Mining legacies are manifest in multiple ways. One of these relates to heritage values of former mining places which may contribute to regional identity and potentially tourism. Changes in mining methods and technologies make it economically feasible to re-open some mines that previously closed due to market factors, ore grades or difficulties in accessing residual mineral deposits. In this paper, we consider the factors affecting the social licence for proposed renewed mining activity in a post-mining town (Kapunda, South Australia). We examined how residents of Kapunda view the mining sector in general and how it fits with town identity. Focus groups and interviews explored the extent to which a potential renewed mining industry would align to community values, considering the possible application of copper in-situ recovery (ISR) for an historic deposit in the town. The research found that participants were open to the prospect of a new copper ISR operation, provided it was well managed, environmentally responsible, and able to align with tourism. The paper concludes that an important dimension of social licence for re-opening mines is whether new mining could occur in a way that doesn't undermine the heritage values associated with a former mining legacy.

采矿遗产以多种方式表现出来。其中之一与前矿区的遗产价值有关，这可能有助于区域特色和潜在的旅游业。采矿方法和技术的变化使得重新开放一些以前因市场因素、矿石品位或难以获得剩余矿藏而关闭的矿山在经济上是可行的。在本文中，我们考虑了影响采矿后城镇（南澳大利亚卡彭达）提议的重新采矿活动的社会许可的因素。我们研究了 Kapunda 居民对采矿业的总体看法以及它与城镇身份的契合度。焦点小组和访谈探讨了潜在更新的采矿业在多大程度上与社区价值观保持一致，考虑可能将铜原位回收 (ISR) 应用于该镇的一个历史矿床。研究发现，参与者对新的铜 ISR 运营前景持开放态度，前提是该运营管理良好、对环境负责并且能够与旅游业保持一致。该论文得出的结论是，重新开放矿山的社会许可的一个重要方面是新的采矿活动是否能够以不破坏与前采矿遗产相关的遗产价值的方式进行。