Pilbara Iron's approach to sustainable development during mine closure - The case study of Greater Tom Price and Pannawonica operations

Pilbara Iron (PI) operates and maintains iron ore mining, rail and export facilities in the Pilbara region of Western Australia on behalf of Hamersley Iron Pty Limited (Hamersley) and Robe River Iron Associates (Robe). As members of the Rio Tinto Group, PI, Hamersley and Robe operate in accordance with corporate policies and directives. As part of a sustainable development approach to business and to comply with the revised Rio Tinto Closure Standard (RT, 2004), and associated documentation, PI undertook a series of closure planning studies during 2005 to build on previous closure planning activities previously undertaken over a 10-year period. The objective of these studies was to undertake specific closure planning activities in accordance with the standard for the eventual closure of PI's facilitites at Tom Price and Mesa J, referred to as the Greater Tom Price and Pannawonica Operations. The specific intent of the standard is: "To ensure that Rio Tinto managed activities are left in a condition which minimises adverse impacts on the human and natural environment, and that a legacy remains which makes a positive contribution to sustainable development." Through implementation of the standard, Rio Tinto seeks to influence the design, development, operation and closure of all of its operations to ensure the optimisation of post-closure outcomes in terms of environmental, economic and social development needs and expectations.