AWARD WINNING PRESENTATION: Post Mining Land Reclamation Best Practice. POST MINING LAND RECLAMATION GOOD PRACTICE In relation to the post mining and reclamation topic, mining is usually regarded by a matter of fact a transitory activity that may last for a few years or decades and come to a hault following the depletion of the main mineral reserve or in the event that mining operations turn out to be unprofitable as far as international price fluctuations are concerned. In the event of this situation, mine closure plans must be executed in accordance to the mine closure planning document that was prepared by the respective mining company prior to the official commencement of its mining activity. Mine closure may be termed as all those activities that are carried out in the process of shutting down mining operations be it on temporary or permanent basis. It can therefore be argued that post-mining and reclamation projects refers to all those series of activities that are carried out in the process of restoring exhausted mining sites into a natural or economical usable purpose promoting socio-economic and cultural sustainability. As a process of shutting down the mine operations, mine closure entails a series of activities executed at different stages. They include:- The shut- down At this stage workers are often minimized in bits as the mining activities are running low- a move that is taken to cut down the cost of production by maintaining the required number of workers proportional to the available operations. • Re-training of workers: to enable workers develop new skills and knowledge to enhance their mastery skills as well as enable them to fit in other new tasks, mining companies in conjunction with relevant government agencies may organize some general industrial workshops for their workers. This point is argued in reference to the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP) which has been continuously organizing some fieldtrips and necessary career development workshops for the betterment of their people. We may also encourage workers to advance career wise by coming up with some promulgations that cater for the same within the company constitutions or more so advance scholarship awards for further studies. We may therefore call upon all mining proponents and the relevant government bodies to incorporate these policies as part and parcel of the mine closure planning requirements so that workers are not left redundant in the period beyond the company’s life. Decommissioning of equipment among other infrastructure Decommissioning implies an economical disposal of some of the mining facilities and equipment either by selling, leasing or subletting part of these facilities to other potential companies or even some other related contractors. This may be done if at all there exist no future mining prospects. Reclamation and rehabilitation. This may literary be referred as the process of restoring the exhausted mine site into a natural or economic usable purpose. Despite the fact that this process occurs once mining is completed especially for the small mines, the preparation and planning of its activities must be done prior to a mine being permitted. And with its main goal of restoring the land and watercourses into acceptable standards, reclamation process involves several activities as shall be discussed in details later on. The post closure monitoring and evaluation stage To assess the effectiveness of the proposed reclamation projects as well as the post extraction land use activities (PELU), continuous monitoring and evaluation of the same should be conducted. For instance, in the case study for the Island copper mine in Port Hardy Canada-one of the 1970s largest copper mine in Canada, the waste rock was dumped in piles on site and along the shores of Rupert Inlet. Viewing it as the best form of disposal, the management used an underwater tailing disposal system by placing the tailing in the sea bed in the Rupert Inlet. In response to concerns about the impacts of the tailings on the health and diversity of marine life in Rupert Inlet, a comprehensive oceanographic monitoring and evaluation program was developed and implemented and was overseen by a committee of university professors appointed by the federal and provincianal governments. In essence therefore, progressive monitory of the mine discharge water treatment, tailing containment structures as well as the remediation technologies applied may provide useful information on the effectiveness and weaknesses of the proposed policy programs which may lead to either fully support, modification or overhauling of the entire program. The land reclamation/rehabilitation/remediation and restoration program. Mining operations are temporary land use activities and should therefore be conducted with understanding and respect for the environment. Even though it is regarded as a crucial economic activity worldwide, mining has a significant negative impact on environment. Due to their nature, surface mining methods such as open pit, strip and especially open cast mining inevitably leads to serious degradation on ecological and aesthetic values of the landscape. According to (Kavourides et al 2002) some of the negative impacts of surface mining methods on environment may include, alteration of land morphology, disturbance of natural flora and fauna, modification of surface and ground water balance, the displacement and resettlement of residential areas, road and railway infrastructure and the obvious release of solid, air, liquid and noise pollutants. In this account, it is very crucial to make a mine disturbed land environmentally stable in order to transfer an unpolluted environment and sustainable natural resources to the future generations. Some of the best practices applied worldwide in order to achieve the goals of reclamation and restoration issues include:- Backfilling of the surface mines using sound and stable material say, using the less economical waste rock debris in the case of underground