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    • Oral Presenters >
      • Ravi Naidu
      • Michael Wright
      • Matthew Newton
      • Travis Peake
      • Ingrid Meek
      • Karin Fogarty
      • Rob Loch
      • Maria Eugenia Cola
      • Stephen White
      • Paul Storer
      • Chris Gimber
      • Robert Scanlon
      • ​Clayton Richards
      • Alex Watson
      • Chris Waygood
      • Colin Schiller
      • Scott Sleap
      • Ihsan Noor
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    • Donna Pershke
    • Gilles Tremblay
    • Charles Lee
    • Nanthi Bolan
    • Tim Roberts
    • Yudi Firmanul Arifin
    • Ihsan Noor
    • Amalia Rezeki
  • About Us
    • Our Team
    • Past Conferences >
      • 2018 Mine Rehab Conference >
        • 2018 Presenters >
          • Will Mitry
          • José F. Martín Duque
          • Stephen Barry and Hamish Aiken
          • Stephen White
          • Nanthi Bolan
          • Eduardo Arellano
          • Jo-Anne Everingham
          • Yudi Firmanul Arifin
          • Thomas Baumgartl
          • Gede Widiada
          • Harley Lacy
        • 2018 Workshops >
          • José F. Martín Duque
          • Greg Hancock
          • Jo-Anne Everingham
      • 2017 Mine Rehab Conference >
        • Mine Rehab Registrations
        • 2017 Sponsors
        • Local Information for MLRC
        • Conference Program
        • 2017 Presenters >
          • Matthew Newton
          • Penny Dunstan
          • Travis Peake
          • Karin Fogarty
          • Ben Clibborn​​
          • Neil Griffiths
          • Shannon Mulholland
          • Howard Wildman
          • Nanthi Bolan
          • Laura Kuginis
          • Carmen Castor
          • Didik Triwibowo
          • Chris Gimber & Brad O'Reilly
          • Corinne Unger
          • Simit Raval
          • Greg Hancock
          • Grant Dickins
        • 2017 Panel Discussion >
          • Peter Elliott
          • Stephen Barry
          • Martin Rush​
          • Andrew Keith
          • Matthew Newton
          • Richard Bush
        • 2017 Poster Presenters >
          • Robert Scanlon
          • Angus Carnegie
          • Hannah Alcantara
          • Andrew Keith
          • Yilu Xu
          • Hasintha Wijesekara
          • Shannon Diener
          • John Ritchie
          • Charles Lee
          • Bikram Banerjee
          • Sonia Shilpi
        • 2017 Cocktail Dinner
        • 2017 Workshops >
          • Garry Willgoose
          • Peter Elliott
          • Donna Pershke
          • Simit Raval
          • Michael Hitch
          • Wendy Timms
        • 2017 Mine Tours
        • Information for Exhibitors
        • Delegate Handbook
        • Conference Feedback Survey
        • Mine Tour Feedback Survey
        • Sponsor and Exhibitor Feedback Survey
        • 2017 Mine Rehab Conference - original
      • 2016 Mined Land Conf
      • 2015 Mined Land Conf >
        • Conference Presenters
        • Poster Presentations
        • Supporters
      • 2014 Mined Land Conf
    • Research >
      • Soil quality monitoring
      • Coal Dissolution Testing
      • Health implications of coal dust in rainwater
      • Honey bees the new canaries for monitoring of mined-land rehabilitation
      • Geomorphic design and modelling at catchment scale for best mine rehabilitation
    • Publications
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Chris Gimber

KBR
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Chris Gimber is a Principal Environmental Engineer with KBR, providing specialist expertise in the areas of mine water management, hydrogeochemistry, catchment management and soils. He has provided expert advice within the international arena on these topics. He has almost 20 years consulting experience in the environmental sector, with experience in a number of geographies including Australia, Thailand, Indonesia, PNG, India, Brazil and New Zealand.

Brad O'Reilly​

West Moreton Operations
New Hope Group​
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Brad O’Reilly is an Environmental Engineer with New Hope Group, responsible for environmental management and rehabilitation at a number of operational and legacy mine sites which make up the New Hope Group’s West Moreton Operations in South-East Queensland.  Brad has over 12 years of experience working in environmental roles in the planning and development, construction and operation of projects within the mining, oil and gas, and civil construction sectors.

Conference Speakers
Thursday:
  • Matthew Newton
  • Penny Dunstan
  • Travis Peake
  • Karin Fogarty
  • Ben Clibborn
  • Neil Griffiths
  • Shannon Mulholland
  • Howard Wildman
  • Nanthi Bolan
  • Laura Kuginis
  • Carmen Castor​
  Friday:
  • Didik Triwibowo
  • Chris Gimber & Brad O'Reilly
  • Corinne Unger
  • Simit Raval
  • Greg Hancock
  • Grant Dickins
  
​Abstract
​

Backfill or not?? Water management considerations during rehabilitation.

A key consideration for many open cut mining operations is how to manage mine voids at closure. One of the main decisions to be made during decommissioning and rehabilitation is whether or not to backfill mine voids. 

Often the economics of backfilling result in this method of site management being deemed unfavourable and it is quickly ruled out, although there is increasing pressure on the mining community as part of its social and environmental responsibilities to properly consider and schedule mining to enable backfilling to occur. This paper discusses the practical water management considerations that arise during the process of backfilling mine voids, and draws on experience from a number of operations that have undertaken backfilling.

Most operating open cut mines have the ability to store large volumes of stormwater runoff in mine voids, and subsequently undertake release from these voids in a controlled manner when water quality is acceptable for discharge. As mine voids are progressively backfilled the capacity to store water diminishes and operators must transition into a new stormwater release regime that involves minimal or no storage and in-line stormwater treatment. Careful planning and management strategies are required to schedule bulk earthworks required for backfilling with landform rehabilitation for source control. Changes to licencing and sediment controls will also be necessary.

In this paper a case study is presented from a mine that backfilled its mine void to minimise its environmental liabilities and ensure it met corporate responsibilities. The catchment draining to the mine void prior to rehabilitation was considerable, so when backfilling occurred a very large sediment basin would have been required if the traditional sediment settling approach was used. Instead, a much smaller basin was installed with an in-line flocculation dosing system (High Efficient Sediment basin), enabling a storage volume of roughly 25% of that required for a traditional sediment basin. The flocculation system will be removed when the catchment is fully revegetated and the sediment loads have stabilised. 

Water management difficulties that arise during backfilling are manageable provided they are anticipated and planned for. 

Presentation

​​Backfill or not?? Water management considerations during rehabilitation.

Presented on 31st March 2017 at the 7th Annual Best Practice Ecological Rehabilitation of Mined Lands Conference (2017)
8.55am_15_min_chris_gimber_and_brad_oreilly_backfill_or_not_water_management_considerations_during_rehabilitation.pdf
File Size: 3038 kb
File Type: pdf
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