​Clayton Richards

​Minesoils Pty Ltd
Picture
Clayton Richards of Minesoils P/L is a Certified Professional Soil Scientist (CPSS) with 20 years’ experience in Soil and Land Management within the mining industry of NSW and QLD.  Clayton specialises in soil survey, land assessment, mine rehabilitation and agriculture impact assessments. 
Clayton is passionate about the reinstatement of agricultural land on post mining landforms.  He has consulted on many sensitive projects, where strategic agricultural land is located within project application areas for new and expanding mines. The management of this land use conflict requires a robust assessment with appreciation of what is required to rehabilitate agricultural land post mining. 
​Abstract
​The reinstatement of Biophysical Strategic Agricultural Land (BSAL) on post mining landforms: An industry update and future directions.

Since 2013, the impact assessment on BSAL, and its planned rehabilitation, has dictated project approval pathways, influenced operational and rehabilitation commitments, and caused an increased focus on soil management for NSW mining projects. To date, four proposed mining projects have committed to reinstating a total of 672 ha of BSAL post mining. 

BSAL verification involves the land and soil profile being assessed against 12 physiochemical soil and land criteria.  The question is always raised during the EIS submissions by NSW Government: “Can you demonstrate the achievement of BSAL reinstatement, elsewhere?”.  To date the answer is ‘No’, because BSAL criteria is relatively new, and no previous rehabilitation had targeted these specific criteria. However, several mines can demonstrate previous rehabilitation sites meeting most BSAL criteria, more by association than design. That is, targeted land capabilities of Class 2 and 3 rehabilitation tend to also satisfy BSAL criteria. There are lessons to be learned from these sites, as mine rehabilitation improves to achieve strategic agricultural land on post mining landforms. These examples will guide the future endeavours of BSAL reinstatement, to ensure the rehabilitation commitments made, can be fulfilled. The mining industry will then be able to demonstrate the achievement of BSAL Reinstatement.  
Conference Speakers
Workshop Convenors
​Wednesday:
Stream 1 - Pathways to relinquishment and opportunities to transition to productive alternate land uses Stream 2 - ​Understanding Acid Mine Drainage / Acid Rock Drainage and the implications for rehabilitation and closure Stream 3 - ​Harnessing Hyperaccumulator Plants to Phytoremediate Contaminated Mining Sites Stream 4 - Issues in Tropical Forest Rehabilitation Post Mining in Borneo