The Mine Closure series of conferences is the premier international annual meeting for the mining industry with a truly global outlook. This conference, held for the first time in Europe, represents a maturing in the industry’s approach to mine closure from the immediacy of biophysical, financial and regulatory aspects (that still dominate) to a broader view that includes historic and legacy sites and considers more closely the impacts on local communities and people’s lives.
The Eden Project provided an iconic backdrop for the Eighth International Conference on Mine Closure and is an example of what can be done with a hole in the ground after applying imagination, vision and energy. Of course, most mine sites cannot become Eden-like projects, and each mine has its unique constraints and issues that must be overcome to achieve successful closure, and in each case lessons can be learned. To this end, Mine Closure 2013 brought together a diverse group of professionals with a common interest in making mining better for our planet and included industry practitioners, scientists, consultants, non-governmental organisations, regulators and academics with information to share towards a common goal.
