Newmont is committed to leaving a positive legacy for the communities and the environment where we operate. In part, this commitment means developing an integrated approach to closure that takes into account community and environmental issues, and reclaiming disturbed land for beneficial use after our mines close.

Planning for closure and reclamation begins during the earliest stages of project development, before operations start at a new site, and continues during the development of the mine. Our goal is to minimize the disturbance of land in our exploration activities. We reclaim all disturbed ground, with the exception of roads if the local community or government wants them left intact.

Environmental closure

Disturbed land is reclaimed progressively during the mine's life. Our Closure and Reclamation Technical Team develops and applies a system that ensures the approach to site closure and reclamation, including the costs, are consistently evaluated and reported at every stage of the mine life cycle.

In developing and implementing reclamation plans, Newmont seeks to apply a new scientific approach to address mineral waste generated from the extraction of precious metals. At several of our sites, we have pioneered techniques that have been shared in the industry as scientifically proven approaches to mine site closure and reclamation worldwide. All operations look to balance environmental solutions with post-mining beneficial land use.

Our rehabilitation and closure plans are designed to ensure:

• Rehabilitation and closure stabilizes the site and its associated structures over time.
• Any water discharging from the site and any groundwater under the site will be of a quality such that it will not adversely affect aquatic life, or other users of the water resource.

To restore the landscape for future uses such as ranching, recreation or wildlife habitat protection, we progressively rehabilitate areas of disturbed land in the mining area, which offers a number of advantages:

• Improves the visual appearance of the disturbed areas.
• Establishes a cover to provide erosion control.
• Improves runoff water quality by minimizing silt loads.
• Controls dust.

Social closure

Closing a mine can have a significant impact on local communities. As such, in the earliest stages of project development, we engage with our stakeholders to ensure the value that is created during the mine operation is translated into lasting programs within the communities. Sites are required to set up a process for reviewing and updating closure plans regularly with external stakeholders over the life of the mine.