Reclamation of Lands Disturbed by the Mining Production Considering the Peculiarities of Land Allocation for the Mining Enterprises

Abstract

Mining production is one of the important components of the economic development of the Russian Federation. But in the process of mining, environmental damage is caused, which must be compensated by reclamation (restoration). However, to date, the reclamation rate is inferior to that of extraction. A special feature of the legal regime of subsoil use is the dual form of land allocation: subsoil use (the Law of the Russian Federation «On Subsoil») and land use (the Land Code of the Russian Federation). In this paper, the technologies of parallel reclamation of sections (quarries) are considered, the project of which should be contained in a set of documents for obtaining a license for the development of subsurface resources. Parallel reclamation without using the mined-out space of the quarry involves the use of overburden rocks as materials for the construction of large-scale linear infrastructure facilities of the district, etc. Parallel recultivation using the developed space of the quarry (section) involves filling it with either current overburden rocks or recultivant obtained based on the mineral processing products or technogenic raw materials. At the same time, it is required to ensure that at least one side of the quarry is placed in the limit position in the absence of any communications on it. A prerequisite for the implementation of this approach is mandatory long-term planning. The reclamation plan and its direction should be developed before the start of mining operations in accordance with the needs of the region, and then consistently implemented. The necessary legislative and regulatory framework is available in Russia, but it needs to be finalized, in particular, clarification of the concept of reclamation. In this case, it is interpreted as the return of land to a new economic turnover. Close cooperation and interaction of business with the federal and regional authorities, scientific and design organizations is required to restore the lands disturbed by mining production in accordance with the current laws and regulatory framework in order to develop and implement geotechnological solutions that ensure the return of these lands to a new economic turnover.