OCC Rehabilitation Projects Continue

Madison (Madie) Bennett recently moved from water management to now being an advisor on Biodiversity and Assurance, with a focus on land rehab and biodiversity. Madie shares some of the recent rehab successes and what’s underway for 2026.

Land rehabilitation is an important responsibility for OCC as part of the social contract for our operations. It’s an ongoing process and often slow process. As Madie says, “The longest part of the mining rehabilitation process is waiting for the vegetation to grow. Ensuring that we set up the land for vegetation success is key for hitting future progressive certification milestones.”

Some 2025 highlights include hitting new milestones for our Progressive Rehabilitation Certification (PRC), increasing our total PRC hectares to just under 3,000 ha with an approval issued in March 2025. A further two applications are currently under assessment by the Queensland Department of Environment, Tourism, Science and Innovation (DETSI).

OCC’s rehab progress continued in 2025, as we completed 318.51 hectares of rehab. “This work included everything from land prep and bulk earthwork through to seeding for a land area equivalent to over half of Hamilton Island,” says Madie. “We also monitored just over 200 land-ecology monitoring points, called transects, to check ecosystem progress, health and vegetation growth.”

“We’re really fortunate to have thriving forested areas over 30 years of age on-site, with the accompanying photos taken 21 years apart from the A3 open-cut pit rehab area showing the progress that can be made. While day-to-day progress can look slow, it’s satisfying to see the results over the longer term,” continues Madie.

What’s happening in 2026?

This year, OCC’s E&C team is working with a Senior Rehabilitation Engineer to ensure landform designs are executable and sustainable, while reaching all our closure criteria. We’re also trialling a new seeding method, using drones to drop seed pods which aims to improve the germination rate of seedlings.

The team is also working on dynamic schedules for rehab planning and scheduling, with comprehensive monitoring, progress assurance and reporting across land areas.

We also continue to work through the Progressive Rehabilitation and Closure Plan (PRCP), with this now in final discussions with the Department of Environment, Tourism, Science, and Innovation (DETSI).