DECODING NATURE FOR REHABILITATION

ANGLO AMERICAN IS USING NATURE'S DNA TO ADD A POWERFUL NEW LAYER OF EVIDENCE TO MINE REHABILITATION ACROSS THE BOWEN BASIN.

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For decades, mine rehabilitation has relied on what could be seen and counted. Plants surveyed, animals spotted, waterways inspected.

But at Anglo American's steelmaking coal operations in Queensland's Bowen Basin, a new layer of evidence is being added, one invisible to the eye but rich in detail. Using science familiar from forensic investigations, the miner is turning to environmental DNA to understand how life is returning.

Environmental DNA, or eDNA, captures microscopic traces of genetic material shed by plants, animals, bacteria and fungi into soil, water and air.

Environment teams across Anglo American's five Bowen Basin mine sites are collecting these samples to detect species living in, or passing through, rehabilitated areas and mining offsets.

“Every plant, animal or insect leaves behind tiny fragments of DNA in water, soil or air,” Anglo American environmental manager Jason Fittler said. “By analysing those samples, we can build a detailed picture of what species are living in or moving through our rehabilitated sites.”