qld gets tough mine rehabilitation

VTI may benefit from new get tough policy in QLD

Extract from Miningnews.com

Queensland gets tough on rehabilitation

Angie Bahr

Monday, December 01, 2003

THE Queensland government plans to develop policy to implement staged rehabilitation of mine sites and provide greater incentive to carry out the work.

The new guidelines, to be formulated by the Environmental Protection Agency and Queensland Mining Council, will focus on progressive rehabilitation, premier Peter Beattie announced at the QMC annual lunch last week.

"Staged rehabilitation reduces the likelihood that, at the end of the mine life, operations will be sold to less reliable companies who will walk away from the site leaving the state with an environmental liability," Beattie said.

"Currently, there is no policy in Queensland which tells anyone how to determine at what stage rehabilitation is carried out. As a result, there is less progressive rehabilitation of our leases than any of us would want," he said.

Beattie also revealed the QMC's new name - the Queensland Resources Council.

The name change seeks to acknowledge the council's representation of those who are active in the resources sector in Queensland, including explorers, developers, miners, contractors, oil and gas producers, minerals processors, or electricity companies.

Cheers,

Fig Jam

I don't hold VTI