MINES MATTER
11 Jul 2019
The next stage of resources mining is fundamental to the economic, social and environmental future of Australia, and participating in this conversation is important for the growth and development of the industry.
In the past month, Ecoplant Australia has participated in two initiatives that facilitate this conversation and drive stakeholders to keep innovating in this space.
MEETINGS AND CONFERENCES
In June 2019, Ecoplant exhibited at the 9th Annual Mined Land Rehabilitation Conference 2019. CRC CARE and the Global Centre for Environmental Remediation (GCER) at the University of Newcastle hosted the conference, alongside the University of Newcastle's Tom Farrell Institute under the title 'Best Practice Ecological Rehabilitation of Mined Lands', or 'Mine Rehab'.
The conference focused on:
- Recent advances in mine rehabilitation, addressing economical sustainability that does not compromise human and environmental health
- Scientific solutions to ongoing challenges of mine rehabilitation
- Strategies at the forefront of best practices in dealing with mined land rehabilitation sites
- A way forward for dealing with the legacy of our mining past
COLLABORATING
An industry-led collaboration of stakeholders has been formed to bid for Commonwealth funding, with pathways for the future at the centre of this effort. Ecoplant Australia has joined this collaboration, with the aim to deliver certainty and innovative solutions for all stakeholders, regions and communities that are affected directly and indirectly by the mining industry and its future.
Ecoplant Australia has committed its specialist workforce, expertise and infrastructure to this effort. It has the capacity to:
- Deliver specified plants to scale
- Expert staff for plant and soil management products and installation
One of Ecoplant’s strategic objectives is to provide sub-contracting solutions to mine rehabilitation projects. One of Ecoplant’s clients recently provided it with an opportunity to deliver a turnkey solution. The Bluedale Wholesale nursery grew 54,000 tubes from seed provided by this client, and Ecoplant delivered the plants to a remote location using its 10-tonne truck, while its contract planters installed the plants.
The challenges around the project were the safety requirements onsite as well as the rugged and remote terrain. The stocking rates had to be kept exact and the species needed to be mixed so as not to create rows of species blocks. Some of the plants were soft from poor climatic growth conditions and needed extra attention.
Ecoplant provided mine-specific utes with remote 4x4 capabilities and a trained team leader onsite to ensure the plants were installed in the correct locations and that the density per hectare was as per specification. The softer plants were given extra care so that they could still be planted and growth guaranteed. Ecoplant’s Speed Spade planting crew installed the first 30,000 in nine days.
The project was deemed a success by the client with no safety incidents recorded and a 100 percent quality check.
Find out more about Ecoplant’s services by clicking the links below.