The Benefits And Potential Complications Of Mine Reclamation

8 April 2016 by For Content

Abandoned mines and lands that were strip mined are something that the government of every country must address. Devoting land to abandoned mines is not only wasteful, but dangerous, because of the potential for cave-ins on explorers and unidentified mine shafts dotting the landscape. Reclamation of the land is seen as an important step to making the land viable for use once again.

Benefits of Reclamation

There are many benefits to the return of the land from a mining center to a natural landscape. The process can be expensive to perform, but once completed it does have the potential to bring substantial improvements to the affected area.

• The area can be made safer for human use and habitation.
• The forests that can be established on the land will provide homes for numerous animal species.
• It can be used for farming and livestock grazing. This can be for both personal use by local residents and to earn an income.  
• The land can become a park or nature preserve that can bring money into the area by luring in hunters, campers and hikers. This can provide an economic boost to towns that suffered financial losses following the closure of the mine.
• Returning the land to tribal communities can help to improve relations between First Nations members and the government.
• The reclamation project may also provide opportunities for local laborers and contractors to have regular work throughout the process. It can also boost the business local shops, restaurants and hotels experience because of the crews working in the area.

Concerns With Reclamation

Mine reclamation is a large-scale construction project that cannot be completed without some impact to the area surrounding the site. Residents in these areas must be aware of what a project like this will include.

• Depending on the size of the area being reclaimed, there could be noise and excessive traffic at the site for weeks or months.
• The area will become worse before it improves. This is because reclaiming often includes large-scale excavation work to level out the earth and to remove any soil that may potentially be contaminated.
• The land may be too heavily damaged to fully return it to its pre-mining appearance and may not look the way local residents remember or want.
• The damage from the mine and from the reclamation process may have damaged the area to the extent where it will no longer be a viable research area for paleontologists or archaeologists. This can be devastating to local tribes whose ancestors resided on this land.
• Shortages of resources such as water, power and fuel could occur while the reclamation process is underway because of the need for a large amount of all of these products during the project.

Anyone living in a region with abandoned mines can understand the value of returning that land to its original state. The development of effective and efficient methods of repairing the land is something that will continue as more mines are reclaimed. The process is important to perfect, because even as old mines are eliminated, mining companies are still in operation and planning new projects. If you decide that mine reclamation is the right choice, consider mine reclamation by Weatherby Trucking Ltd.

Share