Glencore's Westside open-cut coal mine at Lake Macquarie has received government certification for a section of its rehabilitated mined land, a first for the state's coal industry under contemporary mine rehabilitation criteria.
The mine, near Wakefield, produced coal for domestic power generators between 1992 and 2012.
The government sign-off on 38 hectares of the rehabilitation means the project has met all rehabilitation objectives and closure criteria set out by the Department of Planning and Environment.
Westside environment and community manager Ben Clibborn said the mine had maintained a strong focus on progressive rehabilitation during its operations and set a high standard after it closed.
"The site has been returned to bushland consisting of native vegetation communities that are characteristic of the local environment landform type," he said.
Recent surveys identified 69 native fauna species and 11 threatened species.
"We're very pleased to have reached a point at which this area of rehabilitation has been accepted by government as meeting completion criteria," Mr Clibborn said.
The certification for Westside follows a similar first for coal mine rehabilitation at Glencore's Newlands operations in Queensland's Bowen Basin.
