REVIEW OF GLOBAL TRENDS IN MEETING THE ECOLOGICAL CHALLENGES OF THE MINING INDUSTRY. PART I: INTERNATIONAL RESEARCH

The scope of the present-day open pit mining embraces numerous deposits of diverse solid minerals on all continents. Both surface and underground mining unconditionally entails dramatic environmental impact. The path of this investigative review runs from the continents and countries in the Northern Hemisphere to the Southern Hemisphere and from the Western to the Eastern Hemisphere. The review of the global research in the area of mining ecology has revealed the main trends of ecological studies on the continents and at various solid mineral deposits, either mined-out or in operation. Challenges facing the mining ecology include land reclamation, soil quality improvement in artificial revegetation, surface and underground mine water treatment and quality analysis, phyto-remediation of disturbed land, recovery of vegetation diversity, investigation of suitability of mined-out open pits and overburden dumps for colonization by insects, birds and wild animals, study of suitability of mined-out pit voids for colonization by aquatic fauna, analysis of soil pollution with heavy metals and cancerogenic substances in the course of mineral mining and processing, after-effect of mining on people health, preservation of the vegetable world and wildlife in the mining-adjacent areas, as well as administration of interaction between mining companies, governmental authorities, civil society and environmental agencies. Each of these trends is promising for the further research and analysis. To our opinion, these trends are correlated and represent an integral system defined as interaction of the vegetable, aquatic, animal and human worlds. This interaction needs persistent improvement of mining ecology and minimization of the environmental impact of industry. The associate problem solving widely uses eco-mathematical modeling, specialized experimentation at a laboratory scale and accumulation of in-situ information.