Land rehabilitation is the process of returning the land in a given area to some degree of its former state, after some process (industry

Industry

Industry refers to the production of an economic good or service within an economy.-Industrial sectors:There are four key industrial economic sectors: the primary sector, largely raw material extraction industries such as mining and farming; the secondary sector, involving refining, construction,...

, natural disaster

Natural disaster

A natural disaster is the effect of a natural hazard . It leads to financial, environmental or human losses...

s, etc.) has resulted in its damage. Many project

Project

A project in business and science is typically defined as a collaborative enterprise, frequently involving research or design, that is carefully planned to achieve a particular aim. Projects can be further defined as temporary rather than permanent social systems that are constituted by teams...

s and development

Subdivision (land)

Subdivision is the act of dividing land into pieces that are easier to sell or otherwise develop, usually via a plat. The former single piece as a whole is then known in the United States as a subdivision...

s will result in the land becoming degraded

Environmental degradation

Environmental degradation is the deterioration of the environment through depletion of resources such as air, water and soil; the destruction of ecosystems and the extinction of wildlife...

, for example mining

Mining

Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, from an ore body, vein or seam. The term also includes the removal of soil. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock...

, farming and forestry

Forestry

Forestry is the interdisciplinary profession embracing the science, art, and craft of creating, managing, using, and conserving forests and associated resources in a sustainable manner to meet desired goals, needs, and values for human benefit. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands...

.

While it is rarely possible to restore the land to its original condition, the rehabilitation process usually attempts to bring some degree of restoration. Modern methods have in many cases not only restored degraded land but actually improved it, depending on what criteria are used to measure 'improvement'.

Mine rehabilitation

Modern mine rehabilitation aims to minimize and mitigate the environmental effects of modern mining, which may in the case of open pit mining involve movement of significant volumes of rock. Rehabilitation management is an ongoing process, often resulting in open pit mines being backfilled.

After mining finishes, the mine area must undergo rehabilitation.

• Waste dumps are contoured to flatten them out, to further stabilize them against erosion
  Erosion
  Erosion is when materials are removed from the surface and changed into something else. It only works by hydraulic actions and transport of solids in the natural environment, and leads to the deposition of these materials elsewhere...
  
  .
• If the ore contains sulfides it is usually covered with a layer of clay
  Clay
  Clay is a general term including many combinations of one or more clay minerals with traces of metal oxides and organic matter. Geologic clay deposits are mostly composed of phyllosilicate minerals containing variable amounts of water trapped in the mineral structure.- Formation :Clay minerals...
  
   to prevent access of rain
  Rain
  Rain is liquid precipitation, as opposed to non-liquid kinds of precipitation such as snow, hail and sleet. Rain requires the presence of a thick layer of the atmosphere to have temperatures above the melting point of water near and above the Earth's surface...
  
   and oxygen
  Oxygen
  Oxygen is the element with atomic number 8 and represented by the symbol O. Its name derives from the Greek roots ὀξύς and -γενής , because at the time of naming, it was mistakenly thought that all acids required oxygen in their composition...
  
   from the air, which can oxidize the sulfides to produce sulfuric acid
  Sulfuric acid
  Sulfuric acid is a strong mineral acid with the molecular formula . Its historical name is oil of vitriol. Pure sulfuric acid is a highly corrosive, colorless, viscous liquid. The salts of sulfuric acid are called sulfates...
  
  .
• Landfill
  Landfill
  A landfill site , is a site for the disposal of waste materials by burial and is the oldest form of waste treatment...
  
  s are covered with topsoil
  Topsoil
  Topsoil is the upper, outermost layer of soil, usually the top to . It has the highest concentration of organic matter and microorganisms and is where most of the Earth's biological soil activity occurs.-Importance:...
  
  , and vegetation
  Vegetation
  Vegetation is a general term for the plant life of a region; it refers to the ground cover provided by plants. It is a general term, without specific reference to particular taxa, life forms, structure, spatial extent, or any other specific botanical or geographic characteristics. It is broader...
  
   is planted to help consolidate the material.
• Dumps are usually fenced off to prevent livestock
  Livestock
  Livestock refers to one or more domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to produce commodities such as food, fiber and labor. The term "livestock" as used in this article does not include poultry or farmed fish; however the inclusion of these, especially poultry, within the meaning...
  
   denuding them of vegetation.
• The open pit is then surrounded with a fence, to prevent access, and it generally eventually fills up with groundwater
  Groundwater
  Groundwater is water located beneath the ground surface in soil pore spaces and in the fractures of rock formations. A unit of rock or an unconsolidated deposit is called an aquifer when it can yield a usable quantity of water. The depth at which soil pore spaces or fractures and voids in rock...
  
