A NEW TREND IN MINIMIZING THE IMPACT OF MINING ON THE ECOLOGY OF REGIONS
The article analyses the features of the impact of mining waste on the environment of the North Caucasus regions. A brief historical background of the mountaintop mining in the North Caucasus is given. A model of environmental damage by the products of natural leaching and a new criterion of objective environmental and economic assessment of the mining region are recommended. The models for determining the economic effect of tailings disposal for obtaining environmental and economic effects are given. The paper provides a summary of the results of the experiments on the mechanical and chemical removal of metals from tailings of ore sat the Sadonsky Deposit, the ores of the Kursk Magnetic Anomaly and the coals of the Russian Donbass with metal recovery to 80 %. It is substantiated that the recommended trend is the only alternative to waste management practices of mining and processing of mineral metal raw materials.