Abandoned Surface Coal Mine Research Articles

A multi-criteria decision framework to evaluate sustainable alternatives for repurposing of abandoned or closed surface coal mines

Surface coal mines, when abandoned or closed, pose significant environmental and socioeconomic challenges. Repurposing these sites is crucial for sustainable land use and responsible resource management. This study presents a comprehensive decision framework tailored to the Indian mining context, utilizing a hybrid approach combining the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and technique for order preference by similarity to an ideal solution (TOPSIS) methodology. The proposed framework assesses and ranks alternative repurposing options by considering a multi-criteria evaluation, including ecological, economic, social, and regulatory factors. AHP is employed to determine the relative importance of these criteria, reflecting the unique priorities and perspectives of stakeholders involved in the repurposing process. TOPSIS then identifies the optimal alternatives based on their overall performance against the established criteria. This hybrid methodology contributes to informed decision-making in the sustainable repurposing of abandoned surface coal mines in India. It aids in identifying the most viable and environmentally responsible alternatives, promoting efficient land use and resource conservation while addressing the challenges associated with abandoned mine sites. The methodology’s applicability extends globally to industries facing similar repurposing challenges, facilitating the transition toward a more sustainable and responsible land reclamation and resource management approach. The methodology is implemented using real mine data and demonstrates the analysis for evaluation among multiple alternatives such as solar parks, fish farming, eco-resorts, forestry, and museums. In our study, eco-resorts show more promise based on the significant potential for local economic development, provision of local employment, long-term revenue generation, potential for upskilling local youth in management, gardening, construction, and animal husbandry, and serving as a site for exhibitions of various arts and crafts.

Salamander diversity of reforested abandoned surface coal mines in the Appalachian Region, U.S.A.

Surface coal mining is a pervasive form of land use and leading cause of deforestation in the Appalachian Region of the United States. Contemporary reclamation practices tend to produce strongly altered landscapes that inhibit forest succession, so there is a need for the development of alternative methods. Surface coal mines that preceded modern reclamation laws, known as abandoned mine lands, have become reforested in many locations and may serve as a model for improving the restoration of forests in postmining landscapes. I compared salamander diversity between 5 forests growing atop abandoned surface coal mines to 5 similar aged reference forests in southeastern Ohio using time constrained transect searches in autumn 2012 and spring 2013. The survey revealed 1,480 salamander individuals, representing 11 different species from 3 different families. The vast majority of salamanders (93%) were from the family Plethodontidae. Salamander species richness was significantly higher in reference forests than in mined forests, but this difference was contingent on the presence of stream‐dependent species in the reference forests. Salamander relative abundance was not significantly different between reference and mined forests. This survey demonstrates that reforested abandoned surface coal mines can provide suitable habitat for many forest‐dependent, terrestrial salamander species, but impaired water quality of headwater streams may limit the colonization of these forests by stream‐dependent species.

Minesoil Response to Reclamation by Using a Flue Gas Desulfurization Product

Mine lands are an environmental concern worldwide because of their potential strong negative impact on water and soil quality. A field study was conducted to assess the use of a dry flue gas desulfurization (FGD) product for reclamation of an abandoned surface coal mine in Ohio. The FGD product was an atmospheric fluidized bed combustion residue and was applied to the graded mine site at 280 Mg ha-1, both alone and in combination with 112 Mg ha-1 yard waste compost, and was compared with conventional reclamation with 20 cm of borrow soil plus 157 Mg ha-1 of agricultural limestone. A grass-legume sward was planted, and soil physical and chemical properties and β-glucosidase activity were measured over both short- (1–4 yr) and long-term (15–17 yr) periods following reclamation. Soil pH at 0- to 20-cm depth increased from 3.1 to approximately neutral and was sustained at this level for 15 yr. Compared with the conventional reclamation, extractable Ca, S, B, and Zn concentrations at 0- to 20-cm depth were generally increased by the treatments with FGD product, while other extractable trace metals measured were generally not increased in short- or long-term measurements. Seventeen years after reclamation, β-glucosidase activity had increased in all three treatments at 0- to 5- and 5- to 10-cm depths compared with an adjacent untreated area. Furthermore, β-glucosidase activity more than doubled in the treatments with FGD product compared with the conventional soil treatment at 0- to 5-cm depth. These results suggest that the use of high lime FGD products for reclamation of acid coal mine lands can provide effective long-term reclamation.

