IMAGE: At the Life of Mine Conference, our panel, Mikaela Jade (Indigital), Melinda Buckland (Rio Tinto), Jyi Lawton (AEMEE), and Chelsea Brand (Indigital), invited the audience to pause and reflect on something far bigger than the mine lifecycle.
Last month on beautiful Turrbal and Yuggera Country in Meanjin (Brisbane), the mining industry gathered for the annual AusIMM Life of Mine Conference. The conference brought together more than 900 delegates to explore the full mine lifecycle, from exploration and operations to closure, tailings management, and post-mining futures.
What if mining became the world’s most surprising force for restoration — of Country, of cultures, of communities?
It’s a bold question, one that challenges industry, communities, and government to imagine what comes after extraction. Not just healed landscapes, but thriving communities that benefit all.
As we shared on stage, this vision isn’t far off. It’s already taking root in Western Cape York through our Caring for Country program, co-created with Traditional Custodians and our delivery partner Rio Tinto. This long-term initiative blends emerging technologies with the world’s oldest living knowledge to support cultural revitalisation, environmental restoration, and sustainable livelihoods, designed and led by the communities themselves.
IMAGE: Aunty Andrewena Diane Nichols Pitt, Tjungundji Elder and Cultural Custodian from Mapoon — a member of the Caring for Country Aboriginal Community Reference Group, leading the program across the Western Cape.
Led by Custodians
Central to our work are the voices of community. They guide everything we do, and at the conference, the voices of the Caring for Country Aboriginal Community Reference Group were shared. The group is made up of respected Traditional Custodians from Mapoon, Weipa, Napranum, and Aurukun.
Their guidance shaped the conversation, with a clear message about life after mining: it must begin with justice and self-determination.
Land Back and Co-Management: Traditional Owners must have the authority to decide what healing looks like.
Laws that Empower: Native Title and cultural heritage laws should strengthen, not limit, community-led restoration.
Post-Mining with Purpose: Regenerated land should be used for cultural revitalisation, sustainable jobs, and biodiversity.
Funding Guided by Knowledge Holders: Rehabilitation dollars must be directed by those who know Country best.
“The future of post-mining Australia must be one where Country is not only healed but honoured. That can only happen if First Nations knowledge leads the way, supported – not overshadowed – by emerging technologies. Let us move forward with humility, with courage and with a commitment to justice – for the land, and for the people who have always belonged to it.”
Caring for Country Aboriginal Community Reference Group (representing Mapoon, Weipa, Napranum and Aurukun)
When Technology Meets the Oldest Living Knowledge
In Western Cape York, we’re beginning to see what’s possible when emerging technologies are placed in the hands of Traditional Custodians, and what they are imagining for their communities.
“This is not about replacing Indigenous knowledge, it’s about amplifying it with respectful, collaborative technologies.” Caring for Country Aboriginal Community Reference Group (representing Mapoon, Weipa, Napranum and Aurukun)
Communities are imagining futures where drones and satellite imaging track regrowth and water flow. AI platforms bring together environmental data and Traditional Ecological Knowledge. Bioremediation cleans heavy metals from soils and waterways, guided by those who know the rhythms of Country.
And then there’s the role of storytelling. Virtual and augmented reality are preserving cultural landscapes for future generations, allowing people to experience places that may be inaccessible post-mining.
In Western Cape York, we’re beginning to see what’s possible when emerging technologies are placed in the hands of Traditional Custodians, and what they are imagining for their communities.
“This is not about replacing Indigenous knowledge, it’s about amplifying it with respectful, collaborative technologies.” Caring for Country Aboriginal Community Reference Group (representing Mapoon, Weipa, Napranum and Aurukun)
Communities are imagining futures where drones and satellite imaging track regrowth and water flow. AI platforms bring together environmental data and Traditional Ecological Knowledge. Bioremediation cleans heavy metals from soils and waterways, guided by those who know the rhythms of Country.
And then there’s the role of storytelling. Virtual and augmented reality are preserving cultural landscapes for future generations, allowing people to experience places that may be inaccessible post-mining.
IMAGE: On Country with APN Rangers as they explore new ways of mapping using Lidar scanning.
Seeing Beyond Rehabilitation
Guided by the Caring for Country Aboriginal Community Reference Group, our vision for post-mining Australia goes far beyond repairing the past, it’s about creating thriving futures imagined by those who know the land best. When the path forward is led by Traditional Custodians, restoration becomes more than a process, it becomes transformation.
Restoration is the start. Transformation is the goal.
