BHP Billiton Cannington sits within a Special Mining Lease with an area of 10,000 hectares (ha). However, the area of land actually disturbed by the mine, process plant, village, airstrip, stockpiles and all the other structures and buildings relating to the operation, is only about 180 ha or 1.8%. The rest of the Special Mining Lease is undisturbed by the mining operation and is leased from the company by local pastoralists for grazing of stock.
Environmental scientists at Cannington work hard to ensure that the disturbances to the land on the Special Mining Lease are as small as possible. Some of the effects the mining and processing operation has on the land (IMPACTS), and how they are being managed and reduced (ACTIONS), are summarised below.
| IMPACT | ACTION |
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| Topsoil and plants are disturbed by construction of the roads, stockpiles, waste-rock dumps, tailings dam, buildings and other mine structures. | Topsoil from any disturbed areas on the lease is carefully stockpiled for later re-use on the same area when it is rehabilitated. The topsoil consists of three different layers or horizons that are removed and stockpiled separately. Later, once the disturbed site is no longer needed, the topsoil horizons are replaced as they were before disturbance. The area is then reshaped to resemble the original landscape, and replanted with local flora, using seeds collected from the area or seedlings of local plants raised in the mine's nursery. |
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Environmental scientists plant between 5,000 and 10,000 native seedlings on the site per year. These are grown from seeds collected locally. |
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Rehabilitated area on the mine site. Plastic hoses used for drip irrigation of the plants are visible. |
View inside the nursery at Cannington, where seedlings are raised from locally collected seeds. They will be used later for rehabilitation. |
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The ore stockpiles, tailings dam and waste rock dumps change the shape and appearance of the land.
Aerial view of mine site showing tailings dam in the foreground. Note the small area of land affected by the mine compared with the vastness of outback Queensland. |
At the end of the mine's life (around the year 2016):
As much waste rock as possible will be used to backfill the underground workings. The remainder will be reshaped to fit in with the landscape, re-covered with topsoil and replanted with local vegetation. |
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The process plant, head frame, concentrate storage sheds and other mine buildings and structures do not fit in with the landscape.
Administration building, showing gardens of native plants around the walls to improve the appearance of the building. |
Native shrubs are planted around many buildings to improve their appearance. This also provides shade and a cooling effect. At the end of the mine's life, all buildings and other structures associated with the mining operation and village (with the exception of the air strip) will be dismantled and removed. |
At the end of the mine, after rehabilitation, the landscape will be almost indistinguishable from its original appearance. That part of the Special Mining Lease currently disturbed by the mining and processing operation will be available again for pastoral uses. The airstrip will provide a useful facility for future residents of the region.