English

Passive treatment system components containing limestone are an effective means to decrease Mn concentrations in coal mine drainage. As precipitates, sediment, vegetation, and other materials accumulate in the void spaces, permeability decreases and treatment effectiveness is reduced. Recently, the ability to recover manganese-bearing material for potential economic use while restoring treatment efficiency has been demonstrated at the De Sale Phase 2 passive treatment system, installed at an abandoned surface coal mine in western Pennsylvania. Efforts to date include pre- and post-recovery water monitoring; development of a unique full-scale recovery technique; preliminary physical, chemical, and mineralogical analysis; and identification of a potentially economically-viable use of the recovered material. The horizontal flow limestone bed was monitored 3, 24, 64, and 118 days after Mn recovery. Comparing the influent with the effluent indicated decreases in dissolved Mn concentrations from 64 to 30 mg/L, 55 to 10 mg/L, 46 to 9 mg/L, and 20 to 8 mg/L, respectively, essentially doubling treatment effectiveness. Over 40 cubic yards (30 cubic meters) of manganese-bearing material were recovered. Currently, the Mn material is being used by local ceramic artists as a glaze colorant and is being evaluated by other industries including brick manufacturing.

The Seismic Response of a Steep Slope: High-Resolution Observations with a Dense, Three-Component Seismic Array

We deployed an array of 35, three-component seismographs to measure site effects associated with a 50-m high slope that is the highwall of an abandoned surface coal mine near Sullivan, Indiana. The strip mine pit had filled with water to within 10 m of the top of the highwall. Our array was deployed over this slope and recorded 10 underwater explosions detonated in the lake 800 m away. The raw data show a site resonance revealed by ringy waveforms observed at stations near the slope crest. The ringing is seen on the vertical component immediately following the P arrival and on the horizontal components immediately following what we interpret as a secondary P arrival formed by a direct wave propagating through the water. Three-dimensional particle-motion analysis demonstrates that the P -wave signal is linearly polarized on the flat ground behind the slope but becomes strongly elliptical for stations on the slope. The direct wave through the water is nearly horizontally polarized and shows a pronounced amplification of about a factor of 2 for stations at the top of the slope. We quantify the variations in the site resonance by using spectral ratios. We observe a factor of 2 amplification at about 9 Hz that we interpret as a fundamental mode of the slope face. Online material: animations of 3D and 4D visualizations. Manuscript received 8 June 2001.

Relationship of mycorrhizal activity to time following reclamation of surface mine land in western Kentucky. II. Mycorrhizal fungal communities

Over a period of 2.5 years, mycorrhizal fungal communities in soils of five abandoned surface coal mine sites in western Kentucky were studied in relation to time following reclamation. These sites were reclaimed at different times and were in varying stages of revegetation. At the seeding stage of reclamation, low populations of mycorrhizal fungal spores of only a few species, notably Glomus microcarpum Tul. & Tul., Glomus aggregatum Schenck & Smith emend. Koske, and Glomus fasciculatum (Thaxter) Gerdemann & Trappe emend. Walker & Koske, were present. Populations of spores of these species increased rapidly during the first 1 or 2 years after reclamation. Other species, notably those with larger spores, appeared with time. Spores of one group of species were a high proportion of the total early after reclamation, then declined in relation to populations of other species. A second group appeared soon after reclamation and maintained a relatively constant proportion of the total population. A third group was inconspicuous for a few years after reclamation but increased in proportion to the total population of spores with time. Species richness was low soon after reclamation, rose slowly and erratically over 5 years, then stabilized at about 10 species. Species dominance, diversity, and evenness were relatively constant after the first 2 years of reclamation.Key words: Glomales mycorrhizal fungi, arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, abandoned minespoil, succession, community relations.

