REHABILITATION REACHES RECORD LEVEL

The amount of previously mined land under active rehabilitation across the Upper Hunter has reached its highest level since reporting began, according to the latest Upper Hunter Mining Dialogue Rehabilitation Report.

The latest report shows 800 hectares of previously disturbed land entered rehabilitation during 2025, taking the total area under active rehabilitation to a record 16,880 hectares. That is equivalent to 38.3 per cent of all land disturbed by mining across the region now being under rehabilitation.

Rehabilitation continued to outpace new disturbance throughout 2025. While 410 hectares of land was newly disturbed during the reporting period, almost twice that amount entered rehabilitation, resulting in a rehabilitation-to-disturbance ratio of 1.95. According to the report, this is the highest ratio recorded since the Upper Hunter Mining Dialogue began collating the data in 2012.

The Upper Hunter Mining Dialogue has published annual rehabilitation data since 2012 to improve transparency and provide the community with a clearer picture of the rehabilitation progress across the region. The figures are compiled from the Annual Rehabilitation Reports and Forward Programs submitted by mining companies to the NSW Resources Regulator.

Mining operators report against a common set of rehabilitation principles designed to encourage progressive rehabilitation throughout the life of a mine. The principles focus on reducing the amount of time disturbed land remains without temporary or final cover while supporting consistent, best-practice rehabilitation across the industry.

While 27,221 hectares of disturbed land remains awaiting rehabilitation, the total area under rehabilitation has almost doubled since reporting began in 2012, increasing from 8,791 hectares to a record 16,880 hectares. The report also notes rehabilitation is not always a one-way process, with some previously rehabilitated areas later disturbed again as mining progresses.

This year’s report also introduces a new reporting category identifying land formally certified by the NSW Resources Regulator as having achieved approved rehabilitation objectives and completion criteria. The report explains that achieving certification can require prolonged monitoring, in some cases exceeding 15 years, to demonstrate rehabilitation has been successfully established and maintained. At the end of the 2025 reporting period, 52 hectares had achieved certification.