Sector Programme
Extractives and Development
Kohletagebau Garzweiler

26.04.2022 Workshop on Responsible Mine Closure: Insights and Support Options of German Development Cooperation

What aspects need to be considered in the process of mine closure from a technical perspective? How can a closed mine be rehabilitated? And how can stakeholders best negotiate the process of mine closure?

These and other questions were discussed during the virtual workshop on Responsible Mine Closure, which the Sector Programme “Extractives and Development” (External link) hosted on March 30th together with CONNEX Support Unit (External link) and the Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (External link) (BGR). The aim of the workshop was to provide insights into mine closure from different projects of German development cooperation.

After welcoming words by Tim Schlösser of the CONNEX Support Unit and Dr. Thekla Abel from BGR, participants could choose between the following workshops:

Mine closure in the Andean region: Experiences from the BGR`s technical cooperation project, MinSus (External link)

Achim Constantin, head project manager of MinSus in Chile, gave an overview of the BGR’s work on mine closure and rehabilitation and briefly presented the technical cooperation project MinSus. Next, Jacob Mai, Deputy Project Manager of MinSus in Peru, presented the MinSus project in Colombia on anticipated mine closure in the protected high-altitude ecosystem Páramo. Rewatch the session here.

Strengthening capacities on rehabilitation: An experience from West Africa, Regional Resource Governance (ReGo) West Africa (External link)

Kaisa Toroskainen and Roman Ambuehl of the GIZ project “ReGo West Africa” gave insights into the monitoring of the mining sector in Cote d’Ivoire. After providing a general introduction into mine closure and rehabilitation in the area, they explained how the GIZ as part of the project renders technical support and trainings on best practices. In the second half of the session, Clémence Naré from the Intergovernmental Forum on Mining, Minerals, Metals and Sustainable Development (External link) (IGF) introduced the soon to be launched IGF Mining Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) Tool and its implementation in West Africa. This tool helps policy makers understand the gap between regulations and actual practice on ESIA governance. Rewatch the session here.

Negotiation support for mine closures: Example of Bajo de Alumbrera, Argentina, CONNEX Support Unit (External link)

Moderated by Diara Diallo of CONNEX, the third workshop focused on the example of mine closure in Bajo de Alumbrera, Argentina. The mining engineer Olga Teresita Regalado from the Ministry of Mining in Catarmarca sketched out the overall process and support of the CONNEX Support Unit. CONNEX had provided consultancy for the negotiations between the ministry and the mining company. Rewatch the session here (in Spanish).

After the parallel workshop sessions, participants came back together for a closing plenum. The workshop moderators shared the key takeaways from their sessions and discussed further questions with the participants.

In case you missed the event, you can re-watch the recordings of the main session and the workshops here:

If you have questions about insights and support options of mine closure, please reach out to us:

Sector programme GIZ (External link)

Sector programme BGR (External link)

CONNEX Support Unit (External link)