Arrival and registration 

Welcome and Introductions 

Tailings and Mine Waste 

As tailings governance shifts from voluntary best practices to mandatory regulatory compliance, WA’s mining industry faces increasing scrutiny over safety, environmental impact, and ESG accountability. This session explores the new regulatory landscape for tailings management, highlighting the move from guidelines to enforceable requirements and the implications for operators, engineers, and investors.

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Delegates will gain insights into:

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• The evolving regulatory framework in Australia and WA in 2026.

• Differences between voluntary compliance programs and mandatory regulation.

• Practical strategies for risk accountability, ESG integration, and board-level oversight.

• Lessons from global tailings incidents and proactive compliance examples.

• Tools and technologies supporting monitoring, reporting, and risk mitigation.

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Attendees will leave equipped with actionable strategies to navigate compliance, safeguard communities, and enhance ESG performance in the era of mandatory tailings governance.

Western Australia is home to over 800 tailings storage facilities (TSFs), a critical part of the State’s significant mining sector.

This session will provide an in‑depth look at the current regulatory framework governing TSFs in WA in 2026, how risk‑based categorisation shapes inspection and audit requirements, and how operators are expected to demonstrate design rigour, monitoring and ongoing compliance.

It will also examine how lessons from international incidents inform local practice and reinforce WA’s focus on safety, environmental protection and continuous improvement.

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Delegates will come away with a clear understanding of how the Western Australian regulatory regime - rooted in the Mines Safety and Inspection Act 1994, Mining Act 1978 and the State’s TSF Codes of Practice and Guidelines - integrates technical design, operational oversight, consequence‑based categorisation, and audit processes to mitigate risks associated with mine waste storage.

The governance approach in WA continues to evolve based on global failures (e.g., Vale’s Brumadinho) and local historical incidents, emphasising adaptive regulatory improvement.​

Q & A  

Morning tea 

As climate change intensifies, tailings storage facilities (TSFs) are facing increasing hydrological and seismic stressors that go beyond traditional design assumptions.

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In 2026, tailings governance frameworks such as the Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management (GISTM) emphasise the need for risk‑informed, climate‑adaptive and resilient design covering every phase of the tailings lifecycle -from concept and construction through operation and closure.

This session will equip delegates with practical approaches to designing TSFs that can withstand extreme rainfall and flood events, incorporate seismic resilience considerations, and integrate advanced modelling and monitoring techniques that support both regulatory compliance and risk reduction.

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Delegates will explore how recent guidance and evolving practice help operators anticipate and mitigate the impact of extreme loading conditions on tailings structures, ensuring they remain safe and stable under a wide range of environmental stressors in the face of 21st‑century climate and seismic realities.​

Open for abstract submission 

This session provides a deep dive into filtered, paste, dry‑stack, and in‑pit tailings systems, showcasing how they are being deployed in modern operational environments to reduce risk, improve water efficiency, lower long‑term liabilities, and enhance closure outcomes.

Delegates will gain practical insights into selecting the right system based on geology, climate, water availability, operational constraints, and ESG objectives.

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Why this matters in 2026:
With heightened global and Australian regulatory scrutiny, increasing investor expectations, and climate-driven water stress, adopting next‑generation tailings systems is no longer optional—it is critical for resilient, safe, and sustainable mining operations.

In 2026, tailings reprocessing is emerging as a strategic pillar of sustainable mining, critical mineral supply, and circular economy practices. Mining operators are transforming legacy tailings facilities into valuable resource streams, recovering gold, silver, zinc, and other critical minerals while simultaneously reducing environmental liability and enhancing closure certainty.

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This session explores global and Australian updates, including regulatory enablers, industrial-scale recycling projects, and advanced metallurgical techniques that make reprocessing economically and technically viable

 Delegates will gain insights into policy frameworks, risk-based project evaluation, operational examples, and technical approaches that allow companies to turn historical mine waste into profitable and environmentally responsible outcomes.

Q & A with Panel  

Lunch 

Mine Closure and Legacy Landform 

Mine closure in Western Australia is evolving from a compliance exercise conducted at the end of mining operations to a strategic, integrated discipline embedded across the life of mine.

With the introduction of the Mining Development and Closure Proposal (MDCP) framework (effective 9 September 2025), proponents are now required to present a unified development and closure plan at the outset of approvals, ensuring closure objectives are integrated into mine design, environmental approvals, and tenement conditions from day 1.

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This session provides delegates with a practical guide to embedding closure into feasibility, design, and operational planning, focusing on measurable completion criteria, rehabilitation sequencing, climate- and water-resilient landforms, and financial provisioning.

Using WA operational examples, the presentation demonstrates how early integration reduces regulatory risk, cost escalation, and operational uncertainty, while delivering predictable, measurable closure outcomes aligned with investor and stakeholder expectations.​

Achieving sustainable closure outcomes begins with landform design that is geotechnically sound, hydrologically stable and ecologically integrated. In Western Australia’s diverse climatic and topographic settings, the design of post mining landforms must anticipate long term water interactions, minimise erosion risk, and support vegetation and ecosystem development.

This session unpacks the engineering principles and design tools required to create landforms that meet both regulatory performance standards and environmental expectations.

Drawing on contemporary WA guidance and national best practice reference material, the presentation covers conceptual design, earthworks sequencing, surface drainage planning, erosion and sediment control, cover system selection, and landscape integration.