mining, followed by the application of the well preserved topsoil and later on revegatation particularly by the use of native plant species and ground cover. This assist in curbing Acid Rock Drainage problem (ARD), soil erosion and sedimentation issue as well re-establishment of the landscape in relation to the surrounding landscapes, vegetation cover and land terrain and hence achieving the restoration of bio diverse eco-systems. This move may also help re-direct the original flow of initially affected watercourses. As part of the reclamation process, erected buildings and other structures are demolished and dismantled and be removed off the site. Post Mining/ extraction Land Uses (PMLU/PELU). depending on the nature of the land, soil conditions, and communal structure of nearby surrounding to be rehabilitated by technical, biological, agricultural means or forestry applications, (Topay et al 2007 and Tsivhandekano 2004) have suggested afforestation &forestry, agriculture, nature conservation & wildlife restoration, hydrology, recreation sites creation, special reserves e.g. museum creation, creation of residential areas or industries establishments as the potential land use types following a successful reclaimed land. Some of these proposed projects may help curb the housing problem-impacts of the rapid urbanization and industrial process experienced in Most developing countries e.g Kenya. The museum and scientific research centres may act as environmental research centres for students among other academicians as well as generating revenues especially for the municipal and local governments. Others may include the creation of recreational services to both the local and foreign parties. Successful Reclamation case studies 1. The Flambeau Mine Site located in Wisconsin is one of the prominent examples for the application of sustainable development and implementation of the 21st C materials and engineering technologies to reclamation of post-mining landscapes. Reclamation of the site began in the fall of 1996 with the initiation of sequential backfilling of the open mine pits, which took almost a year to its substantial completion. By 1998 the contours of the site were re established, topsoil replaced, wetlands constructed and seeding and planting were later initiated and completed by the year 1999. Currently, the successful reclamation of the Flambeau mine site has managed to achieve a successful return of the site to its original approximate contours, planting cluster of trees to attract and support wildlife habitats, creating over 120 acres of grass land habitat, creating & restoring over 10 acres of wetland on site and the construction of a 4 miles trails for non-motorized recreational activities. 2. Another outstanding example is Jarrahdale in Australia. The mining operations for bauxite at Jarrahdele started in 1963 and continued until 1998. During this period, over 160 million tons of ore was mined. Site rehabilitation studies continued for another 3 years. By 2001, all mined areas, haul roads and building sites were completely rehabilitated (Alcoa 2012). 3. In Turkey, reclamation of abandoned mine sites is generally carried out in the form afforestation conducted by Turkish Coal Enterprises (TKİ). And has been able to come up with some nice indigenous as well as alien bio life restorations. The experience with Base Titanium Limited. In an attempt to prevent water contamination, we are informed that one of the basic infrastructural requirements was the construction of the tailings dam that is actually used for safe disposal of the tailings as well as waste rock material and hence acting towards safeguarding the health of the local communities. Despite the fact that base is yet to start its reclamation projects, through its Biodiversity Conservation Program its noted to have been able to establish a Restoration Program Tree Nursery in which indigenous trees are propagated which will assist in revegatating of the project impacted areas in the future. This move is a good signal of Base’s commitment towards its future closure restoration and rehabilitation plans. In conclusion, a part from being a major economic contributor based on its additional 0.3% GDP contribution to the previous 0.7% of the national total mining and quarry contribution adding up to 1%, Base through its mineral sand project has been able to improve the livelihoods and living standards of the local community through its direct & indirect employment, the construction of community health facilities as well as several water projects such the construction of the Bwiti primary and dispensary, kiruku secondary, the Bwiti community hall and the water boreholes at the Mrima Bwiti Resettlement among the yet to be completed Magaoni and Fingirika projects. It is my humble honour to the BTL community for their scholarship and attachment programs provided to students and other academicians Iam as well appealing to BTL to allocate even adequate resources to the upcoming Base Ummah County Resource Centre so that Ummah Initiative may expand and better their services to the community. Most of us students have always been wasting our college long vacations and Iam therefore pleased to note that Ummah would like to utilize us maximumly for the benefit of the community in addition to helping us acquire necessary skills and knowledge as far as career development is concerned. I again sincerely thank the Ummah leadership more so the exemplary performance of Mr. Ali Libondo and the entire Ummah team in general. Mr. Libondo has been a role model whom majority of us can be willing to emulate and team with solely for the purpose of bringing even more positive change to our land and our people. I as well encourage BTL to continue supporting these programs and put more emphasiss on making Ummah Initiative self-sustaining so that these programs may be implemented even beyond the BTL mining period. Thank you all and God bless you.
Posted on: Wed, 22 Oct 2014 07:59:22 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015