Résumé - Abstract
Increasingly, academic researchers, policy makers, and industry actors recognize the need to integrate social objectives and community engagement in mine closure and remediation processes. Historically, closure and remediation were lightly regulated activities dominated by technical experts aimed principally at winding down operations and rehabilitating post-mining lands at minimal cost. While closure planning aims to ensure post-closure human and environmental safety, it tends to favour short-term technical fixes over longer-term socio-economic, cultural, and ecological considerations. For mines operating on Indigenous territories, where communities have complex and nuanced connections to land and varying levels of jurisdiction, these issues are further exacerbated by the exclusion of Indigenous voices from planning and decision-making. This paper reviews recent research exploring the key issues and best practices related to the social dimensions of mine closure at both active and abandoned mines. We also offer examples from our research of innovative approaches to community and stakeholder engagement.