In pursuit of easier living conditions, man has always longed to study the world around him, to conquer it, to explore the earthly, above-ground and underground surfaces. People have succeeded well in their business, because science knows that already in ancient times about 20 chemical elements were extracted from the bowels of the earth. Modern methods of mining have been actively developing since the end of the 18th century. More and more advanced technologies are being used, such as coiled tubing.

It's amazing how man came to the mining industry. Initially, not paying attention to earthly treasures, he was drawn into the depths of the earth by trial and error, coincidences and accidents, experiments and observations.

People owe most of the amenities that people now have to natural resources. Undoubtedly, the widespread use of the earth's resources brings enormous benefits for the development of progress. Household appliances, high-quality building materials, industry - everything necessary in everyday life would be absolutely impossible without them. Probably, not all people fully understand the importance of mining, naively assuming that it will be easy to give up. In some ways they are right, but such a course of events would radically change the way of life of today's civilizations.

The variety of types of mineral resources determines a wide range of their use. Since ancient times, precious stones have been decorating the appearance of girls and are also used in technology. Diamonds are distinguished by a high level of strength and sharpness, which is why drills, drills, saws, and machine tools are made from them. Coal, having a high calorific value, is used for heating premises, as well as as fuel and chemical raw materials. Oil is perhaps one of the most widely used types of minerals, because gasoline, paraffin, kerosene, chemical oils, etc. are made from it. Brown coal and aluminum are used as energy materials. Peat, manganese ores, phosphorus, potassium - all of this is an important fertilizer. Copper ore is also a necessary mineral, because from it a person makes most of the objects around him, from dishes to machine parts.

It goes without saying that people would not have electricity, transport, heating systems, media and communications and many other things if they did not engage in mining. But gradually the desire to forcibly take possession of everything that is hidden under the earth’s crust poses an increasingly greater threat to humanity and the planet as a whole.

The very methods of extracting resources from the bowels of the earth cause enormous harm to the environment. Drilling wells and high pressure on the ground by the tracks of construction equipment lead to soil erosion, which can lead to a decrease in the area of ​​fertile land. Industrial waste, in turn, pollutes not only the soil, but also underground, ground and surface water sources. Polluted water bodies can cause the extinction of flora and fauna in the surrounding area, and in addition, can cause severe forms of disease in the local population. People living close to places where work is being done to extract and use radioactive elements are, according to statistics, three times more likely to suffer from cancer and cardiovascular diseases.

Almost all minerals emit hazardous emissions into the atmosphere during processing and during use. Scientists say that the presence of a large amount of toxic and harmful substances in the air envelope of the planet leads to ozone holes, and, ultimately, can lead to global warming.

Even today, some countries in the world are experiencing sudden climate changes and natural disasters, which many experts attribute to the high level of industrial exhaust in the atmosphere. Despite all the harmful effects of mining, it is generally accepted that its harmfulness can be reduced if we rely on human self-awareness and responsibility.

People working in industrial enterprises, as well as environmental organizations, need to ensure that all waste is carefully disposed of in appropriate places. In addition, each person must use energy and water resources wisely so that future generations do not have to survive on dry, devastated land devoid of minerals.

Introduction

The problem of interaction between two powerful systems “Nature” and “Society” is both old and modern. Old - because it appeared a long time ago, since the emergence of the biological species “Homo sapiens”. Modern - because the scale of society's impact on nature has reached catastrophic proportions.

Nature conservation is the most important task of humanity. The current scale of human impact on the natural environment, the commensurability of the scale of human economic activity with the potential ability of modern landscapes to assimilate its adverse consequences. Crises in the development of the natural environment, the global nature of the modern crisis environmental situation.

Environmental activity is the process of conservation, restoration and reproduction of natural potential, which should be an essential component of economic activity as a whole. The development of environmental protection activities is a necessary prerequisite for overcoming the crisis situation in the environment. In modern conditions, the content and direction of activities for nature conservation and conservation of natural resource potential have expanded significantly. In order to preserve this part of the national wealth in the process of environmental management, it is necessary to determine: the correspondence of the natural resources available on the planet (in the country, region), their geological location and condition to the goals and desired rates of economic development; the possibility of developing a particular production depending on the state of the environment; changes in economic growth rates due to the limitation of certain resources; limiting the consumption of certain natural resources in the interests of future generations; the impact of environmental pollution on the further development of the economy; main strategic ways to solve economic and environmental problems; opportunities for exploration of natural resources and the influence of scientific and technical progress on this process; the possibility of replacing traditional types of fuel, energy and other natural resources with non-traditional ones, etc.

