Analysis of the structure of lands disturbed by underground mining of ore deposits

Abstract

The purpose of the work is to study and analyze the structure of the lands disturbed by the mining enterprises of Eastern Siberia and the Far East developing ore deposits. While the issue of disturbed land reclamation is treated today by the project documentation of the mining enterprises as an aggregate plan, there is a risk of leaving the lands without due attention after the completion of mining operations. The conducted study included the analysis of the disturbed land structure according to the project documentation and field observations at four mining enterprises. As a result, the nature of the disturbed land sites and their area was determined. The field research revealed disturbances not provided by the projects and requiring extraordinary solutions to eliminate them. The average structure of disturbed lands under underground mining of ore deposits was determined, its differences from the similar structure under open-pit mining were identified. It has been proven that the activities of mining enterprises involved in the underground development of ore deposits and reclamation of disturbed lands lack due attention, which leads to the growth in technogenic relief area and adverse environmental impacts. The presented research methodology includes field work with the visits to mining enterprises, as well as the analysis of design solutions and satellite images.