Overview of mine closure in Minas Gerais, Brazil

Castro, Maíra Fonseca Moreira; Lima, Hernani Mota de; Flores, José Cruz do Carmo

doi:10.1590/s0370-44672011000200012

Cited by 8 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 3 publications

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“…The landscape left at the end of the mining operation has an erased geographical topography, no previous terrain structure, biotic, and abiotic components left. Hydrology can be seriously disturbed due to changes in water table and erosion ( Castro et al, 2011a , b ). Despite these considerable difficulties, principal restoration steps do not differ when compared with recovery of other post-mining areas, and will be listed keeping canga in mind.…”

Section: How To Protect and Restore?mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Since 2010, a further 108 plant species have been rescued by the Minas Rio operation. (5) Landscape architecture to stabilize slopes and restore some of the original topography is also required to recreate functional ecosystem, as for example in case of Germano mine in MG (see below; Castro et al, 2011a ) (6) Re-vegetation using available planting material. As described above, many canga species can be successfully rescued before mining begins and subsequently cultivated ex situ awaiting restoration.…”

Section: How To Protect and Restore?mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It demonstrates that restoration is possible, where all involved parties commit to their obligations, main fear of the environmentalists. In Brazil, two examples of recently closed iron ore mines are Aguas Claras and Germano in MG ( Castro et al, 2011a ). Due to its location, area of Aguas Claras will be used to build a small town neighboring a new lake created in the depleted mining pit.…”

Section: How To Protect and Restore?mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Canga biodiversity, a matter of mining

et al. 2014

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Brazilian name canga refers to the ecosystems associated with superficial iron crusts typical for the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais (MG) and some parts of Amazon (Flona de Carajas). Iron stone is associated with mountain plateaux and so, in addition to high metal concentrations (particularly iron and manganese), canga ecosystems, as other rock outcrops, are characterized by isolation and environmental harshness. Canga inselbergs, all together, occupy no more than 200 km2 of area spread over thousands of km2 of the Iron Quadrangle (MG) and the Flona de Carajas, resulting in considerable beta biodiversity. Moreover, the presence of different microhabitats within the iron crust is associated with high alpha biodiversity. Hundreds of angiosperm species have been reported so far across remote canga inselbergs and different micro-habitats. Among these are endemics such as the cactus Arthrocereus glaziovii and the medicinal plant Pilocarpus microphyllus. Canga is also home to iron and manganese metallophytes; species that evolved to tolerate high metal concentrations. These are particularly interesting to study metal homeostasis as both iron and manganese are essential plant micro-elements. Besides being models for metal metabolism, metallophytes can be used for bio-remediation of metal contaminated sites, and as such are considered among priority species for canga restoration. “Biodiversity mining” is not the only mining business attracted to canga. Open cast iron mining generates as much as 5–6% of Brazilian gross domestic product and dialog between mining companies, government, society, and ecologists, enforced by legal regulation, is ongoing to find compromise for canga protection, and where mining is unavoidable for ecosystem restoration. Environmental factors that shaped canga vegetation, canga biodiversity, physiological mechanisms to play a role, and ways to protect and restore canga will be reviewed.

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Section: How To Protect and Restore?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: How To Protect and Restore?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: How To Protect and Restore?mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Canga biodiversity, a matter of mining

et al. 2014

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“…Coincidentally, there is a great demand for these plants for the restoration of degraded areas in the rupestrian grassland (Lima et al 2016), especially in areas impacted by mining, widely present in these environments (Jacobi et al 2007;Neves et al 2016). In the severely impacted areas by mining (Castro et al 2011), grasses adapted to extreme soil conditions can establish more easily, promoting the coverage of the substrate, reducing the erosion and facilitating the establishment of other species in the area (Lima et al 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Propagation and establishment of rupestrian grassland grasses for restoration of degraded areas by mining

et al. 2018

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Investigations on the propagation and establishment of native grasses of rupestrian grassland on degraded substrates are essential to enable their use in the restoration of degraded areas, thus reducing the use of exotic species. This study aimed to evaluate the sexual and asexual propagation, establishment and growth of Axonopus laxiflorus (Trin.) Chase and Sporobolus metallicolus Longhi-Wagner & Boechat, two native grasses from rupestrian grassland developed on laterite substrate of an area degraded by bauxite mining. In greenhouse experiments, A. laxiflorus was propagated by tillers and S. metallicolus by seeds and tillers. Both species were also evaluated for germination in a germination chamber on the treatments: control, addition of potassium nitrate and heating at 80°C for 2 min. In these evaluations, success of S. metallicolus germination was between 77 and 90%, without significative difference among treatments, whereas A. laxiflorus did not germinate. In the laterite substrate, S. metallicolous, propagated by seeds, showed 29% of survival, whereas in the vegetative propagation all plants of the two species survived. Eight months after starting the tiller experiment, S. metallicolus and A. laxiflorus presented a biomass increase of 239 and 75%, respectively. Although A. laxiflorus showed root biomass approximately seven times higher than S. metallicolus, the two species presented similar root length, that is, S. metallicolus contained more fine roots. The results show that the species can efficiently propagate vegetatively and, in the case of S. metallicolus, sexually. The success of the species in a substrate poor in nutrients and rich in Al, Fe and Mn indicates that they can be used in the restoration of areas degraded by bauxite and iron mining, which are important mining activities in Brazil.

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“…In Brazil, the regulation of mine closure is still far from completion (Castro et al, 2011, Flores & Lima, 2007Lima et al, 2007) and Resende & Lima (2009) show that just in Minas Gerais, the most important Brazilian mining state, of the 1.739 mining rights, 234 are inoperative mines. The inoperative mines owned by Vale S.A., are dispersed among regions with different ecosystems, including various Brazilian States and, consequently, a tool is needed to evaluate the environmental condition and risks, to compare these mine sites and prioritise the necessary actions.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tools and criteria for the management of temporarily inoperative iron ore mines

Picarelli

Vieira

Resende

et al. 2014

Rem: Rev. Esc. Minas

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This paper presents a tool for managing inoperative mines under the responsibility of the Mine Closure and Projects Management/Ferrous Planning and Development Department - Vale S.A., Brazil. Inoperative mines are defined as mines where mining operations are temporarily suspended and there is no definitive strategy regarding their closure. The main management challenges are to: (i) act in a variety of environments and conditions based on action priorities; (ii) identify the main company's image risks; (iii) plan for maintenance and monitoring; (iv) take care of environmental conditions of the sites and follow up audit recommendations; (v) coordinate the field operations and site rehabilitation; (vi) re-evaluate the rehabilitation performance of the site over time, (vii) support the mine closure team. The tool is based on the consolidation of field information through qualitative and quantitative analyses of the environmental risks and quality of each mine. These analyses support the decision-making process and the prioritisation of action to be taken. The tool provides a performance evaluation of the sites, allowing evaluation over time of the maintenance and rehabilitation actions carried out. The input for the tool consists of primary and secondary data (geotechnical and environmental) collected during fieldwork, which is then processed in spreadsheets. These assign prioritisation values based on two main themes: environmental risk and quality. Each of these themes has specific groups of subjects. The prioritization spreadsheet generates thematic maps that present the classification of the mine areas and the action priorities. The tool output is an action plan that guides management, considering all the structures of each site under its responsibility.

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Overview of mine closure in Minas Gerais, Brazil

Cited by 8 publications

References 3 publications

Canga biodiversity, a matter of mining

Canga biodiversity, a matter of mining

Propagation and establishment of rupestrian grassland grasses for restoration of degraded areas by mining

Tools and criteria for the management of temporarily inoperative iron ore mines

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