  .
• Tailings
  Tailings
  Tailings, also called mine dumps, slimes, tails, leach residue, or slickens, are the materials left over after the process of separating the valuable fraction from the uneconomic fraction of an ore...
  
   dam
  Dam
  A dam is a barrier that impounds water or underground streams. Dams generally serve the primary purpose of retaining water, while other structures such as floodgates or levees are used to manage or prevent water flow into specific land regions. Hydropower and pumped-storage hydroelectricity are...
  
  s are left to evaporate, then covered with waste rock, clay if need be, and soil
  Soil
  Soil is a natural body consisting of layers of mineral constituents of variable thicknesses, which differ from the parent materials in their morphological, physical, chemical, and mineralogical characteristics...
  
  , which is planted to stabilize it.

For underground mines, rehabilitation is not always a significant problem or cost. This is because of the higher grade of the ore

Ore

An ore is a type of rock that contains minerals with important elements including metals. The ores are extracted through mining; these are then refined to extract the valuable element....

 and lower volumes of waste rock and tailings. In some situations, stope

Stoping (mining method)

Stoping is the removal of the wanted ore from an underground mine leaving behind an open space known as a stope. Stoping is used when the country rock is sufficiently strong not to cave into the stope, although in most cases artificial support is also provided...

s are backfilled with concrete

Concrete

Concrete is a composite construction material, composed of cement and other cementitious materials such as fly ash and slag cement, aggregate , water and chemical admixtures.The word concrete comes from the Latin word...

 slurry

Slurry

A slurry is, in general, a thick suspension of solids in a liquid.-Examples of slurries:Examples of slurries include:* Lahars* A mixture of water and cement to form concrete* A mixture of water, gelling agent, and oxidizers used as an explosive...

 using waste, so that minimal waste is left at surface.

The removal of plant

Physical plant

Physical plant or mechanical plant refers to the necessary infrastructure used in support and maintenance of a given facility. The operation of these facilities, or the department of an organization which does so, is called "plant operations" or facility management...

 and infrastructure

Infrastructure

Infrastructure is basic physical and organizational structures needed for the operation of a society or enterprise, or the services and facilities necessary for an economy to function...

 is not always part of a rehabilitation programme, as many old mine plants have cultural heritage

Cultural heritage

Cultural heritage is the legacy of physical artifacts and intangible attributes of a group or society that are inherited from past generations, maintained in the present and bestowed for the benefit of future generations...

 and cultural value. Often in gold

Gold

Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...

 mines, rehabilitation is performed by scavenger operations which treat the soil within the plant area for spilled gold using modified placer mining

Placer mining

Placer mining is the mining of alluvial deposits for minerals. This may be done by open-pit or by various surface excavating equipment or tunneling equipment....

 gravity collection plants.

See also

• Restoration ecology
  Restoration ecology
  -Definition:Restoration ecology is the scientific study and practice of renewing and restoring degraded, damaged, or destroyed ecosystems and habitats in the environment by active human intervention and action, within a short time frame...
  
  
• Reforestation
  Reforestation
  Reforestation is the natural or intentional restocking of existing forests and woodlands that have been depleted, usually through deforestation....
  
  
• Land reclamation
  Land reclamation
  Land reclamation, usually known as reclamation, is the process to create new land from sea or riverbeds. The land reclaimed is known as reclamation ground or landfill.- Habitation :...
  
  
• Soil salinity control - rehabilitation of salinized soils
• Watertable control
  Watertable control
  Watertable control is the practice of controlling the water table in agricultural land by subsurface drainage with proper criteria to improve the crop production.- Description and definitions :...
  
   - rehabilitation of waterlogged soils
• Prairie restoration
  Prairie Restoration
  Prairie restoration is an ecologically friendly way to restore some of the prairie land that was lost to industry, farming and commerce. For example, the U.S...
  
  
• Mine reclamation
  Mine reclamation
  Mine reclamation is the process of creating useful landscapes that meet a variety of goals, typically creating productive ecosystems from mined land...
  
  

External links

• Rehabilitation of waterlogged and saline soils: http://www.waterlog.info , free downloads of software and articles on land drainage.
• Bio Recycle
• Sydney Water BioSolids
• EEMP - a non-profit 501 (c) 3 organization dedicated to communicate the lessons of rehabilitation and restoration through media around the world.