In the process of mining and processing minerals, humans influence the large geological cycle. First, humans convert mineral deposits into other forms of chemical compounds. For example, man gradually exhausts combustible minerals (oil, coal, gas, peat) and ultimately converts them into carbon dioxide and carbonates. Secondly, man distributes it over the surface of the earth, dispersing, as a rule, former geological accumulations.

Impact of mining on nature

Currently, for each inhabitant of the Earth, about 20 tons of raw materials are extracted annually, of which a few percent goes into the final product, and the rest turns into waste. There are significant losses of useful components (up to 50 - 60%) during mining, enrichment and processing.

In underground mining, coal losses amount to 30-40%, in open-pit mining - 10%. When mining iron ores in the open pit, losses amount to 3-5%; in underground mining of tungsten-molybdenum ores, losses reach 10-12%; in open mining - 3-5%. When developing mercury and gold deposits, losses can reach 30%.

Most mineral deposits are complex and contain several components that are economically viable to extract. In oil fields, associated components are gas, sulfur, iodine, bromine, boron, in gas fields - sulfur, nitrogen, helium. Non-ferrous metal ores are characterized by the greatest complexity. Deposits of potassium salts usually contain sylvite, carnallite and halite. Sylvite undergoes the most intensive further processing. Losses of sylvite are 25-40%, losses of carnallite - 70-80%, halite - 90%.

Currently, there is a constant and quite significant decrease in the metal content in mined ores. Thus, over the past 2-3 decades, the content of lead, zinc, and copper in ores has decreased annually by 2-2.3%, molybdenum by almost 3%, and the antimony content has decreased by almost 2 times in the last 10 years alone. The iron content in mined ores decreases by an average of 1% (absolute) per year.

It is obvious that in 20-25 years, to obtain the same amount of non-ferrous and ferrous metals, it will be necessary to more than double the amount of mined and processed ore.

During the extraction and processing of minerals, a large geological cycle occurs, in which various systems are involved. As a result, there is a great impact on the ecology of the mining region, and such impact entails negative consequences.

The scale of mining is large - up to 20 tons of raw materials are mined per year per inhabitant of the Earth, of which less than 10% goes into the final product, and the remaining 90% is waste. In addition, during mining there is a significant loss of raw materials, approximately 30–50%, which indicates that some types of mining are uneconomical, especially the open-pit method.

Russia is a country with a widely developed mining industry and has deposits of basic raw materials. Issues of the negative impact of the extraction and processing of raw materials are very relevant, since these processes affect all areas of the Earth:

• lithosphere;
• atmosphere:
• water;
• animal world.

Impact on the lithosphere

Any mining method involves the extraction of ore from the earth’s crust, which leads to the formation of cavities and voids, the integrity of the crust is disrupted, and fracturing increases.

As a result, the likelihood of collapses, landslides, and faults in the area adjacent to the mine increases. Anthropogenic relief forms are created:

• careers;
• dumps;
• waste heaps;
• ravines.

Such atypical forms are large in size, the height can reach 300 m, and the length is 50 km. The embankments are formed from waste of processed raw materials; trees and plants do not grow on them - they are just kilometers of unsuitable territory.

During the extraction of rock salt, during the enrichment of raw materials, halite waste is formed (three to four tons of waste per ton of salt), it is solid and insoluble, and rainwater carries it into rivers, which are often used to provide drinking water to the population of nearby cities.

Environmental problems associated with the occurrence of voids can be solved by filling ravines and depressions in the earth's crust formed as a result of mining with waste and processed raw materials. It is also necessary to improve mining technology to reduce the removal of waste rock, this can significantly reduce the amount of waste.

Many rocks contain several types of minerals, so it is possible to combine mining and processing of all ore components. This is not only economically beneficial, but also has a positive impact on the environment.

Another negative consequence associated with mining is the contamination of nearby agricultural soils. This happens during transport. Dust flies for many kilometers and settles on the surface of the soil, on plants and trees.

Many substances can release toxins, which then enter the food of animals and humans, poisoning the body from the inside. Often, around magnesite deposits that are actively being developed, there is a wasteland within a radius of up to 40 km, the soil changes the alkaline-acid balance, and plants stop growing, and nearby forests die.

