Five things to know about responsible mine closure and reclamation.
Our planning for responsible mine closure and reclamation begins before mining even starts, and that work carries on throughout the life cycle of the operation.
Here are a few important facts around the mine closure process and our approach to reclamation planning:
- Mine closure is the entire process of winding down operations at a mine, including planning for closure, decommissioning of the mine site, reclamation and ongoing monitoring. This work is guided by our vision of achieving a net positive impact on biodiversity in the areas where we operate.
- Reclamation—one of the largest components of the mine closure process—is the way mined lands are restored for other new and productive post-mining uses in cooperation with the local community and Indigenous Peoples. This work can include establishing healthy wildlife areas and wetlands, or preparing areas for future economic or recreational uses.
- In the earlier days of mining, reclamation planning was done towards the end of a mine’s life, if at all. Today, we begin reclamation planning at the start of a project—before mining even begins—which allows for a wider range of potential methods, better options for the landscape, and shorter time frames to achieve end land uses for Indigenous Peoples and communities.
- We engage with governments, communities and Indigenous Peoples about our reclamation plans and objectives prior to mining. We adopted this approach to promote a more inclusive and collaborative way of doing business and outcomes that better reflect what local stakeholders want for their region.
- Teck carries out progressive reclamation, which means that we reclaim portions of the site no longer required for mining while mining continues at other parts of the site. The reclamation best practices we implement today have been developed throughout the course of three decades of reclamation research at our sites.
Introducing teck.com/aftermining
Teck has recently launched a new series of videos and a section on teck.com that further details our approach to responsible mine closure, our objectives and our goals for reclamation, and how we’re carrying this out.
For more information, we encourage you to visit teck.com/aftermining
