BIBLIOGRAPHY OF MINE WASTE STABILIZATION J. E. Lease Revised 1972 OPEN FILE REPORT 32 This papor was ouigi.na3Ly done as a,lit,erature search for Scienrs Litsrature, S boo1 of Librarianship, University of Denver, in the sprikg of 1967. Thc write5 shwid the ~u:t5clo by Jams, Wtabilization of Mine bps iiith Vegetation," Zndeavor, 1966, to her professor sziying with enthusiasm, 'W.thcy can do this (cover and control the sand dumps) in South Lfrica, we can do it here (gouthwestern United States.) The quiet reply was, %ood. Why- don't you do your literat;urc seasch on this subjecb?" And so it was done,, but only back t.0 1960, using theresources of the libraies of If.. the University or: Denver, In February 19'70, his. Don,Baker, $e,, Diractor of New hxico Burcau of Mines and Hi era Gesourccs became interestcd a.nds;l:ed that the paper be brought np-to-dato and developad more 6Ull.y.. May writer asked to go -bs-go to Lake city, Utah, to consult with In 1970 tha was Salt Fir. Kal C, Dean who conhLbuted many of t,!lr? mst.e?I.K!? OR hrfi-k-f5:6 cc:?fsxze-s -.:IS spposia. Acknovrlcdgn~crhis gratefully gibn to I&?. Harold i%dino~trskywho encouraged the part of his p~oject;to Jrtrnes D~ltc,Library Director, and Xrs. Nildred A. : first t Dr, F. Barrett, assistant Library Direc tor, New 1.Icxico State UAversity Library, who havc given assistance and diroction; to 14re Tcs'ry Corbett, graduate student who searched the \ , TOIWLD STABILIZII\% MINE DUIPS, _. :: .. Whon man first learned that certain socks contained uscful materials, and he bagan to dig in the earth to obtain these materials, ho did not have avidea of %he future problems resulting the displacad soil and rocks. Since there was plenty of .. from land, man movedabout on every continent on thisartlap lured on by the precious ores, to ell conceivable places, fromocean depths to plain8 ami to mountain tops. And everywhere herremovedthe top soil, constructed roads and destl-oged some of %he natural veg:eta%iop, yenelally contributing to erosion of the land by water adwi& ; and to the pollution the and water. 3f air Qver one hundred >rears ago Gcorge Perlcins I4msh:&.came alarmcd and wrote hi5 book, "WMan and Mature, the conserv6tion classic.In this book he mots, Y!he result of man's ignorznk d5sl-f.enrd ef 3hxu- IGWSor" ilatiii-.e. was tie cieterioration of theland"e In . Stmart Udal1 published book, which hedisCUsSe8 1963 his @ setImg in ow country as a new nation, rich with resources. The us0 of these resowees and the conse- quont results is simply and effectively told. Reclamation of land not new for it was practiced by shepherds eild?,o'c,ber& . is - the t%...Riblic&:. k&es who built rock retaining walls on %he hillsides to hold the yrecious rainwater and dug ditches to divert the water to fields. The reclamation of the sand dunes in the r cgion of Les Landes, southwestern France &S one of th:: greatest achievements of man. 407 A. this was a forested area, Before D. supplFing %me with rcsin. Pfter the Vandals dcstropd the aria by lcveling tho villages, scattering the pople, and burning tho forests, thewsterly winds bgan movjng the sand which cventudly covered more than /+oO,oOO acrest creating 2 l/l+million acres of marsh- .. land. J - ~ 3 In l77e tbc French 'overrment appointed Willers to create a military Fort at Arcackon. He presentedthe principle of lldune fixation.lIApproxinately 20 ymm later Napdeon assigned Bremonticr to control these dunes. A literoral dune was esta.blished and re- foresbing of theand behind the dune was the mash lads were drained by Chin- foresbing of was begun; lads were by braient. Today the forest3 in this area produce muchtimber andwsin, ?.n addition to supporting nmberous health r ososts In England the abandoned limestone workings at Dudley Castle and Wrenfs Nest were fir& planted in trees by the .Earl of hdley about 2215. East Fa-k, Wolverhmpton, &gland, opened in 1896, is the earliest )?ark grown over an area of pit shale and other WLS~Qrock as described by W@c and sism. The Kidland ReafforestingAssociation, which wasformed in 190'3j succcss€ulZyreforested waste areas in l3laclcCounty, Engl.and. One of the main objectives of this Association was to prove that it would be worth while from a business view to establ.ish forests onmaste land. Waste areas in other European countries and South Africa have been revegetated dey;endi.ngon the type and kind of materials, the climate, and the interest and needs of the people. ~ In South Africa the mining orerations of the Witwatersrand gold field have developed hugedwaps of finely ground rock, covering 25,000 acres, with some dumps as high a8 two hundred feet. .A permanent cover has beenaught for over fifty years; different methods have been trzied without successe In 1953 the situation became so serious that all tho previous literature was reviewed and the decision was made to develop a permanent cover of vegetation JPIP which once establisheqbould need no further'care or aid. Now after a decade of trials and tests and hard a cover has been established and is many work, such ! 