As a solution to this problem, environmentalists propose locating raw material processing enterprises near the extraction site; this will also reduce transportation costs. For example, locate power plants near coal deposits.

And, finally, the extraction of raw materials significantly depletes the earth’s crust, reserves of substances decrease every year, ores become less saturated, this contributes to large volumes of mining and processing. The result is an increase in waste volumes. The solution to these problems can be the search for artificial substitutes for natural substances and their economical consumption.

Mining salt

Impact on the atmosphere

Mining operations have enormous environmental problems on the atmosphere. As a result of the primary processing of mined ores, large volumes are released into the air:

• methane,
• oxides
• heavy metals,
• sulfur,
• carbon.

The created artificial waste heaps constantly burn, emitting harmful substances into the atmosphere - carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide. Such atmospheric pollution leads to an increase in radiation levels, changes in temperature indicators and an increase or decrease in precipitation.

During mining, large amounts of dust are released into the air. Every day, up to two kilograms of dust fall on the areas adjacent to the quarries; as a result, the soil remains buried under a half-meter layer for many years, and often forever, and, naturally, loses its fertility.

The solution to this problem is the use of modern equipment that reduces the level of emissions of harmful substances, as well as the use of a mine mining method instead of an open one.

Impact on the aquatic environment

As a result of the extraction of natural raw materials, water bodies, both underground and surface, are severely depleted, and swamps are drained. When mining coal, groundwater is pumped out, which is located near the deposit. For every ton of coal there is up to 20 m 3 of formation water, and when mining iron ores - up to 8 m 3 of water. Pumping water creates environmental problems such as:

• formation of depression craters;
• disappearance of springs;
• drying up of small rivers;
• disappearance of streams.

Surface waters suffer from pollution as a result of the extraction and processing of fossil raw materials. Just like in the atmosphere, a large amount of salts, metals, toxic substances, and waste enters the water.

As a result of this, microorganisms living in reservoirs, fish and other living creatures die; people use contaminated water not only for their household needs, but also for food. Environmental problems associated with hydrosphere pollution can be prevented by reducing wastewater discharges, reducing water consumption during production, and filling the formed voids with water.

This can be achieved by improving the process of extracting raw materials and using new developments in the field of mechanical engineering for the mining industry.

Impact on flora and fauna

During the active development of large deposits of raw materials, the radius of contamination of nearby soils can be 40 km. The soil is subject to various chemical changes, depending on the harmfulness of the processed substances. If a large amount of toxic substances gets into the ground, trees, shrubs and even grass die and do not grow on it.

Consequently, there is no food for animals, they either die or look for new places to live, and entire populations migrate. The solution to these problems should be a reduction in the level of emissions of harmful substances into the atmosphere, as well as compensatory measures for the restoration and cleanup of contaminated areas. Compensatory measures include fertilizing soils, planting forests, and organizing pastures.

When developing new deposits, when the top layer of soil - fertile black soil - is removed, it can be transported and distributed in poor, depleted areas, near inactive mines.

Video: Pollution

The degree of negative impact of mining on the natural environment depends on many reasons, among which we should highlight: technological, due to a complex of techniques and methods of influence; economic, depending on the economic capabilities of the region in general and the enterprise in particular; ecological, related to the characteristics of ecosystems experiencing this impact. All these reasons are closely related to each other, and excessive exposure to one of them can be compensated by another. For example, in a mining region that has substantial contributions to the budget, it is possible to compensate for the intensity of the impact on the environment by investing additional funds both in modernizing production and carrying out measures to improve the state of the natural environment.

From the point of view of the impact of natural resource extraction on the landscape, deposits of solid, liquid and gaseous natural resources should be distinguished, since the consequences of the development of each of the identified categories of deposits are different. For example, the main consequence of developing a deposit of solid minerals in an open way is the disruption of the topography due to the formation of dumps and various types of excavations on the surface of the earth, and the underground method is the formation of waste heaps. A waste heap is a dump, an artificial embankment of waste rocks extracted during the underground development of coal deposits and other minerals, a mound of waste or slag from various industries and the combustion of solid fuels, which occupy tens of thousands of hectares of fertile land. In addition, coal waste heaps often spontaneously ignite, which leads to significant air pollution. Long-term development of oil and gas fields leads to the subsidence of the earth's surface and intensification of seismic phenomena.

