Baal Gammon remediation project
The Baal Gammon mine is an open-cut copper mine located 20km west of Herberton, in Far North Queensland. It was abandoned in 2019 after the mine operator’s mining lease was cancelled due to compliance issues. It has been actively managed by the Department of Natural Resources and Mines, Manufacturing and Regional and Rural Development through the Abandoned Mine Lands Program. Mining at Baal Gammon occurred for more than 100 years, with open cut operations taking place between 2011 and 2016.
The site has an open-cut pit, a waste dump, a lined water storage pond, hardstand areas and limited staff facilities. There are shafts and adits (passages) that connect to historical underground workings. There is no ore processing infrastructure or tailings dams at the site, as all ore was moved offsite for processing.
The waste rock onsite is highly mineralised, and when interacting with water can produce acidic leachate with elevated heavy metals. Therefore, the focus is on reducing the generation of contaminated water, and then intercepting, containing and managing residual water onsite. Water volumes are reduced by treating followed by disposal through a combination of evaporation, irrigation or release, as appropriate. This ensures sufficient storage capacity for future rain events.
There is an extensive history of contamination within the adjacent Jamie Creek due to a combination of geological factors and more than a century of mining. Queensland Health has advised that water within Jamie Creek is not suitable for drinking, domestic or recreational purposes. Jamie Creek flows into the Walsh River during the wet season, however this has negligible impact on water quality.
- View a glossary of mining terms used on this page.
Project snapshot
Region: North Queensland
Location: 20km west of Herberton on the Atherton Tablelands, Latitude -17.382700, Longitude 145.328500
Commodity: Copper
Mining type: Open cut
Date of abandonment: May 2019
Status: Primary remediation completed with ongoing care-and-maintenance activities
Native title interest: Bar-Barrum people represented by the Bar-Barrum Aboriginal Corporation
Public land registers: Listed on the Environmental Management Register
Photo gallery
Key risks
Environmental risks associated with:
- residual seepage from the capped waste rock dump
- potential for pit overfilling (due to an extreme rainfall event or gradual accumulation of water) leading to an uncontrolled release of contaminated water, impacting downstream water quality.
Health and safety risks associated with:
- potential failure of the earth wall surrounding the mine pit if over-topping occurs
- injuries to unauthorised persons accessing the site.
Completed works
- Installation of improved pumping systems, water treatment infrastructure and evaporation equipment.
- Removal of waste material from site.
- Testing and characterisation of waste rock across site.
- Consolidation of acid-forming material within the pit cutback area, followed by capping and installation of clean water diversions.
- Capping of the acid rock waste dump.
- Revegetation activities across the site.
- Installation of clean-water diversions, erosion controls and passive limestone rock drains.
Planned works
- Ongoing site management, including preventing unauthorised entry to site, operation and maintenance of pumping systems (including seepage pump-back system), and environmental monitoring.
- Undertaking water management activities where practical, involving treatment followed by disposal through a combination of evaporation, irrigation or release, as appropriate.
- Monitoring and maintenance of remediated areas, as required.
- Progressive revegetation activities using native plants.