Geochemical response of acid groundwater to neutralization by alkaline recharge

Solute transport and chemical neutralization (pH 3 to 7) within a shallow heterogeneous aquifer producing acid mine drainage (AMD) are examined at an abandoned surface coal mine in West Virginia. The aquifer is undergoing partial neutralization by mixing with alkalinity from a leaking sludge disposal pond, extending in preferential zones controlled by aquifer heterogeneity. Hydraulic heads interpolated from wells indicate leakage from a central alkaline (pH 7.1, 0.72 meq/L alkalinity) sludge pond is a principal source of recharge. Chemically-conservative sodium, added to AMD during treatment and leaked into the aquifer with the sludge, develops a dispersion plume over a restricted portion of the aquifer that correlates with pH, hydraulic head, and dissolved metals distributions. Concentrations of aluminum, iron, sulfate and acidity display higher concentrations downgradient from the pond as sludge alkalinity is consumed along flow paths. Before reaching springs, most dissolved iron is oxidized and hydrolyzed, likely precipitating in the aquifer as a ferric hydroxide or hydroxysulfate phase. The spatial pattern of iron and aluminum concentrations suggests accelerated oxidation caused by gas transport along the outer slopes of the spoil. Dissolved aluminum concentrations increase with total acidity, suggesting that dissolution of silicate minerals results from acidity released by iron hydrolysis. Neutralization reactions and higher pH are favored in more highly permeable portions of the spoil, where ferrihydrite and aluminum hydroxysulfate minerals (such as basaluminite) are supersaturated. In acid-producing zones at pH < 4.5, jurbanite is near equilibrium and an aluminum-sulfate phase with similar properties may limit aluminum concentrations, but become undersaturated in zones of advancing neutralization. At this particular site, ferrous iron produced by pyrite oxidation is almost completely oxidized over short transport distances, allowing hydrolysis of iron and aluminum should sufficient alkalinity be added to these acid waters.

Acid mine drainage contaminates groundwater of a Tennessee watershed

Water samples were collected from 18 natural springs within the West Fork of the Obey River watershed. Overton County, Tennessee, to determine if groundwater was adversely affected by runoff from abandoned surface coal mines Six springs were found to be affected severely and deemed unfit as a source of potable water Water quality of the remaining springs was essentially unaffected it appeared that proximity to surface mines, elevation at the outflow, and geology of the surrounding strata determined the quality of the groundwater

Patch Dynamics of Plant Succession on Abandoned Surface Coal Mines: A Case History Approach

SUMMARY revegetation in Missouri, U.S.A., is described. (2) The six sites have undulate surfaces and slightly to very acidic spoils. (3) The size and frequency of vegetation patches were measured by computer image-analysis of digital maps prepared from aerial photographs taken at various intervals after the sites were abandoned. (4) Despite differences in the rates of revegetation, the six sites were rapidly colonized by plants which grew to form patches. These patches grew at a uniform rate, while new patches were also formed. Eventually, the patches coalesced and dominated the surface. The degree of non-circularity of patches was at its maximum when fusion of patches became widespread. (5) Grazing of one site reduced total cover and produced a transient fission of patches so that, for a short time, their density increased and non-circularity decreased.

The relative decomposition potential of habitats variously affected by surface coal mining

In a 20-year-old abandoned surface coal mine area in eastern Ohio, fiber glass litter bags containing leaves of Robinia pseudoacacia, Pinits resinosa, and Acer rubrum were set out in three habitats: a non-vegetated strip-mined area, a strip-mined area dominated by Robinia pseudoacacia, and an adjacent unstripped area dominated by Fagus grandifolia and Acer saccharum. From 1 to 6 months after litter fall, there were statistically significant differences in Robinia and Acer leaf litter dry weight between the bare strip-mined habitat and either of the vegetated habitats, both strip-mined and unstripped. After 6 months of decomposition time, rates of decomposition based on dry weight loss became equalized for all litter types in all habitats except for Robinia leaves between the non-vegetated and the vegetated strip-mined habitats. This indicates that changes in decomposition potential because of strip-mining influence the early stages of litter decay. Calculated values for soil pH, texture, organic carbon content, and trace element content indicated that soils from strip-mined habitats contained greater levels of heavy metal cations and were more acidic. Soils from the control area unaffected by mining contained high percentages of sand-sized particles and low concentrations of trace elements, including metals. Soil respiration data measured by manometric techniques in January and April showed significant differences between the strip-mined habitats and the unaffected habitat. In addition, numbers of soil fungi isolated from soil samples of each habitat were higher in the unstrippedcontrol area than in either of the strip-mined areas. Leaf litter decomposition processes appear to be functionally more resistant to environmental impact than is apparent when structural diversity and complexity of soil populations are considered.