WEST AFRICA
government,” she said. Jordaan stressed the importance of ongoing monitoring and an up-to-date understanding of potential future risks and liabilities. Groundwater contamination, for instance, can be an expensive, challenging and onerous problem to address. “Contamination of groundwater can persist for many years,” he said. “By keeping monitoring networks and modelling up to date, problems can be addressed timeously before they become much larger issues over time.” Planning for mine closure Sutcliffe added that initiatives and standards such as the Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management (GISTM) also encouraged mines to start planning for closure. “These standards include environmental, social and governance (ESG) principles, and underpin good mining practice,” she said. “The GISTM takes into consideration risk factors such as higher rainfalls due to climate change – which could increase the risk of tailings dam failure.” Sutcliffe added that designs for resilient post- closure land use needed to withstand extreme weather conditions in West Africa. Tropical rainforests in the region experience high annual rainfall of between 3 m to 4 m; at the same time, arid and semi-arid areas are prone to droughts and high temperatures. “Mines have also started to realise the importance of integrating climate scenarios into their planning for post-mining land uses,” she said. “This is to ensure that they are climate-resilient for not only a 20- to 40-year horizon but for centuries.” Jordaan said that there is already widespread degradation of waterbodies due to illegal mining,” and the need for a water stewardship approach is required. Doku concluded by noting that regulators in host countries would also benefit from a stronger technical skills base, to effectively regulate responsible mining through to post-closure transition. “The current mining boom has highlighted the extent of limitations of mining governance, which hinders policymaking around the regulation of mining at grassroots level,” he said. n
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Established vegetation and forestry on tailings dams.
worked cohesively to limit risk before closure. She added that networks in government, communities and other important stakeholders, such as non-governmental organisations, had to be maintained as they would constantly change over the life of mine. “To achieve closure objectives, closure planning requires widespread engagement with multiple stakeholders, including communities and
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28 MODERN MINING www.modernminingmagazine.co.za | NOVEMBER2025
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