May 2025. In line with social and environmental changes, the mining sector in South America is moving towards strategic mine closure, which represents an opportunity to integrate environmental and financial criteria in a more robust and responsible manner.
Paolo Puggioni and Giselle Vera, leaders in Mine Closure services for Chile and Peru at Ausenco, a global engineering, consulting and project company, state: "Today there is a valuable opportunity to strengthen good engineering practices within a coherent regulatory framework to guide mine closure in the region. The key is to ensure that approved plans are not only environmentally responsible, but also technically and economically feasible and sustainable".
Incorporating a closure approach early in the conceptual design and prefeasibility stages can contribute to more robust and consistent planning throughout the project life cycle. This progressive integration facilitates alignment with regulatory requirements, international standards and corporate guidelines, which in turn can lead to more efficient processes for review, approval and implementation of closure plan permits with the appropriate authorities, resulting in more effective closure.
A sustainable and adaptive approach
In Ausenco's experience, the most efficient approach to mine closure is one that integrates progressive and flexible planning and design, proactively manages risks and opportunities, and adapts to changes in mining operations, social context and regulatory developments. "A viable closure plan is not static, but is constantly being refined as the project progresses," says Giselle Vera. Puggioni adds, "The key is to balance environmental, social and economic objectives with technically feasible solutions that can be validated in the field."
Both experts highlight the importance of continuing to strengthen collaboration between the public and private sectors to move towards more effective and sustainable mine closure processes. They emphasize the need for regulatory frameworks that are aligned both with good engineering practices and international standards and with the reality of each country, thus promoting a continuous and progressive review. In this way, successful, responsible and sustainable closures will be achieved, transforming them into opportunities and leaving a positive legacy.
Collaboration with communities
One of Ausenco's priorities in mine closure is to encourage communities near mining projects to be part of the planning process and to participate in the rehabilitation of the site after mining operations. "We strive to minimize environmental impact and explore alternative uses at the end of the mine's useful life, so that the site can be sustainable in the long term" indicates the expert.
In addition, some companies are required to adopt a circular economy approach to the closure of their facilities. " Early closure planning allows communities to be involved from the beginning, build trust in the process and build a shared vision, incorporating the expectations of different stakeholders for the use of the land post-mining", explains Puggioni.
Maximizing value in mine closure
Ausenco has experience in asset preservation plans for operational closures, applying operational preparation methodologies adapted to this stage, which optimize the control of tasks, costs and regulatory compliance. As part of this approach, the firm develops useful life studies that allow estimation of the remaining life or residual value of assets, providing key information for decision making. This includes evaluating alternative uses at the end of the operation, such as the reuse of mining infrastructure for multiple purposes, which helps reduce demolition costs, among others.
In addition, approaching closure in a progressive and well-designed manner can represent a great opportunity to improve cost efficiency. "In our experience working on mine closures for various projects in the region, we have identified that applying trade-off analysis to closure plan permitting from the earliest stages can make a big difference in the outcome," says Puggioni. "In fact, our team has documented and shared these learnings in a technical paper developed and presented in some specialized congresses in Chile and Peru," he concluded.
For his part, Vera concludes that: "the closure of a mine should not be the end of a stage, but the beginning of a new chapter of development for the intervened areas―it should be a harmonious transition".
About Ausenco
Ausenco is a global company that redefines what is possible. The team is based in 21 offices operating on five continents to deliver services worldwide. Combining deep technical expertise with a 30-year track record, Ausenco provides innovative and value-added solutions in consulting, studies, project delivery, asset operations and maintenance for the minerals and metals as well as industrial sectors (www.ausenco.com).