Resolving ecosystem complexity in ecological risk assessment for mine site rehabilitation.

Context: Ecological Risk Assessments (ERAs) are important tools for supporting evidence-based decision making. However, most ERA frameworks rarely consider complex ecological feedbacks, which limit their capacity to evaluate risks at community and ecosystem levels of organisation.

Method: We used qualitative mathematical modelling to add additional perspectives to previously conducted ERAs for the rehabilitation of the Ranger uranium mine (Northern Territory, Australia) and support an assessment of the cumulative risks from the mine site.

Mapping magnesium sulfate salts from saline mine discharge with airborne hyperspectral data.

Managing saline water discharges from mining operations is a global environmental challenge. Measuring the location and extent of surface efflorescence can indicate solute movement before changes in electrical conductivity (EC) are detected in waterways. We hypothesised through the use of a case study that ground-based reflectance spectrometry and airborne hyperspectral (450-2500 nm) analysis of surface efflorescence could be a rapid method for monitoring large regions of the surrounding environment, including downstream of remote mines.