Overview
Background
Corinne seeks to understand the organizing practices and processes that gradually and invisibly create risks that can worsen over time to become catastrophic. These ‘insidious risks’ were the focus of Corinne’s PhD in the UQ Business School where she identified three ways, on a spectrum of ways these risks are managed: blinkered, law-abiding and attentive. With more than 30 years’ experience in the mining sector, government, consulting and research, Corinne built upon her earth sciences background in mine rehabilitation and closure to become a qualitative researcher through her PhD. This provided a new lens and insights on how organisations manage elongated insidious risks, not only for mine affected water and land disturbance in mining but also during the progressive failure of the insurance market for extreme weather, in her postdoctoral research. In a voluntary capacity Corinne formed and led an ISO standards working group to finalise ISO 24419 Managing Mining Legacies in 2023 providing the first international standard on this topic together with case studies and a bibliography. She represents AusIMM in her standards work. Since 2019 Corinne has been a Board Member of the Victorian Government’s Mine Land Rehabilitation Authority providing oversight for three brown coal mine closures in the Latrobe Valley. Prior to her PhD Corinne developed the field of research in managing abandoned/legacy mines in the Centre for Mined Land Rehabilitation, SMI following her Churchill Fellowship research in 2009.
Availability
- Dr Corinne Unger is:
- Not available for supervision
- Media expert
Fields of research
Qualifications
- Diploma of Education & Teaching, Macquarie University
- Bachelor of Earth Sciences, Macquarie University
- Postgraduate Diploma of Physical Geography and Environmental Geoscience, Macquarie University
- Doctor of Philosophy of Management Studies, The University of Queensland
Research interests
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Risk Management
Insidious risks are slow growing inconspicuous risks, socially constructed by networks of people interacting with objects. These risks can grow unseen to become potentially catastrophic. In a mining context, Corinne examined how the insidious risks of land disturbance and mine affected water are managed. This research made visible what was previously hidden so that an audit of organisational activities can detect a catastrophe in the making.
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Practice theory
Corinne applied Schatzki's practice theory to the social phenomenon of insidious risk management and continues to developed her social science expertise by applying practice and process perspectives in strategy research. Practice theory enables the complexity of social phenomena, and their dynamic and evolving nature to be captured and understood, thereby equipping managers with a means of intervening constructively and strategically.
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Abandoned /legacy mine management
There are estimated to be in excess of 50,000 abandoned mines in Australia from very small to large polluting sites with more than $2 billion in liability from these legacies in QLD and NT alone. Building upon Corinne's Churchill Fellowship research and experience as an abandoned mine manager for the Queensland government she with colleagues at the Centre for Mined Land Rehabilitation developed a jurisdictional maturity model. This model provides guidance on how to successfully manage mining legacies, thus providing an implementation tool for Australia's national policy for managing abandoned mines.
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Mine rehabilitation and closure
Effective life-of-mine planning ensures there is a vision that is being implemented to achieve the post-mining landscape which is safe, stable, non-polluting and has sustainable land uses. Stakeholder participation is essential if the social connections to, and local knowledge about, mines are to be understood and incorporated into rehabilitation and closure. When regulatory requirements address only the biophysical aspects of transitioning through closure, the social dimensions are overlooked.
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Beneficial post-mining land use
Many opportunities exist in Australia for environmental and socio-economic regeneration after mining. Mining heritage conservation and its adaptive re-use have rejuvenated communities in Cornwall England and former East Germany when integrated with regenerative planning. The value of some mines in Australia have been extended via secondary mining or tourism uses, while indigenous reconciliation needs to be at the heart of mine rehabilitation and transition where mines did not have free prior and informed consent from the start, such as at the Rum Jungle legacy mine.
Research impacts
Corinne's research developed the phenomenon of insidious risk management that explains and integrates past risk management research of particular features of this type of inconspicuous and slow growing risk, formerly studied as latent, crescive, creeping, incubating and slow-developing catastrophic risk. Her doctoral research makes the less visible, visible and provides a means of detecting a catastrophe in the making so it can be intervened upon, in preference to only learning of the related activities and participants through formal inquiries that retrospectively analyse catastrophes.
Prior research reveals the dynamic and evolving practice of mine rehabilitation and closure over 40 years in Australia. Corinne's research shows how the practice is shaped by those within the organisation together with external stakeholders. Her retrosepective study also informed the Senate inquiry into 'Rehabilitation of mining and resources projects as it relates to Commonwealth responsibilities' (2019). Unger, C. J., Everingham, J., & Bond, C. J. (2020). Transition or transformation: shifting priorities and stakeholders in Australian mined land rehabilitation and closure. Australasian Journal of Environmental Management, 1-30. doi:10.1080/14486563.2020.1719440
Corinne's Churchill Fellowship research provides guidance on leading practice abandoned mine rehabilitation and post-mining land use that can be applied in Australia. With colleagues Lechner, Kenway, Glenn and Walton at the CMLR at UQ in 2015 Corinne developed a Jurisdictional maturity model for risk management accountability and continual improvement of abandoned mine remediation programs. This model provides an implementation framework for Australian governments to apply Australia's Strategic Framework for managing abandoned mines.
