New standard published under ISO TC 82/SC 7 Mine closure and reclamation management: update 7 to AusIMM members 2021

Since my last update:

1. the Mine Closure and Reclamation Planning standard has been published
2. Roger Tang was selected to join the NEXTGen program of Standards Australia, and
3. the Managing Mining Legacies Committee Draft standard was accepted and progresses to the next stage.

Standard published

The ISO standard for ‘Mine Closure and Reclamation Planning’ was finalised in early October 2021. There are two parts to this standard. Part 1 is the standard while Part 2  provides supplementary guidance. A Canadian writing team headed up by Professor Dirk van Zyl coordinated Working Group 2 (WG2) that developed this standard. It is available for purchase from the ISO webpage hyperlinks provided above. This standard follows the Vocabulary standard completed in 2020, so ‘planning’ is the second standard in this family of standards. Congratulations to all involved, it was certainly a long and winding road.

While all WG2 members participated in this process, thanks go to Harley Lacy who throughout much of this project was Australia’s liaison. Harley has now stepped down from the Mirror Committee after more than four years’ voluntary effort and we thank him for his contribution.

NEXTGen

Standards Australia offers a NEXTGen program to engage with the young professionals as potential future standards writers. This 1-year training program is followed by the opportunity to participate in a committee for up to 2 years. Recently Roger Tang, PhD candidate at the Sustainable Minerals Institute and co-founder of Envirometrics.io, applied for and was accepted into this program. Roger told me:

I have always had an interest in the relationship between standards-industry-research, so once the opportunity came I had to jump at it! The NEXTGen program is designed to provide emerging experts with in-depth knowledge of the standardisation process and the skills to be an effective technical committee member. Standards development is a methodical process, and you learn how to navigate and communicate with different stakeholders well. I would strongly recommend this program to anyone that has an interest in how standards are formed.

I find the process of bringing different perspectives together fascinating. The diversity of opinions spoken by representatives with different agendas is what attracts me to the standardisation process. Having this diversity not only helps create a more well-rounded standard; it also helps me better my knowledge of the topic by understanding the perspectives of stakeholders and how to communicate effectively with them

Managing Mining Legacies

The third standard ‘Managing Mining Legacies’ was approved during the Committee Draft (CD) to advance to the next stage. Corinne Unger is Convenor/Project lead for Working Group 3 (WG3) which is a truly global group. Corinne is supported by a writing team that includes Tania Laurencont (Australia) and Peter Goerke-Mallet (Germany), currently incorporating improvements to the standard based on the CD review stage. Standards Australia Project Manager Jessica Huynh also provides valuable support. The standard comprises two parts with Requirements and Recommendations in Part 1 and a Technical Report includes case studies and Bibliography in Part 2. The writing team are currently including the many changes, improvements and corrections from this review process with a plan to have a Draft International Standard (DIS) prepared in early 2022.

Social aspects

A task force is underway to develop a business case and New Work Item Proposal for a ‘Social aspects’ standard led by Tania Laurencont. This task force will develop a business case that must be approved before a new Working Group is formed to develop the standard. Watch this space and I will announce if and when that Working Group is formed so experts can join.

New Chair of Australian Mirror Committee

We welcome Tania Laurencont as the new chair of the Standards Australia Mirror Committee for TC82/SC7 who takes over from Carl Grant who was the inaugural chair. Next on our agenda is the international SC7 meeting scheduled for late November 2021.

Past updates for AusIMM

Past updates prepared for AusIMM members by Corinne include:

1. Inception of the Australian Mirror Committee for SC7 (Sub-Committee 7)
2. Progress through the working groups (WG) March 2018
3. Strategic Plan for SC7 and the International Committee held in Shanghai in October 2018 November 2018 
4. Mine closure and reclamation management: ISO standard development October 2019
5. Mine closure and reclamation management: ISO standard development (update five) May 2020
6. ISO TC 82/SC 7 Mine closure and reclamation management: Update No 6 to AusIMM members June 2021

After more than four years as our project manager Richard will move on other projects for Standards Australia and we welcome our new Project Manager, Christopher Fernandez and look forward to building a strong working relationship.

Updates will continue to be provided as progress is made. Any questions on this article, or other questions regarding the mirror committee and standards please contact Corinne Unger via AusIMM using the contact form here.