Highlands Environmental proposes to pull soil from Fairbairn Dam for surrounding mine rehabilitation

The proposed project would extract 10M tonnes of soil from a local dam to rehabilitate used mining land across Central Queensland.

A project proposal has outlined the use of the extensive natural soil resource exposed at Fairbairn Dam when levels are low.

The proposed extraction of 10 million tonnes (mt) of soil at a Central Queensland dam could be used to rehabilitate land used by surrounding coal mines.

According to Highlands Environmental, coal mines across Central Queensland have not preserved sufficient soil resources for rehabilitation of mined land.

The Lake Maraboon Soil Salvage Project, by Highlands Environmental, aims to extract soil from Emerald’s Fairbairn Dam over 15 years, creating a reliable and significant source of soil for about 12 coal mines across the region.

The proposed project would cover a total soil excavation area of about 2,277 hectares on the eastern side of Lake Maraboon, about 18km south of Emerald, near Gindie.

Highlands Environmental revealed that area would suit best due to its access to regional roads and surrounding highways.

If the project were to be approved, the storage capacity of Lake Maraboon would increase by about 8,000 ML over 15 years, an amount equivalent to the storage capacity of the nearby Bingegang Weir.

According to the project proposal, the site contains natural soil formed in situ from underlying basalt rock parent material, which is not silt or sediment because of the dam.

The project site within Lake Maraboon near Gindie in the Central Highlands, showing the two salvage phases of the project (orange is phase one and purple is phase two).

“During these extended periods when the live capacity of the dam is less than 100 per cent, an extensive insitu resource of natural soil is exposed,” the proposal stated.

“The project intends to salvage and remove a portion of this soil at a rate of up to 1mt per year, for use in coal mine rehabilitation programs throughout Central Queensland.

“This novel project generates revenue for SunWater, increases the storage capacity of Fairbairn Dam, creates jobs in the regional community, stimulates the regional economy, and supports the Queensland Government policy objective of better mine rehabilitation outcomes.”

Up to 60 full time jobs would be created as part of the project and activities would be limited to the salvage and transportation of soil, and land revegetation.

“There will be no processing of the soil or other environmentally relevant activities conducted on site,” the proposal stated.

The excavation area would be limited to no more than 250ha at a time, moving in a strip-by-strip fashion across the project site, salvaging soil, and revegetating land as it progresses.

Revegetation would focus on rapid establishment of pasture for erosion control and visual amenity rather than planting trees or shrubs, as the fluctuating water level of the dam would inevitably submerge those areas in the future.

Originally published as Highlands Environmental proposes to pull soil from Fairbairn Dam for surrounding mine rehabilitation