Abstract
The Wangaloa open cast coal mine ceased operations in 1989, with no restoration of the 252 ha site, and moderate acid rock drainage developed. A major rehabilitation programme was initiated in 2002 with removal of exotic vegetation, and extensive planting (>60 000) of native seedlings was begun in 2003. By 2006, most seedlings were thriving, and, combined with adventive exotic weeds, a 70% vegetation cover had been achieved. The site substrates were highly variable on the 10-100 m
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scale, and have been characterised by paste pH (>700 measurements). In 2003, substrates had moderate acidity (pH = 4.5 ± 0.9) with distinctly acid patches (pH down to <2). By 2006, the average substrate pH was essentially unchanged. Some distinctly acid patches had higher pH, and one patch had apparently become more acid. Water compositions (>100 samples from 15 sites) were also highly variable spatially and temporally. Incoming stream and rainwater (pH 5-6) chemically interacted with acid substrates, especially waste rock piles that contain pyrite-bearing material, and evolved to lower pH (pH down to 3.4), sulfate-rich waters. A pit lake on the site receives most surface and groundwater runoff, and this lake, with a water residence time of 1-2 yr, controls the site discharge water quality. The lake pH varies on a monthly time-scale from 4.5 to 6.5, synchronised with pH variations in groundwater boreholes in waste rock. In addition, there has been a general increase in pH of the lake during rehabilitation from consistent pH 4.6-4.8 before rehabilitation to near pH 6 during rehabilitation. The sulfate/chloride ratio of lake water has decreased from 20 to <10 during rehabilitation as well. These changes in lake water composition from year to year may be a result of increased input of rainwater that has had less interaction with substrate than runoff water had before rehabilitation began.