Location
Australia
Evolution commits to responsible environmental stewardship and sustainable legacies for communities throughout the mine life cycle. Mt Rawdon Operations is showcasing this commitment through diverse initiatives as it transitions towards closure.
In late 2026, in partnership with the Burnett Mary Regional Group and First Nations partners, Mt Rawdon commenced a land rehabilitation and natural capital enhancement shared value project. It aims to support the integration of cultural burning, native seed harvesting and natural capital enhancement as part of the mine’s rehabilitation and revegetation efforts. This will occur over a two-year period at Swindon Station, the property adjacent to the mine. There has been a series of environmental and cultural assessments, cultural burning and cool burning. During recent work, Traditional Owner land managers identified a culturally significant scarred tree, which enabled connection to culture and stories, and showcased the importance of embedding Indigenous knowledge, cultural practices and perspectives into land management and closure.
Mt Rawdon also engaged third-party facilitator Red Earth Community Foundation to prepare the Mount Perry Action Plan. It aims to create a shared vision for the Mount Perry community following the closure of Mt Rawdon. Informed by a series of stakeholder engagement sessions, the Plan sets out the key interests, priorities and capabilities of local stakeholders, outlining different project and funding opportunities. In line with the outcomes of the plan, Mt Rawdon has contributed $60,000 to support swimming lessons for local children for years to come. Read more in this news article.
Mt Rawdon was proud to progress their partnership under the Australian Federal Government’s Resources Technology and Critical Minerals Trailblazer Program and the Trailblazer Agreement with The University of Queensland. One year into a three-year agreement, the primary objectives include developing an innovative time- and cost-effective process for scaling up tailings rehabilitation so we can assess the performance of tailings storage vegetation cover, building on work completed in partnership with CSIRO (see previous case study here and CSIRO ‘Mine waste water treatment’ page). Paul Wright, Sustainability Manager, and Paul Dielemans, Senior Advisor – Environment and Mine Closure, from our Mt Rawdon Operations, visited the laboratory and glasshouse trials at The University of Queensland Sustainable Minerals Institute (SMI). After reviewing the vegetation trials under controlled conditions and collecting learnings for the operation regarding vegetation and weed management, our people reflected that “The facilities are very impressive, and it is inspiring to watch innovative and young people doing great things for sustainable mining.” On site, full-scale trials comprising engineered ‘store and release’ cover designs have been constructed and various sensors are in place to measure performance.
These initiatives and programs enable us and the industry to set a benchmark for legacy-focused rehabilitation and closure.