When mining minerals, there is a high risk of man-made accidents. Man-made accidents include accidents associated with drilling wells - fountains, griffins, etc., explosions and breakthroughs in process pipelines, fires and explosions in oil refineries, falling of the traveling block tower, stuck and broken well tools, fires at the drilling rig and etc.; associated with work in mines (underground mining), - explosions and fires in underground workings, above-mine buildings, sudden emissions of coal dust and methane, accidents at lifting installations, central drainage systems and compressor installations, accidents of main ventilation fans; collapses in mine shafts, etc.

The scale of mineral extraction is increasing every year. This is due not only to an increase in the consumption of rocks and minerals, but also to a decrease in the content of useful components in them. Technologies have been created that make it possible to recycle almost all materials. Currently, global production of mining raw materials and fuel has significantly exceeded 150 billion tons per year with a useful content of less than 8% of the original mass. Every year in the CIS member states, about 5 billion tons of overburden rocks, 700 million tons of enrichment tailings and 150 million tons of ash are stored in dumps. Of these, no more than 4% is further used in the national economy. Granovskaya N.V., Nastakin A.V., Meshchaninov F.V. Technogenic mineral deposits. - Rostov-on-Don: Southern Federal University, 2013..

Any method of mining has a significant impact on the natural environment. A great environmental risk is associated with underground and above-ground mining. The upper part of the lithosphere is particularly affected. With any mining method, significant rock removal and movement occurs. The primary relief is being replaced by man-made relief.

The open-pit mining method has its own specifics. Significant destruction of the earth's surface and the existing technology of mining lead to the fact that the quarry, crushing and processing complexes, pellet production complexes and other industrial facilities of the mining and processing plant are, to one degree or another, sources of destruction and pollution of the environment. Underground mining is associated with water pollution (acid mine drainage), accidents, and the formation of waste rock dumps, which requires land reclamation. But the area of ​​disturbed land with this mining method is tens of times smaller than with surface mining.

A significant number of mines are currently abandoned, their depth is hundreds of meters. In this case, the integrity of a certain volume of rocks is violated, cracks, voids and cavities appear, many of which are filled with water. Pumping water from mines creates extensive depression craters, the level of aquifers decreases, and there is constant pollution of surface and groundwater.

During quarrying (open pit mining), under the influence of powerful pumps that drain water from workings, excavators, and heavy vehicles, the upper part of the lithosphere and the terrain change. The risk of hazardous processes is also associated with the activation of various physical, chemical, geological and geographical processes: increased processes of soil erosion and the formation of ravines; activation of weathering processes, oxidation of ore minerals and their leaching, geochemical processes intensify; soil subsidence and subsidence of the earth's surface above the mined mine fields occur; In mining sites, soil contamination with heavy metals and various chemical compounds occurs.

Thus, it should be noted that the intensive development of the industrial complex should be carried out along with the greening of production. A set of environmental safety characteristics in mining / I.V. Sokolov, K.V. Tserenova, 2012..

The main properties of the geological environment of oil and gas fields are the presence in the section of two immiscible liquids - oil and groundwater, as well as the significant influence of liquid and gas hydrocarbon components on rocks. The main feature in oil and gas production complexes is the technogenic load on the geological environment, when the interaction of processes of selection of useful components from the subsoil occurs. One of the impacts on the geological environment in the areas of oil and gas fields, as well as oil refineries, is chemical pollution of the following main types: hydrocarbon pollution; salinization of rocks and groundwater with mineralized waters and brines obtained along with oil and gas; contamination with specific components, including sulfur compounds. Pollution of rocks, surface and groundwater is often accompanied by depletion of natural groundwater reserves. In some cases, surface water used for flooding oil reservoirs may also be depleted. In marine conditions, the scale of the threat of water pollution, both artificial (reagents used in drilling and operating wells) and natural pollutants (oil, brines), is increasing. The main reason for chemical pollution in oil fields is poor production standards and non-compliance with technology. Therefore, in the observation network for monitoring the geological environment of oil and gas field areas, one of the main loads falls on geochemical observations and pollution control.

Among the physical disturbances of the geological environment in oil and gas production areas, one should note the manifestations of subsidence, subsidence and failure of the earth's surface, as well as flooding.

In the process of mining and processing minerals, humans influence the large geological cycle. Man converts mineral deposits into other forms of chemical compounds. For example, man gradually exhausts combustible minerals (oil, coal, gas, peat) and ultimately converts them into carbon dioxide and carbonates. Secondly, man distributes it over the surface of the earth, dispersing, as a rule, former geological accumulations.

