The Berejiklian government will spend almost $108 million to remediate the state’s disused mine sites in a move welcomed by both environmentalists and the mining industry.

Next Tuesday’s state budget for 2021-22 will set aside $107.7 million over the next 10 years for its Legacy Mines Program, up from the $2.8 million spent in 2019-20.

The funds will primarily go to areas where mining ceased between 50 and 100 years ago, such as Captains Flat in the Southern Tablelands.

NSW Deputy Premier John Barilaro said during a visit on Tuesday to a recently rehabilitated mine site at Mount Thorley Warkworth in the Hunter Valley that these legacy mines in regional communities were operating long before the “requirements we have today for managing chemical use” and rehabilitation were introduced.

“Intensive remediation at these locations will increase safety, reduce impacts to the environment, and reinvigorate land for other possible uses, such as for community parklands, to create tourist attractions, or accommodate select business operations,” he said.

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Stephen Galilee, chief executive of the NSW Minerals Council, said the funding would “help address local issues relating to abandoned mines from a different era, including some from as far back as the gold rushes of the mid-19th century”.

“Modern mining operations are required to meet strict rehabilitation obligations, including progressive rehabilitation as soon as mining commences,” he said.

Georgina Woods, a coordinator for Lock The Gate, an environmental group, said her organisation welcomed more funding to rehabilitate land affected by abandoned mines.