new mine rehabilitation cost estimation tool and updated guidelines on rehabilitation objectives.
The new estimation tool was designed to allow for the calculation of costs related to rehabilitating a mine site, as well as the amount of security deposit to be provided to the government.
A staged rollout was planned starting from October 31 to allow for mines to prepare their new rehabilitation cost estimates. To allow for a timely transition to the new tool, all mining lease holders must use the new tool for all rehabilitation cost estimates submitted with forward programs from March 2, 2026 onwards.
The NSW government has also provided new guidelines, rehabilitation objectives, and rehabilitation completion criteria. The updated guidelines will assist the mining industry in the development of site-specific rehabilitation objectives and rehabilitation completion approval by the Resource Regulator.
The package includes updates on how to define final land use domains over a tailings storage facility and further guidance on groundwater and surface water. There are also guidelines on approaches to erosional stability and completion criteria for older vegetation rehabilitation to ensure that ecological criteria remain consistent.
There are also updates on annual rehabilitation reports and forward programs, as the government is now requiring all mines to prepare these in accordance with departmental guidelines.
New guidelines for both large and small mines have also been updated to provide language clarifications and added details for their annual reports.
