Assessment of rehabilitation options for environmental impacts of abandoned mines

Abstract

The quarries which are abandoned ceasing operations without a proper closure plan cause negative impacts on the environment and also risk for the health and safety of society and the economy. This research focused on the environmental aspects that are affected by abandoned quarries and a sustainable methodology to design future land use. The objective of this research is to introduce a quarry rehabilitation method that is effective and has a positive impact on the environment, and applicable for abandoned quarries in Sri Lanka. In this respect, the district of Colombo has been chosen due to its importance in social and economic aspects. The research was conducted by identifying abandoned quarries through remote sensing and geographic information system technique (RS & GIS) analysis of satellite images of the concerned area. Prioritised two quarries among identified quarries for further analysis and suggested possible rehabilitation options. According to the land use analysis around the two quarries, the better rehabilitation option is to transform the lands into a vegetation area.