Mine Closure Strategies and Concerns in India : A Review on Practices and Strategies

Abstract

The closure of mines in an environmentally sustainable manner is a matter of concern throughout the country. The overarching principle of mine closure is also reflected in the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which was adopted in 2015. In India, mineral resource extraction has been laden with a bequest of large areas of unplanned mine closures and unreclaimed and derelict lands. Mining operations in recent past were being carried out with deficient methods and irresponsible practices without regard to environmental protection. Such activities thus have resulted in irreversible degradation and impairment of natural ecosystems of the mined over areas and in the vicinity. The review paper attempts to provide an overview of various practices followed for mining closure in India highlighting global parallels. The review highlights international and Indian practices and concerns regarding environmentally prudent sustainable mining closure strategies and attempts to identify (or look at) the gaps. It is revealed that the planning of mining and mine closure and rehabilitation and the operational practices thereof are deficient in internalizing the fundamental concept of optimizing the post-mining land-use and its integration in the mine plan at the inception of the mining project, and commencement of mining activities. To minimise the possible long-term detrimental effects on the environment, the mine planning needs to be formulated with a thrust on ensuring the optimal sustainability of the ecosystem after the mine closure over the long term and regulated with an efficient tracking and monitoring system throughout – during mining phase and the mine closure phase.