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Future of the Site

EnergyAustralia is working to see the mine void filled with water to create a lake.

This is our plan to make the site safe, stable and sustainable.  

To achieve this vision, we will consult with experts, Gunaikurnai people, local community, government and stakeholders.

We are focused on

1. Decommissioning the site to make it safe, stable and sustainable.
2. Rehabilitating the site and preparing it for potential future uses.

As a step towards this, we are focused on:

• Carefully filling the mine voids to approximately reduced level (RL) 37m with water. This will require approximately 665 gigalitres (GL) of water in line with the recommendations of, and restrictions proposed by, the Victorian Government’s Latrobe Valley Regional Rehabilitation Strategy.
• Maintaining the Morwell River Diversion (MRD) in its current location with some improvement works to facilitate longer term stability.
• Works to allow the current conveyor tunnels which run through the MRD to be used as tunnels to transfer water between the pit lake.  
• Reshaping the mine walls (batters) to create the final landform.  
• Protection of existing conservation areas.
• Removal of surface water barriers that have been required during operations to reinstate natural flow directions which will allow water to enter the pit and improve ground stability
• Construction of spillways in the MRD to allow Morwell River and Latrobe River flood flows to enter the pit lakes to protect the MRD.  
• Construction of a lake overflow in northeast corner of the East Field to direct lake spill to the Latrobe River. 

A lake was first proposed by the State Electricity Commission as the rehabilitation solution for the Yallourn mine in the early to mid-1990s. Since then, decades of further modelling and investigations by industry experts and EnergyAustralia Yallourn have supported this approach.

Our draft Declared Mine Rehabilitation Plan (DMRP) was on public consultation until 18 August, 2025.

Beyond rehabilitation of the mine site, the Yallourn site offers numerous unique opportunities to the local community. The site has the potential to host new recreation, economic, energy and environment opportunities. EnergyAustralia is focussed on creating a site that has the potential to enable these opportunities.