Currently, for each inhabitant of the Earth, about 20 tons of raw materials are extracted annually, of which a few percent goes into the final product, and the rest turns into waste.

Most mineral deposits are complex and contain several components that are economically viable to extract. In oil fields, associated components are gas, sulfur, iodine, bromine, boron, in gas fields - sulfur, nitrogen, helium. Currently, there is a constant and quite significant decrease in the metal content in mined ores. It is obvious that in 20–25 years, to obtain the same amount of non-ferrous and ferrous metals, it will be necessary to more than double the amount of mined and processed ore.

Mining impacts every area of ​​the Earth. The impact of mining on the lithosphere is manifested in the following:

1. Creation of anthropogenic forms of mesorelief: quarries, dumps (up to 100-150 m high), waste heaps (up to 300 m high), etc. On the territory of Donbass there are more than 2,000 waste rock dumps with a height of about 50–80 m. As a result of open-pit mining, quarries with a depth of more than 500 m are formed.

2. Activation of geological processes (karst, landslides, screes, subsidence and movement of rocks). During underground mining, subsidence troughs and failures are formed. In Kuzbass, a chain of sinkholes (up to 30 m deep) stretches for more than 50 km.

3. Changes in physical fields, especially in permafrost areas.

4. Mechanical disturbance of soils and their chemical pollution. Within a radius of 35–40 km from an active quarry, agricultural yields are reduced by 30% compared to the average level.

Mining affects the state of the atmosphere:

1. Air pollution occurs with emissions of CH 4, sulfur, carbon oxides from mine workings, as a result of burning dumps and waste heaps (release of N, C, S oxides), gas and oil fires.

2. The dust content of the atmosphere increases as a result of the burning of dumps and waste heaps, during explosions in quarries, which affects the amount of solar radiation and temperature, and the amount of precipitation.

The impact of mining on the hydrosphere is manifested in the depletion of aquifers and the deterioration of the quality of ground and surface waters.

Comprehensive measures for the rational use of mineral resources and subsoil protection include the following:

1. Ensuring the complete extraction of minerals during mining:

a) improving the quality of geological exploration;

b) expansion of open-pit mining;

c) introduction of mineral development systems with backfilling of mined-out space;

d) separate extraction of minerals and rocks;

e) re-development of sites and deposits;

f) development and use of special methods and measures to reduce losses. For example, increasing the recovery of oil reservoirs is carried out by various methods: physical-chemical, thermal, waterflooding. With the help of steam and thermal effects on the formations, the oil yield exceeds 40%. Enhanced oil recovery extends the exploitation of fields.

2. Ensuring complete extraction of minerals during processing:

a) increasing the degree of extraction of minerals by improving processing technology. Such technologies include underground leaching, microbiological, physico-chemical, hydrometallic and combined methods

b) use of pre-enrichment methods;

c) processing of dumps and waste;

d) additional extraction of useful components;

e) purification of mine and waste waters;

f) development of measures for economic incentives for more complete recovery during enrichment.

3. Rational use of extracted mineral raw materials and products of their processing in the national economy:

a) saving resources is one of the ways of rational use. Every percent of savings in fuel and energy resources is 2-3 times more profitable than increasing the production of rolled steel by hardening it and applying coatings that protect against corrosion

b) reuse of mineral processing products. A large reserve in the use of secondary resources is the recycling of scrap metal;

c) maximum reduction of losses during transportation of mineral raw materials, coal, etc.

A set of measures to radically improve the use of energy resources includes three main aspects:

ü reducing energy consumption to meet energy needs;

ü increasing the range of use of energy resources by improving the technology of extraction, processing, distribution and use of fuel and energy resources;

replacement of expensive and limited types of energy resources with cheaper energy sources.