Works
Search Professor Corinne Unger’s works on UQ eSpace
1991
Conference Publication
Rehabilitation of the Ranger Minesite in proceedings of, Planning for environmental change: Conservation and development in North Australia, NARU Conference, 16-18 Sep 1991, Darwin
Unger C J and Milne A R (1991). Rehabilitation of the Ranger Minesite in proceedings of, Planning for environmental change: Conservation and development in North Australia, NARU Conference, 16-18 Sep 1991, Darwin. North Australia Research Uni conference - Planning for Environmental Change: conservation and development in North Australia, Darwin, 18-18 September 1991. Darwin: NARU.
1990
Conference Publication
The chemical contributions to the composition of Ranger Uranium Mine waste water from waste rock, paper presented at the Australian Society of Limnology conference
noller B N, East T J, Uren C J, Curley P M and Unger C J (1990). The chemical contributions to the composition of Ranger Uranium Mine waste water from waste rock, paper presented at the Australian Society of Limnology conference. Australian society of limnology conference, jabiru, April 1990.
1989
Journal Article
Soil conservation management of the SKITUBE project, Kosciusko national Park, NSW
Unger C J and Shepherd T (1989). Soil conservation management of the SKITUBE project, Kosciusko national Park, NSW. Australian Journal of Soil and Water Conservation, Vol 2 No. 2.
1989
Conference Publication
Application of natural hillslope characteristics to the design of rehabilitation mine structures in tropical Northern Australia
East, T. J., Uren, C. J., Cull, R. F., Curley, P. M. and Unger, C. J. (1989). Application of natural hillslope characteristics to the design of rehabilitation mine structures in tropical Northern Australia. Geomorphology and Geoecology, 2nd international conference on Geomorphology, Frankfurt/Main, 3-9 September, 1989.
1989
Conference Publication
Storm runoff and sediment characteristics from waste rock batters at the Ranger Uranium Mine, Northern Australia: A preliminary study
East, T. J., Uren, C. J., Noller, B., Curley, P. M. and Unger, C. J. (1989). Storm runoff and sediment characteristics from waste rock batters at the Ranger Uranium Mine, Northern Australia: A preliminary study. Proceedings of the 11th North Australian Mine Rehabilitation Workshop, Jabiru, NT, Australia, 12-15 June 1989.
1989
Journal Article
Rehabilitation of the Ranger Minesite
East, T. J., Cull, R. F., Uren, C. J., Curley, P. M. and Unger, C. J. (1989). Rehabilitation of the Ranger Minesite. Australian Science Magazine (2).
1989
Conference Publication
Chemical characteristics of storm runoff from waste rock dumps at the Ranger Uranium Mine, Northern Australia.
Noller B N, East T J, Uren C J, Curley P M and Unger C J (1989). Chemical characteristics of storm runoff from waste rock dumps at the Ranger Uranium Mine, Northern Australia.. Chemistry International Conference, Darwin?, 28 Aug to 2 Sep 1989.
1989
Conference Publication
The role of slope profile shape and rock type in determining the erosional stability of batters on mine waste rock, Northern Australia, poster paper, AMIC Environmental Workshop October 1989
Noller B N, East T J, Uren C J, Curley P M and Unger C J (1989). The role of slope profile shape and rock type in determining the erosional stability of batters on mine waste rock, Northern Australia, poster paper, AMIC Environmental Workshop October 1989. AMIC (Australian Mining Industry Council) Environmental Workshop October 1989, Darwin?, October 1989.
1989
Conference Publication
Planning for rehabilitation of the tailings dam at Ranger Uranium Mines, presented at the North Australian Mine Rehabilitation Workshop No 11
Unger C J, Armstrong A, McQuade C, Sinclair G, Bywater J and Koperski G (1989). Planning for rehabilitation of the tailings dam at Ranger Uranium Mines, presented at the North Australian Mine Rehabilitation Workshop No 11. North Australian Mine Rehabilitation Workshop No 11, Jabiru, 12-15 June 1989. Darwin: NT Department of Mines and Energy.
1988
Conference Publication
Erosional stability of waste rock dump batters at the Ranger Uranium Mine, NT AMIC environmental workshop poster presentation, Darwin 18-23 September 1988
East T J, Cull R F, Uren C J, Curley P M and Unger C J (1988). Erosional stability of waste rock dump batters at the Ranger Uranium Mine, NT AMIC environmental workshop poster presentation, Darwin 18-23 September 1988. AMIC (Australian Mining Industry Council) Environmental Workshop, Darwin, NT, 18-23 September 1988.
1981
Conference Publication
The causes and significance of bushfires as perceived by the residents of Elanora Heights, Sydney, 17th Conference, Institute of Australian Geographers, Bathurst, August 1981
Riley S J, Blong R J and Unger C J (1981). The causes and significance of bushfires as perceived by the residents of Elanora Heights, Sydney, 17th Conference, Institute of Australian Geographers, Bathurst, August 1981. Institute of Australian Geographers, Bathurst, NSW, Australia, August 1981.
Media
Enquiries
Contact Dr Corinne Unger directly for media enquiries about:
- insidious risk management
- ISO standard writing
- managing mining legacies
- mine rehabilitation and closure
- qualitative research
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