Mining activities significantly impact the environment; they generate huge quantities of spoil, promote deforestation and the loss of agricultural production, as well as releasing contaminants that result in the loss of valuable soil resources. These negative impacts are now being recognized and this book shows how corrective action can be taken. The introduction of sustainable mining requires mitigation strategies that start during the mine planning stage and extend to after mineral extraction has ceased, and post-closure activities are being executed. Reclamation of Mine-impacted Land for Ecosystem Recovery covers: methods of rejuvenation of mine wasteland including different practices of physical, chemical and ecological engineering methods; benefits of rejuvenation: stabilization of land surfaces; pollution control; aesthetic improvement; general amenity; plant productivity; and carbon sequestration as well as restoring biodiversity and ecosystem function; best management practices and feasible solutions to the impacts of mining which will reduce the pollution load by reducing the discharge rate and the pollutant concentration; reduce erosion and sedimentation problems, and result in improved abandoned mine lands; and ecosystem development. The authors explain how mining impacts on soil properties and how soil carbon reserves/soil fertility can be restored when mining has ceased. Restoration involves a coordinated approach that recognizes the importance of key soil properties to enable re-vegetation to take place rapidly and ecosystems to be established in a low cost and sustainable way. This book’s unique combination of the methods for reclamation technologies with policies and best practice worldwide will provide the background and the guidance needed by scientists, researchers and engineers engaged in land reclamation, as well as by industry managers.

Assessment, Restoration and Reclamation of Mining Influenced Soils covers processes operating in the environment as a result of mining activity, including the whole spectra of negative effects of anthropopressure and the environment, from changes in soil chemistry, changes in soil physical properties, geomechanical disturbances, and mine water discharges. Mining activity and its waste are an environmental concern. Knowledge of the fate of potentially harmful elements and their effect on plants and the food chain, and ultimately on human health, is still being understood. Therefore, there is a need for better knowledge on the origin, distribution, and management of mine waste on a global level. This book provides information on hazard assessment and remediation of the disturbed environment, including stabilization of contaminated soils and phytoremediation, and will help scientists and public authorities formulate answers to the daily challenges related to the restoration of contaminated land. Provides a thorough overview of the processes operating on mining-devastated areas, as well as origin, distribution, and deactivation of harmful elements Includes outcomes and recommendations of the Global Mining Initiative that are widely regarded as the code of conduct in the minerals industry Contains global case studies that elucidate various aspects of assessment and restoration of mine-contaminated land

Since coal is seen by many as the logical solution to the nation's energy crisis, strip mining operations will continue. But they will continue amid intense public debate, much of it centering on the standards that will govern reclamation. In this book leading authorities address the economic, environmental, and legal ramifications of land reclamation following coal surface mining, review the status of the coal industry, and look at possible future developments.