52 hectares of rehabilitated mined land at Glencore’s Liddell Coal mine has received NSW Government sign-off.

The rehabilitation now represents agricultural grazing pasture and has met all closure criteria and objectives set out by the Department of Planning and Environment and the NSW Resources Regulator.

This significant milestone has been achieved in just under a year since the mine ceased operations in 2023.

Ben de Somer, Environment and Community Manager at Liddell Coal, said closure planning and rehabilitation work began while the mine was still operational.

“To achieve government sign-off on 52 hectares of rehabilitation within the 12 months since operations closed is a great achievement for our site and reflects the importance of progressive rehabilitation throughout the mine’s life,” Ben said.

“This rehabilitation also represents the first sign-off under the latest New South Wales rehabilitation reforms, which support best practice mine site rehabilitation and sustainable final land uses following the completion of mining.

“As we continue to focus on mine closure and rehabilitation work, we are committed to leaving behind a positive legacy.”

In 2023, more than $2.4 million was spent on rehabilitation at Liddell, including seeding of more than 77 hectares of land for native woodland and pasture.

Since 2017, Glencore has had 15 rehabilitation areas across NSW and Queensland signed off by Governments as meeting completion criteria.