Abbott's done a runner, but his mates are still messing the landscape. Securities held in trust for rehabilitation are nowhere near enough for the work.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-09-19/taxpayers-may-foot-bill-for-mine-rehabilitation/6787954


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An environmental scientist who works with the mining industry has broken ranks to warn that Australian taxpayers will be left with a bill running into tens of billions of dollars unless government and industry start taking mine rehabilitation seriously. Across Australia there are more than 50,000 abandoned mines — a legacy of the early mining days when resource companies simply walked away when the profits dried up. To avoid repeating its past, Dr Erskine said Australia must ensure that operating mines are properly and progressively rehabilitated while they are turning a profit. What is in the rehabilitation kitty? Queensland holds $5.38 billion in rehabilitation securities, in the form of cash or bank guarantees, and New South Wales holds $1.8 billion. But Dr Erskine said it will cost between three to 10 times that amount to ensure mines are rehabilitated so that: Pollutants do not contaminate surrounding lands and waterways The landform is safe and stable for cattle to graze and The rehabilitated land is sustainable He said when companies apply for a mine approval they agree to a range of rehabilitation targets, but the terms are vague and allow a lot of flexibility over the life of the mine. Do you know more about this story? Email investigations@abc.net.au "What I see happening is a steady downgrade of what the rehabilitation will look like throughout the life of a mine," Dr Erskine said. In Queensland there hasn't been a mine closed for the past 33 years, the Government doesn't want to take on the risk of a closed mine and the industry is reluctant to spend the money required to safely close the mine. Dr Peter Erskine "Returning the land to a productive use like cattle grazing is a very different proposition to creating a native ecosystem which is thought to be a lower risk proposition for the mining company. "You don't have to worry about cattle or farmers walking on unstable land." Dr Erskine is hired by mining companies to assess their rehabilitation and works on mines in Queensland and NSW. "We're seeing less and less hectares rehabilitated," he said. "And of that old rehabilitation, I don't see it meeting the objectives that the Government and the mining companies have stated. So that's safe, stable, non-polluting and sustainable." Dr Peter Erskine at the contaminated Dee River just outside the old Mount Morgan mine site PHOTO: Environmental scientist Dr Peter Erskine said although state governments hold financial securities for mine rehabilitation, they are nowhere near enough. (ABC: Dominique Schwartz) State governments calculate the required rehabilitation bonds using a standard formula but Dr Erskine said the mining companies work off their own, and often very different numbers. "The rehabilitation costs held independently by the mining companies are often much larger than the rehabilitation bonds paid to state governments," he said. A 2014 Queensland Auditor General's report found the bonds were "insufficient to cover the costs of rehabilitation" and in the case of one particular mine the bonds held were only 1.5 per cent of the estimated rehabilitation cost. The report also found the government department overseeing mine rehabilitation was reluctant to claim the bonds for the state. Peabody close to bankruptcy, fears about security bonds Peabody Energy, the world's largest private coal company, has been hit hard by the fall in global coal prices. According to energy market analyst Tim Buckley, Peabody's share price has plummeted 96 per cent in five years. "The company has gone from being capitalised at $US18 billion to about $400 million and is carrying about $6 billion of net debt," he said. Tim Buckley said Peabody's share price had plummeted 96 per cent in five years. (ABC: Dominique Schwartz) Peabody owns six mines in Queensland and three in NSW and has won numerous awards in the United States for its rehabilitation work. However, concern over the company's financial predicament prompted questions about its rehabilitation bonds during a budget estimates hearing in the NSW Parliament. A few weeks ago State Industry, Resources and Energy Minister Anthony Roberts revealed NSW held $158 million in financial securities for the rehabilitation of Peabody's three NSW mines. The minister said the Government was confident the full $158 million would be made available should Peabody enter bankruptcy saying the bonds were "irrevocable". But Mr Buckley said financial securities were not as reliable as cash bonds. "I'd like to see the security held in the form of cash deposit, held in trust by the Government," he said. "This would allow governments to earn interest on rehabilitation funds. Peabody is close to bankruptcy so we need to know if their security bond is actually going to be enough if they go bankrupt, we need to see this application properly scrutinised. Greens MP Jeremy Buckingham "Ultimately, rehabilitation takes decades so when a bank provides a guarantee it might only be a one year.