Large-scale mineral mining, including critical minerals of oil, gas and coal, conditions withdrawal of vast land from the agricultural sector. The relevance of this problem is connected with prevention and elimination of disamenity of the subsoil use. It is necessary to determine a strategy of mining-disturbed land reclamation. The authors propose an integrated assessment of mining-disturbed land, which allows a comprehensive analysis of current condition of these man-made sites. The proposed procedure can serve as a framework for the development of recommendations on reclamation trend selection. It enables simultaneous sequential or parallel application of parameters and criteria from a compiled list. In the aggregate, these parameters and criteria describe features of man-made objects and their condition by quantitative and qualitative indicators determined during field study, field survey, lab-scale testing and office analysis. As a case study of the Novosibirsk Region, the necessity is demonstrated and a matrix is constructed for the mining-disturbed land assessment by the level and nature of the environmental impact, with the determination of boundaries and sizes of damage areas. The basis for ranking man-made objects was classification, typification and clustering of attributes which govern peculiarities of the external impacts on the environment (rocks, soil, artificial ground, surface water, groundwater, etc.). These attributes are characterized by parameters and quantitative indicators measured on various scales, which identify admissible and hyperadmissible environmental load. The proposed approach allows the integrated analysis of mining-disturbed land areas with a view to their further ranking by the environmental load, and for developing an expert system of the optimized selection of new application ranges for such land.
Monitoring of the stability of technogenic objects is a critical aspect of ensuring safety and preventing emergencies caused by mining and geological processes. The integrated use of various monitoring methods allows obtaining comprehensive information on the dynamics of deformation processes. The complex system of geotechnical monitoring of technogenic objects on the basis of geospatial data was developed, which was tested in the conditions of the “Edelweiss +” open-pit coal mine (Republic of Kazakhstan). The system was based on the step-by-step integration of Earth remote sensing methods, satellite radar interferometry, aerial photography with the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), as well as modern instrumental methods – electronic tacheometry and GNSS measurements. The first stage – analysis of archive satellite images to identify areas of significant surface displacements. The second stage is aerial photography using UAVs to create detailed 3D models of surface areas with deformations. The third stage includes the creation of a geomechanical monitoring system based on instrumental observation methods in areas with critical changes. The final stage is the creation and updating of a geospatial database that provides continuous monitoring of the object’s condition. As a result of testing of the geotechnical monitoring system based on Sentinel-1 and TerraSAR-X/TanDEM-X satellite images, surface subsidence of up to 25 mm was detected on the northern side of the “Edelweiss +” open-pit mine. Aerial photography of the open-pit mine allowed us to construct digital 3D models of the terrain, the comparison of which confirmed deformation processes at the +556 m horizon. Instrumental observations using modern geodetic methods clarified the type and dynamics of deformations of the rock mass. Integration of geospatial data in the geotechnical monitoring system ensures prompt detection of deformations, their analysis and forecast, which allows us to minimize the risks of destruction and increase the safety of operation of technogenic objects.
