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ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS OF USING MINING WASTE FOR RECLAMATION GRAVEL PIT IN RAJSKO (SOLA VALLEY, SOUTHERN POLAND).

Marek Sołtysiak

Abstract

The paper describes the case of excavation reclamation after exploitation of gravel, located in the Sola River valley in Rajsko, in the range of the Nature 2000 area Lower Sola Valley (PLB120004), within and the vicinity of the Nature 2000 area of Lower Sola (PLH120083), the vicinity of breeding ponds. There is a Quaternary aquifer in the excavation bottom. 540,000 tonnes of waste from a nearby hard coal mine were used for ground works, which filled the excavation after exploitation of gravel. As a part of the field work, conductivity profiling in water reservoirs was performed and physicochemical analyzes of the samples taken from them were performed as well. On the foreground of deposited material, the water conductivity in the reservoir residue exceeded 14 mS/cm. The concentration of chloride was 4667 mg/L - more than 200 times higher than in ponds situated outside the influence of post mining waste. The static leaching tests of the material used to fill the landfill were performed and their chemical composition was determined. Additionally, XRD and XRF analyzes of mining waste, used in engineering works were made. Performed research allowed us to estimate the load of pollutants that will be released into the environment from material that was found harmless in official documents. This paper has systemic importance for the change in the approach to post-mining waste. The authors pointed out that the use of mining waste can only take place in the areas where it will not lead to pollution of the soil and water environment and the need to monitor their actual impact on the environment. They emphasized the need to monitor the impact of the reclaimed area on the environment. It was noted that contrary to common practices, mining waste cannot be treated as an environmentally neutral aggregate.

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