Chariah remediation project
Chariah is a former gold tailings reprocessing site that contained mineral processing infrastructure, a tailings storage facility and process water dam.
The former operator of the site, Chariah Holdings, went into liquidation after the operation was closed due to compliance issues. The site was abandoned in 1992, before formal rehabilitation took place.
In 1994, we capped the tailings storage facility (approximately 8 hectares) to permanently encapsulate the tailings and minimise contaminated runoff from the facility. The work included a 200mm thick clay cap over a 200mm sand capillary break layer on the tailings surface and works to drain surface waters. The clay cap was seeded with pasture grasses and legumes.
The remaining 14 hectares of site were remediated in a 2024–25 works program which included decommissioning the process water dam as well as encapsulating a smaller residual tailings cell.
- View a glossary of mining terms used on this page.
Project snapshot
Region: North Queensland
Location: 4km east of Charters Towers, Latitude -20.081999, Longitude 146.291534
Commodity: Gold
Mining type: Processing and tailings storage
Date of abandonment: June 1992
Status: Care and maintenance
Native title interest: Gudjala People represented by the Ngrragoonda Aboriginal Corporation RNTBC
Public land registers: Listed on the Environmental Management Register
Photo gallery
Key risks
Environmental risks associated with long-term integrity of the capped tailings storage facility and associated landforms across site, including durability through extreme weather events.
Completed works
- Fencing to restrict public access.
- Contaminated land assessment of contaminated material on site.
- Capping of the tailings storage facility (TSF).
- Land management activities including vegetation management
- Environmental sampling and monitoring
- TSF stabilisation works along Gladstone Creek completed November 2023
- Remediation works associated with Process Water Pond Decommissioning in 2024-25, including:
- dewatering
- consolidation and encapsulation of contaminated mine waste
- reprofiling and stabilisation of landforms
- installation of suitable long-term drainage structures.
- minor reprofiling of the previously capped TSF surface to improve rainfall runoff
- establishment of a vegetated cover to disturbed landforms.
Planned works
- Ongoing routine monitoring and maintenance.