Herberton tailings storage facility remediation project
The Herberton tailings storage facility was constructed in 1965 to receive tailings from the nearby mill operated by Great Northern Mining Corporation (GNMC). The mill, located on the opposite bank of the Wild River, operated from the late 1800s until 1983. The primary product was tin, although copper and antimony concentrates were also produced. The mill, plant, equipment and buildings were dismantled and removed in the early 1980s.
The tailings storage facility was surrendered to the Queensland Government in 1989 and is now managed by us.
Rehabilitation activities between 1997 and 2000 consisted of earthworks to form diversion banks and drains and eventual capping with an impermeable clay layer to limit water flow through the tailings and direct water off the tailings storage facility.
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Project snapshot
Region: North Queensland
Location: 60km south-west of Cairns on the Atherton Tablelands, Latitude -17.383287, Longitude 145.381251
Commodity: Tin
Mining type: Mineral processing and tailings storage
Date of abandonment: October 1989
Status: Ongoing management and monitoring
Native title interest: Jirrbal People represented by Wabubadda Aboriginal Corporation RNTBC
Public land registers: Portions listed on the Environmental Management Register
Photo gallery
Key risks
Environmental risks associated with:
- residual seepage from the capped tailings storage facility potentially leading to localised water quality impacts within the Wild River
- the placement of the tailings facility across a gully and in close proximity to the Wild River, spanning multiple private and government-managed land tenures, which contributes to the complexity of site management and constrains alternate long-term management options.
Completed works
- Capping of the tailings storage facility in 1997.
- Installation of groundwater monitoring bores to facilitate regular water quality monitoring.
- Removal of mineralised sediments at the toe of the tailings storage facility
- Placement of limestone rock at the toe of the tailings storage facility to assist in passive treatment of seepage water
- Installation of a culvert and drainage system to minimise public exposure to seepage from the capped tailings storage facility.
Planned works
- Installation of telemetry and ongoing environmental monitoring of the capped tailings storage facility and Wild River.
- Continuing exploration of feasible alternate options for long-term management.