Effect of Reclamation on an Environment Impaired by Mining Activity: A Case Study

Abstract

Environmental impacts caused by mineral mining are becoming a major problem at local, regional, and global scales. Reclamation and revitalisation of areas affected by mining activities are an integral part of mining. The function of these activities is to eliminate impacts of mineral extraction and to restore an area so that it can again fulfil its purpose, be it recreational, forestry, agricultural or water management. Nowadays, mining companies are legally forced to plan their mining activities in a way that minimizes the impact on the environment. The field of reclamation in the extractive industry and its solutions is now being addressed by experts and scientists all around the world. In scientific journals we encounter various designs of models and research that show us the serious impacts on the environment as well as solutions to these real situations. The topic is discussed in the publication "Characterizing the effects of opencast coal-mining and land reclamation on soil macropore distribution characteristics using 3D CT scanning". In this study, unmined, unreclaimed and reclaimed soils from the Antaibao opencast coal mine of the loess area from China were scanned to acquire information regarding soil macropores using a high-resolution, non-destructive

Slope Shape Optimization of Water Reservoirs Formed Due to the Reclamation of Post-Mining Excavations

“…They require actions aimed at their reuse, and they cannot just be left and forgotten. This new usage includes a wide variety of options, which depend on the mining and geological as well as economic conditions [5,7,11,16,[29][30][31][32][33][34][35].…”

“…The literature indicates that the aquatic reclamation direction in the technical (basic) phase is performed by means of regulating hydrogeological conditions (including the construction of the necessary hydrotechnical objects and devices), building or rebuilding access roads, reconstructing the layer of fertile soil with the use of technical methods, separating toxic deposits, and moving ground masses, which includes shaping the relief of the reclaimed land and reinforcing the slopes [10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17]. In addition, prior to the proper technical reclamation works, several preparatory and clearing tasks must be performed, such as: removing extra vegetation, demolishing the remaining parts of buildings, and clearing the rubble and debris from the demolished buildings or storing it in a designated location.…”

The Effect of Thickness of Covering Soil on Soil Water Retention and Crop Growth in Land Reclamation Filled with Fly Ash: Evidence from GPR and UAV Investigation

“…In addition, due to the increasing shortage of soil resources, reclamation projects have gradually adopted the filling reclamation method. However, when the reclamation filling method is used, the resultant water-preserving capability of the covering soil is poor, which leads to problems such as a decline in soil fertility and the loss of soil nutrients [3]. Therefore, monitoring of the soil moisture in the reclaimed area is one of the key indicators used to detect the effect of reclamation and restoration measures.…”