6 Mineral resources of Belarus, their use and problems of protecting natural complexes during the development of mineral resources. In the depths of B. there are more than 30 types of mines. raw materials. According to the degree of readiness for use, outstanding. deposit: 1. With thoroughly explored mineral reserves. Raw materials 2. Not yet prepared for industrial development, 3. Promising areas. Fuel resources .Oil. According to as of 2008, 71 fields were discovered in Belarus, 68 in the Gomel region. and and 3 in Mogilevskaya. Developed about 38 deposits. The largest: (Rechitsa, Ostashkovichskoye (Svetlogorsky district), Vishanskoye (Svetlog. And Oktyabr. districts), Tishkovskoye (Rech. district), Davydovskoye (Svetlogorsky district). Gas. During the development of oil fields is mined associated gas, deposit on ter. Borshchevsky, Krasnoselsky and Zapadno-Alexandrovsky deposits. Peat. Inventory located in all areas. Field Svetlogorskoe, Vasilevichskoe, Lukskoe (Grom. Region), Berezinskoe, Chistik, Smolevichiskoe (Minsk Region), Rare Horn, Dnieper (Mogil. Region), Berezovskoe (Grodn. Region), Dobeevsky moss, Usvizh Buk, Vitebsk (Vit. . Region). It is used as a local fuel, it is also possible to use. For the production of organomineral fertilizers, filters, etc. For household chemicals, wood dyes, mud treatment. Brown coals. There are 3 fields in Gomel. brown coals: Zhitkovichskoe, Brinevskoe and Tonezhskoe. To industrial The Brinevskoye field and two deposits at the Zhitkovichi field have been prepared for development: Severnaya and Naidinskaya. Oil shale . 2 grains Location: Lyubanskoye (Minsk region) and Turovskoye (Gomel and Brest regions). sl potential raw material for energy development, chemical. industry, industry is building. materials. Nonmetallic Potassium salts 3 deposits Starobinskoye in Mins. region, Petrikovskoe and Oktyabrskoe in Gom. region). RUE "PA "Belaruskali" at the Starobinskoye field. Potash ores from which it produces potash fertilizers. Rock salt. 3 deposits: Starobinskoe in the Minsk region, Davydovskoe and Mozyrskoe in the State region) Salt production is carried out at the Mozyr deposit. And in recent years, mining of rock salt (edible, feed and industrial) has begun at the Starobinsky deposit. Dolomites. Field Ruba in the Vit. region, developed by OJSC Dolomit. The raw materials are used for the production of dolomite flour, crushed dolomite, asphalt concrete pavements, as a refractory material, etc. Cement raw materials. Chalk. – more than 30 fields. The largest is Kommunarskoe (Kostyukovichi district). Marl - deposit. Kommunary and Kamenka (Mogilev region), Ros (Grodna region). Low-melting clays (ceramic raw materials) Deposit. Gaidukovo Minsk. district Refractory and refractory clays . 6 fields, 4 of which are in operation, the largest: Gorodok (Loevsky district), Stolin farmsteads and Gorodnoye (Stolinsky district). Used for making refractory materials, refractory bricks, and facing tiles. Glass and molding sands . 3 deposits Molding Peskov: Lenino in the Dobrush district, Zhlobinskoye and Chetvernya in the Zhlobin district.; Field glass sands: Gorodnoye (Brest region), Loevskoye (Ghomom region) Building stone. Mestor. Mikashevichi, Glushkovichi, Sitnitsa, in the south of Belarus. Ore. Iron ore. 2 iron ore deposits: Okolovskoye deposit. ferruginous quartzites (Stolbtsovsky district of the Minsk region) and Novoselkovskoe ilmenite-magnetite ores (Korelichsky district of the Grodno region). Sapropels. 85 deposits, located in all regions of the country, Sudable, Holy. Use In quality Fertilizers, additives to livestock feed, light building materials, for medicinal purposes. Mineral waters . 63 sources, on chemistry. comp. vyd: sulfate, chloride, sulfate-chloride, radon. Metalliferous brines . Nah. Within the Pripyat forest area. They retain bromine, strontium, cesium, boron, magnesium, etc.

The influence of p/ and production on the environment. the environment is manifested in the following: the creation of anthropogenic forms of mesorelief: quarries, dumps; activation of geological processes (karst, landslides, screes, subsidence and movement of rocks), mechanical disturbance of soils and their chemical pollution; depletion of aquifers and deterioration of the quality of ground and surface water, etc. There are more than 40 thousand hectares in the country. lands requiring reclamation and restoration. Reclamation– restoration of industrially disturbed areas is provided for by law. Enterprises extracting minerals. resources are obliged to provide opportunities for restoration of the disturbed landscape even before the start of work. After the cessation of open mining, the surfaces of the dumps are leveled, terraces are made on the walls of the quarries, and toxic and infertile rocks are covered with soil on which plants can live. Fertile soils that were removed from the site at the beginning of mining are often used. Reclaimed areas are used for planting forests and creating recreation areas.