International Experience of Solving the Problem of Land Reclamation after Mining
The continuously growing economics demands for minerals lead to increasing of disturbed lands. Natural, mining and socio-economic conditions that determine the complexity of technical and environmental processes related to mining and reclamation of the destroyed natural balance differ widely. All these facts highlight the problem of land reclamation. The system of rules governing the relations of land reclamation after mining is often criticized because it is not complete and balanced. The legislation on land reclamation, in most cases, is limited to the fact that it only declares in general terms the need to comply with certain rules in the field of land use during mining. The Cement Sustainability Initiative (CSI) is a global program that works under the auspices of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, which was the result of the combined efforts of 24 major cement producers, who operate in more than 100 countries. Participants of the Initiative have developed recommendations on preparation and implementation of reclamation plans for quarries. The guidelines set out in the recommendations may be useful to other companies in the sector, which would contribute to further improvement of the standards of quarries reclamation.