Getting Closure

In the final episode of the third season of Getting Closure, host Mike O’Kane explores some of the less conventional options for putting a worked-out mine to good use. His guest is  Peter Whitbread-Abrutat, co-author of  102 Things to Do With a Hole in the Ground  and a leading proponent of progressive and sustainable mine closure. Illustrating his argument with examples from around the world, Pet...

Much of the work involved in mine closure and reclamation might seem to be invested in handling earth, water, and waste. But as guest Christine Daly tells host Mike O’Kane, reclamation is also about bridging the divide between engineering and biology and recognizing that successful mine closure can include “bringing something to life again.” At least half of the LDI’s 12 principles of landform des...

For those listeners well versed in the mandate of the LDI, many of the ideas expressed in the latest episode of Getting Closure will sound familiar. Guest Guy Boggs is the chief executive officer of the Cooperative Research Centre for Transformations in Mining Economies (CRC TIME) in Perth, Australia, an organization that — like the LDI — is dedicated to examining and helping transform what happen...

In the fall of 2019, as the Landform Design Institute was starting up in Vancouver, Canada,  Priscilla Nelson  was organizing a likeminded organization in the United States. Launched in early 2020, The Tailings Center is an industry/university research and education collaboration between the Colorado School of Mines, Colorado State University, and the University of Arizona. The Center focuses on e...

Host Mike O’Kane explores principles 9, 10, 11, and 12 with Institute Founder Gord McKenna, concluding the three-episode discussion of all 12 landform design principles.  The pair explain why it’s important to follow every drop of water through the landscape (Principle 9), reclaim a mine progressively (Principle 10), plan for sustainable closure (Principle 11), and share the lessons of both failur...

Host Mike O’Kane once again welcomes LDI founder and chair, Gord McKenna to the show. O’Kane, co-chair of the Institute’s technical advisors, discusses with McKenna four principles that put the “nitty-gritty” of landform design into practice.  These four principles cover: working at spatial and temporal scales simultaneously (Principle 5); building and reclaiming landforms and landscapes using exi...

In the first episode of Season 3 of Getting Closure,” host Mike O’Kane sits down with LDI founder and chair, Gord McKenna, to characterize the first four principles of landform design. O’Kane and McKenna describe what it means to “keep the land in mind” and how to create a vision for reclaimed land, which depends heavily on establishing trust between the mine, shareholders, and Indigenous peoples....

In a preview of Season 3 of Getting Closure, host Mike O’Kane, Co-Chair of the LDI's Technical Advisors and a member of the Board, sits down with LDI Founder and Chair Gord McKenna to discuss why the 12 principles of landform design are so important. The first episode of the new season will appear the week of August 19. The conversation will focus on the first 4 of the 12 principles.

We all know how gravity works … inherently, we know which way is up. We are also all well versed in our world’s push for renewable energy — so-called green energy. And there is growing discssion in our industry on its capacity to achieve our closure objectives and transform our mined land into a future, or post mining land use, which brings value to rightsholders, stakeholders, and the communities...

Lois Boxill is a member of the LDI's Board of Directors for good reason, not the least of which is a unique perspective on how to approach a wide variety of subjects involving mine closure — and her ability to apply ideas and experiences from further afield to the tasks involved in landform design.

Season 2 of Getting Closure  continues to explore the principles and people behind responsible mine closure and reclamation, beginning with an interview with a giant in the field, Dr. Andy Robertson. Andy is the "R" in SRK consulting, the creator of the first database for ore-deposit modelling and open-pit mine software that ran on personal computers, and InfoMine, one of the first attempts t...

Getting Closure heads to the Elk Valley in southeastern British Columbia for its first video episode to explore a mine that's already embraced the basics of landform design. Mike talks with John Pumphrey, the president of North Coal, and Robert "Stubby" Williams, the company's First Nations coordinator. They discuss how North Coal has prioritized collaboration, Indigenous and community concerns, a...

The first principle of landform design is mine with the end in mind and create a shared vision among the mine, local communities, and Indigenous peoples. In this episode, Mike O'Kane discusses how to turn that principle into practice with the help of Sean Willy, CEO of the Des Nedhe Group in Saskatchewan. Together they examine the value of Indigenous leadership and participation in closure plannin...

In Episode 3, Mike O'Kane interviews Corinne Unger , an Australia-based specialist in mine rehabilitation and closure planning who has undertaken research on abandoned mines and post-mining land use around the world and is currently working on her PhD. Their conversation, conducted over Skype between Calgary and Brisbane, covers the importance of good mentors, navigating an industry where women ar...

In Episode 2, Mike O'Kane interviews Mark Logsdon for the second episode of Getting Closure. Mark specializes in geochemistry and mineralogy, and has worked on some 250 mining projects during a career spanning almost 50 years. Geology, mentorship, the importance of visiting as many mines as possible, and even playing hockey against Ken Dryden, figured prominently in the discussion. Mark emphasizes...

For the inaugural episode of "Getting Closure," Landform Design Institute founder Gord McKenna and Mike O’Kane, Chair of the LDI's Technical Advisory Panel, got together Feb. 12, 2020, at the Fairmont Hotel of the Vancouver International Airport to discuss the origins, goals, and plans of the Institute. They draw on their own professional histories, and exchange several stories on approaches to la...