How BHP’s Yandi SPA project is “building a better future”.
As BHP’s Yandi iron ore mine in the Pilbara nears its end, an award-winning project is pioneering the future of mining land rehabilitation. The site is one of the most significant in BHP’s history and, in 2017, it became the second WA-based iron ore mine to produce one billion tonnes in its lifetime.
The land, located 90km north-west of Newman, is now beginning progressive closure, and doing so in a manner that has been applauded by the wider industry.
Last year, the Yandi Seed Production Area (SPA) took out the Excellence in Environmental Management and Sustainability category at the Australian Mining Prospects Awards for tackling one of the biggest challenges in mine restoration: a widespread scarcity of native seeds, made worse by a changing climate.
Thousands of hectares of land require revegetation each year. While native seeds have traditionally been sourced from the wild, innovative and sustainable approaches are now emerging to support biodiversity and ensure long-term health, allowing restoration of landscapes without compromising existing ecosystems.
BHP trialled a new method at its Yandi iron ore mine in the Pilbara in 2023, establishing an SPA focus on three species of Triodia (spinifex), grasses that define the region’s ecology.
“The initial trial was based on building a spinifex farm, basically to see if we could grow and harvest the seeds without going in and destroying a natural ecosystem,” BHP Yandi superintendent of site rehabilitation Daniel Colbung said. “After that, we sat down as a team and thought about the best ways possible to safely and sustainably harvest spinifex.”
This trial showed spinifex can produce hundreds of kilograms of seed per hectare using existing mining infrastructure, offering a scalable alternative to wild native seed collections.
“What we discovered exceeded our expectations,” Colbung said. “By growing native seeds, with these grasses on site, we can now produce hundreds of seeds per hectare using infrastructure we already have.”
With rainfall becoming less predictable, managed SPAs provide a stable seed supply and reduce pressure on wild populations, supporting climate resilience and rehabilitation success.
“There were no major costs involved, and it was just an innovative project that we implemented from the ground up,” Colbung said. “There was something we thought we could do, something simple and something safe. It was just an innovative idea that was developed from the group up.”
Recognising that ecological and social restoration are interdependent, this initiative is linked to the Banjima Land Rehabilitation Partnership (BLRP), one of BHP’s community partnerships that supports Indigenous employment and career pathways through site rehabilitation.
The success of this trial as an alternative to traditional seed collection offers a triple benefit: a scalable solution that uses existing infrastructure; protection of wild ecosystems; and supporting Indigenous employment pathways.
“Thank you to everyone who made this possible, our team, our project partners and all of you who believe that innovations and sustainability can go hand in hand,” Colbung said.
“Together, we’re not just fixing the land, we’re building a better future.”
The Excellence in Environmental Management and Sustainability was proudly sponsored by Quarry.