Opportunities, not threats: how today's coal-mining industry can resolve problems created by past mining

Abstract

Viewed simply, the legacies of coal mining may appear to present insurmountable problems for the environment, local communities and developers. From a different perspective, however, these 'problems' can be transformed into challenges and opportunities. The impact of previous coal-mining activity on today's society can be subdivided into hazards for health and safety (e.g. the production and release of harmful mine gases into the atmosphere), landscape despoliation (e.g. unsightly and unrestored spoil tips), environmental and agricultural impacts (e.g. inadequate soil restoration on early opencast sites) and ground instability (e.g. arising from the presence of shallow mine workings). Careful planning, design and implementation, coupled with a partnership approach between mining companies, the local community and statutory authorities, can allow many of these problems to be minimized, managed and, possibly, eradicated while allowing the exploitation of valuable reserves of coal.Three opencast coal sites where past mining has had a particular impact are used to illustrate how problems created in the past can be rectified and highlight some of the design and operational difficulties that can be encountered on such projects.