3 4 C hother type of mining more common in the esstern and central part of our country has increased productLon in the last twentyyears. Scrip mining removes the overburden of . soil and rock which exposes a veln of coal. After the coal has been removed, the operator moveson to another field, often leaving open pits, and spoil banks ofloose dirt. Xirerals, mainljjr left exposed to the elements produce adversechemical conditions. In some cases the sulphuric acid and iron hydroxides havewashed into streams, killing fish and plant life. The dirt from the spoil banks has covered some farm lands with much loss of acreage. In England under. the direction of the Nationdl Caal Board the apea to be overcast . ffppou-ybd/ (stripined) is az&?dJg studied and planned before the contract is given to the private company.The first foot oftop soil is removedand carefully saved. The next two feet of soil are stockpiled in anotherplace. 'hen the re%fining overburden is removed. After the ore has been removed, the process is reversed, the final top layer is graded,& leveIed, seeded and fertilized. Amt a comparativelyshort. ths ijro2uc'.-Ant: In area ia vegetation according to the original plan. There is a difference in the two operations for the area in England is smaller, more level ~~e-sL "with more moisture than many places in the 1s United States and4riigidly controlled by the government Revegetation.of mine dumps is desirable for economic returns, bank stabilization, ad landscape and amenity improvement. Practical s tabilization procedures include phpical, vegeta.tive, chemical,and combinations methods. Preplanning of wastedisposal, is now a dual practice for I man$ companies beginning new operations, According to J. M. Pancis, Chief Forester, Office Services of Bethlehem Steel, IfReclamation work is as diverse as the numberof sites, geographic locations, results desired, type and texture of the waste, local soci.'aLdemands and the incentive or lack OP it on the part of the agency or cornparry performing the h-ork." Gene:-al principles whichhave been used follow the basic steps. Because each site is different, the first step is to oonsult,.plan and work with the local agricultural experts wUdJ2l,C& regardingmaterials to be used. Thenarea is testedfor pH and neutra.lized.Thepfertilizcr is added to the sterile soil and rock, the mixtures of comerc5.al seed and/or plants are .sewn or planted byhand or air, prokection for the kegetation from wind, grazing animals or vandals and enough.. moisture, u$dly in a mist form is provided until the growth is well established, and then nature isallowed to take over.Research has shown that commercid grains andgrasses are best for starting these plots. Cere mustbe taken in selecting native plants for not all are desirable. '. In the United States some individual coal.companies have made contrsbutions to the forestation of waste areas shce the turn of the century. TheHarmon Coal Co:nr.any of Pennsylvania and the Hanna Coal company of Cadiz, Ohio, in addition to the nllnois Goal Striprers Association and the Indiana coal Strippers Association are pioneers inthis effort. The first large scale planting of trees was in Indiana ia 192R.These companies have re- claimed land with trees, and grasses, and have developed parks whichhave been'given to the communities in which they operate. Many of the state parks in southwestern Indiana are Eoner strip mines. %her areas have been devel.oped foragriculture, pasture, orchards, timber for pulpwood, housing and industrial sites, community water supplies and wildlife preserves. Much research has been done by the United States Forest Service at the Nokthzeastern Forest Experiment Station, the Central StBtes Forest Eqerjment Station, the Forest Service Research Station at Darby, Fennsylvania, ,and the West Virginia andOhio Agricul- tural kperiment Stations with the the types of gasses, legumes, and trees to be used as cover yegetation for mine-out areas. In addition the Soil.ConservatSon Service the the hreau of Mines have contributed valuable research. The national government has passed some acts of legislation dealing with conservation. The btinerdl Lands Laasing Act of 1920 established a plan for the orderly development of . .. mineralsources, including oil, gas, and coal. The Soil Conservation Act of 1935, began a nationwide program of soil and moisture'conservation, The Wilderness Act of 1964, gave legislation of the multiple use policy to nctural areas.and to certain existing wilderness areas.Included in the Surface MininggReclamation Act of 1968, is the objective to prevent dispoilment of thousands of acres ofmining land.