Delegates will gain clarity on how to evaluate stability criteria, match landform geometry to climatic conditions, incorporate water balance and hydrological modelling, and ensure post closure landforms align with agreed future land uses and ecosystem function.

What delegates will learn:
• Engineering principles for stable, water resilient landform design.
• How to integrate hydrology and surface drainage into closure landform planning.
• Techniques for erosion control, cover system optimisation and landscape integration.
• Practical approaches to test, monitor and validate landform performance against completion criteria.

This presentation explores a budget-led, treat-in-place rehabilitation approach for angle-of-repose (AOR) ex-pit dumps in arid, high-temperature environments prone to short, intense rainfall events.

Traditional large-scale regrading is often cost-prohibitive and operationally disruptive, so this framework focuses on low-earthwork solutions that enhance surface stability, manage runoff, and improve environmental performance without altering existing slopes.

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The methodology integrates three key workstreams:

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• Runoff management using crest catch drains, flow-dispersion berms, and check structures to reduce erosion potential.

• Surface stabilisation and moisture retention with biodegradable erosion-control blankets, hydromulch, and targeted organic amendments to support early vegetation establishment.

• Low-water revegetation through hydroseeding and planting of drought-tolerant native species, with minimal irrigation for high-risk microsites.

• Planned outputs include a method-selection matrix, implementation and maintenance plan with cost metrics, and KPI-based monitoring program to evaluate post-storm performance, vegetation cover, and sediment control.

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Delegates will gain insight into practical, cost-effective rehabilitation strategies that address budget, water availability, and operational constraints—providing a measurable pathway to demonstrate closure progress in challenging environmental conditions.

Panel Session  

Acid and metalliferous drainage (AMD) and associated long term water quality impacts remain among the most technically demanding environmental challenges in mine closure planning.

This session provides a science and engineering based framework for predicting geochemical risk, designing mitigation systems, implementing monitoring regimes, and planning for adaptive long term management. By integrating hydrogeological understanding with risk modelling, operators can anticipate and control AMD pathways, protect water receptors, and meet regulatory and community expectations.

Topics include geochemical characterisation methods, reactive cover design, passive and active treatment systems, seepage control, water balance modelling, and long term monitoring strategies. Case studies and emerging research from WA and other jurisdictions will highlight how operators have successfully incorporated AMD risk management into closure design, monitoring frameworks and stakeholder communication.

What delegates will learn:
• How to conduct rigorous geochemical risk assessments for AMD.
• Design options for reactive covers, barriers and water treatment systems.
• Approaches for establishing long term water quality monitoring and trigger mechanisms.
• Methods to integrate AMD risk management into closure plans and ESG disclosures.

Afternoon Break 

Afternoon Break 

Climate change is no longer a future risk—it is a regulatory and operational requirement in mine closure planning.

In 2026, Western Australia’s Mining Development and Closure Proposal (MDCP) framework and global ESG expectations now require closure designs and cost models to explicitly incorporate climate scenarios, including extreme rainfall, drought, erosion, and hydrological variability.

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This session provides a practical roadmap for integrating climate data into closure decision-making, demonstrating how scenario modelling informs landform design, water management, rehabilitation sequencing, and long-term monitoring strategies. Participants will gain insights into how climate-informed closure planning reduces operational and financial risk, meets regulatory expectations, and supports ESG-aligned reporting, ensuring resilient, sustainable post-mining outcomes.

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Key topics covered

• Regulatory drivers: MDCP requirements and climate risk disclosure

• Methods for climate scenario modelling in closure design

• Integrating climate data into rehabilitation sequencing, water management, and landform stability

• Risk-informed progressive rehabilitation and monitoring

• Alignment with ESG reporting frameworks and investor expectations

• Case examples of climate-resilient mine closure planning​

Legislation and regulatory frameworks in Australia are shifting from purely time-based closure obligations to milestone- and performance-based rehabilitation requirements.

This ensures mining companies remain responsible for the site until closure outcomes meet measurable standards, rather than simply meeting deadlines.

Using recent examples such as the Ranger mine, this session examines how extending closure timelines and linking obligations to demonstrable environmental recovery creates more accountable, resilient, and compliant mine closure programs.

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Key Topics Covered:

• Transition from time-based to milestone-based closure obligations in WA and nationally

• Establishing measurable performance indicators for rehabilitation

• Regulatory expectations for site remediation verification and long-term monitoring

• Lessons from extended closure projects (e.g., Ranger mine)​

Post-Mining Land Use (PMLU) is now a central focus of closure planning in 2026. Regulators, investors, and communities are scrutinising not just the physical rehabilitation but how land will function after closure, whether for environmental restoration, renewable energy projects, or other economic activities.

This session explores how integrating PMLU into the life-of-mine planning phase enhances regulatory confidence, unlocks economic opportunities, and supports ESG objectives.

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Key Topics covered:

• Aligning closure plans with land use objectives (ecological, industrial, community)

• Incorporating PMLU into mine design and rehabilitation sequencing

• Strategies for multi-purpose land use after closure (renewable energy, ecological restoration, agribusiness)

• Communicating post-mining plans to regulators, investors, and communities

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Learning Outcomes:

• Understand the importance of defining and delivering post-mining land outcomes

• Develop PMLU strategies that integrate with rehabilitation and closure milestones

• Learn to balance economic, environmental, and social objectives

• Build stakeholder confidence through transparent PMLU planning

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Panel and Q & A from the audience 

Networking and depart