A parliamentary question regarding the rehabilitation of Cliffs' closed iron ore mining operations in Western Australia, covering responsibility, timeframe, cost, and payment. The Minister's answer refers to the company's approved mine closure plan and the Mining Rehabilitation Fund.

AnsweredQoN 831Legislative Council
Asked
13 March 2018
Portfolio
Mines and Petroleum

QuestionView source ↗

I refer to an article: https://www.macrobusiness.com.au/2018/01/cliffs-shut-aussie-iron-ore-arm/ where it was reported that the United States-based iron ore miner, Cliffs, revealed it will accelerate plans to close its mining operations in Western Australia, and I ask: (a) will the Minister explain how the area will be rehabilitated; (b) who is responsible for rehabilitating the area; (c) what is the timeframe for rehabilitating the area; (d) what is the expected cost to rehabilitate the area; and (e) who will pay the costs for rehabilitating the area?

AnswerView source ↗

Answered
10 April 2018
Responded by
Minister for Regional Development representing the Minister for Mines and Petroleum
Response time
9 days
(a)        In accordance with the company’s approved mine closure plan dated 2013, of which a further revision is currently under assessment.
(b)       The tenement holder, namely Cliffs Asia Pacific Iron Ore Pty Ltd, a subsidiary of Cleveland-Cliffs Inc.
(c)        Rehabilitation is expected to take approximately 2 years from the mine ceasing operations and closing. Monitoring of the closure criteria as part of the Mine Closure Plan will continue until all criteria have been met.
(d)       The latest report submitted by the company under the Mining Rehabilitation Fund estimates the rehabilitation liability, for the purpose of calculating the levy, as $52,863,240.
(e)        The tenement holder is responsible for completing the rehabilitation.

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