MRM's Biodiversity and Land Management Standard requires all operations to progressively rehabilitate disturbed and contaminated land. We have procedures in place to ensure that disturbance is minimised and that, once land is disturbed, it is rehabilitated to an agreed land use.

At MRM , the rechannelling of the McArthur River and Barney Creek as part of the open pit development program altered the riverine and riparian environments. The rehabilitation of these environments was a high priority for the early establishment of the ecosystem in both the waterways and surrounding areas. This also plays an important part of ensuring the stability of the new channels to prevent erosion.

Our aim is to recreate the natural environment by using plants that are native to each area and environment type. To plan for this, studies were conducted of the environment to identify the plant species and their natural density.

The rehabilitation of the new McArthur River and Barney Creek channels was designed to provide a suitable environment for fish passage and to establish a functioning riverine ecosystem by:

• including large woody debris along the channel bed and creating shallow pools to provide micro-habitats for fish
• revegetating the banks using seeds and seedlings from local species already growing along the river bank, using appropriate soils and fine sediments on the channel banks to promote root development, recreating rocky crevices and banks
• maintaining, monitoring and replacing plants and weeds as necessary.

Other areas of interest

Xstrata Zinc Australia Sustainability Report 2010

More information

Fact sheet - August 2011: Rehabilitation of McArthur River and Barney Creek