Mr McKenzie stressed that dealing with the legacy of ownerless and derelict mines is a long term and almost an endless project. Mintek has, so far been dealing mainly with old asbestos mines. These are the most urgent in terms of health hazards, but they are many other coal, gold and other mines, including quarries, where the state has the responsibility for rehabilitation. There is an urgent need for funding to be made available on a rolling basis so that work does not come to an end when the present fixed term funding is completed. This means that work has to start again from scratch when new funding is allocated.