Reclamation management practices of waste spoil dumps in the Australian coal industry

The environmental impact of mining and evolving environmental legislation has received increased attention worldwide in the last two decades (Bradfield, Shultz & Stone 1996). The potential impacts associated with unstable spoil dumps from mine operations is the focus of concern both by the mining industry, environmental legislative agencies and members of the public. Engineered slopes of mine spoils may be stable at the end of construction, but they can deteriorate over time. There is thus the need to increase the base of knowledge on the existing practices of spoil dump design and reclamation. Information concluded from the analysis of the industrial survey carried out on Australian spoil dump management practices are presented in this paper.