VNII Galurgy Stock Co., St. Petersburg, Russia:

V. P. Kopshtalev, Head of Laboratory, kopshtalev@gidrogy.spb.ru
V. V. Slanevskiy, Senior Researcher, Candidate of Engineering Sciences
A. A. Dekhtyarev, Research

In the course of ore processing there are formed halite waste; the greater part of them is stored on the earth surface making considerable accumulations in the form of salt tails piles. Under the influence of atmospheric precipitations the salt tails piles are being dissolved, that results in forming large amounts of secondary (excessive) brines which negatively affect the natural waters in the area of locating the salt tails piles. Nowadays the problem of protecting natural waters from salinization is rather topical because of the growing amount of salts put on the salt piles and more stringent requirements for environment protection. The paper describes methods for reclamation of salt piles' slopes by making on their surface closed micro-basins for leaching or installing on them counter-barriers. To increase the work efficiency on the gently sloping piles' sides and on the flat top of piles there was developed a device for impregnation, laying up and making butt-connections of geotextile cloth sheets, and all that being done simultaneously. In 1989 on the salt pile at Berezniki-2 mine was established an experimental plot for reclamation of a slope of 35° grade. By 2010 at this experimental lot was formed a residual hill of 2.5 meter height. The average amount of atmospheric precipitation for that period was 603.7 mm/year, average rate of salt pile's dissolving was 12.5 cm/year; at that every year there was formed 6.8 thous. m3 of brines with mineralization of 360 g/liter. Comparative analysis of fallen precipitate volumes and brines formed due to leaching (they are practically equal) shows that this experimental reclamation had given a positive result close to 100%.

1. Lu Yu. Modelirovanie vliyaniya soleotvalov kaliynykh kombinatov na filtratsionnye svoystva vodovmeshchayushchikh porod: avtoreferat dissertatsii … kandidata geologomineralogicheskikh nauk (Modeling the salt piles effect at potassium plants on filtration properties of water-bearing rocks: thesis of inauguration of Dissertation … of Candidate of Geological-Mineralogical Sciences). Moscow, 2012. 18 p.
2. Kozybaeva F. E., Beyseeva G. B., Mursalimova E. A. et al. Sposob rekultivatsii promyshlennykh otvalov (Method for reclamation of industrial waste piles) Patent Kazakhstan, No. 23278. Applied: May 19, 2009. Published: December 15, 2010. Bulletin No. 34.
3. Lavrinenko A. T. Sposob formirovaniya otvalov dlya tekhnicheskoy rekultivatsii pri otkrytoy razrabotke karerov (Method of waste piles forming for the commercial reclamation during the open pit mining). Patent RF, No. 2388912. Applied: July 28, 2008. Published: May 10, 2010. Bulletin No. 13.
4. Budina T. U. Rekultivatsiya zemel pri razlichnykh vidakh rabot (Land reclamation for different types of work). Spravochnik ekologa = Handbook of ecologist. 2013. No. 3. pp. 35–38.
5. Shvabeland I. S., Karpukhina I. V. K voprosu o rekutivatsii otvalov gornodobyvayushchego predpriyaitya “Chernogorskaya ugolnaya companiya” (On the question of pile reclamation at the mining enterprise “Montenegrian Coal Company"). Molodoy Uchenyy = Young scientist. 2011. No. 11, Vol. 1. pp. 94–98.
6. Zharikov V. P. Rekultivatsiya gidrootvalov vskryshnykh porod na razrezakh Kuzbassa (Reclamation of hydraulic-mine piles of overburden rocks on Kuzbass open-pit coal mines). Gornyy Informatsionno-Analiticheskiy Byulleten = Mining Informational and Analytical Bulletin. 2012. No. 1. pp. 42–47.
7. Mohammadi K. Land reclamation program biennial 2012–2013. Report Missouri department of natural resources. 25 August 2014. Jefferson City. Available at: http://dnr.mo.gov/pubs/pub2508.pdf (accessed: March 18, 2016).
8. Krautzer B., Graiss W. et al. The influence of reclamation technique and seed mixture on erosion stability after restoration in mountain environment. Natural Hazards. February 2011. Vol. 56, Iss. 2. pp. 547–557. Available at: http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs11069-009-9491-z (accessed: March 18, 2016).
9. Krainev B. A., Dyakov S. P., Shumakher A. I. Sposob likvidatsii soleotvalov na kaliynykh rudnikakh (Method for salt pile elimination at potassium mines). Patent RF, No. 2355887. Applied: August 30, 2007. Published: May 20, 2009. Bulletin No. 15.
10. Pozharisskaya L. P. Uskorennoe protivoerozionnoe zakreplenie pochv mnogoletnimi travami (Accelerated anti-erosion fixation of soils by perennial grasses). Kishinev, 1969.
11. Rekultivatsiya zemel narushennykh pri dobyche poleznykh iskopaemykh (Reclamation of soils disturbed during mining operations). Tartu : Academy of Sciences in Estonian Republic, 1975. (in Russian)
12. Nikolaeva T. N. Inzhenerno-geologicheskoe obosnovanie ratsionalnogo razmeshcheniya otkhodov kaliynykh predpriyatiy: avtoreferat dissertatsii … kandidata geologomineralogicheskikh nauk (Engineering and geological justification for rational placing the potassium enterprise wastes: thesis of inauguration of Dissertation … of Candidate of Geological-Mineralogical Sciences). Saint Petersburg, 1998.
13. Slanevskiy V. V., Smirnova V. S. Sposob rekultivatsii otkosov soleotvalov (Method for reclamation of salt pile slopes). Certificate of Authority USSR, No. 1652570. Applied: June 05, 1989. Published: May 30, 1991. Bulletin No. 20.
14. Mozheyko F. F., Shakun M. L., Bondarev M. N. et al. Sposob zashchity soleotvalov kaliynykh predpriyatiy ot vodnoy i vetrovoy erozii (Method for salt piles protection from water and wind erosion at potassium operations). Certificate of Authority USSR, No. 1658853. Applied: July 03, 1989. Published: June 30, 1991. Bulletin No. 22.
15. Slanevskiy V. V., Barkhаtov A. F. Myasogutov A. I. et al. Ustroystvo dlya propitki bitumom i ukladki rulonnykh materialov (Apparatus for roll material bitumen-steep and laying). Certificate of Authority USSR, No. 1511317. Applied: January 14, 1988. Published: September 30, 1989. Bulletin No. 36.
16. Dickmann R. Covering and landscaping of tailings waste heap at the Siegmundshall plant, «K+S», Germany. Kali und Steinsalz. 2002. No. 3. pp. 32–41.
17. Recultivated Land. Available at: http://corporate.vattenfall.com/globalassets/corporate/about_vattenfall/suppliers/lusatia-reclamation.pdf (accessed: September 28, 2015).
18. RWE Power. The post-mining landscape. reclamation in the Rhineland. Available at: http://www.rwe.com/web/cms/mediablob/en/352232/data/0/2/dl-en-reclamation.pdf (accessed: September 28, 2015).
19. Mozheyko F. F., Bondarev M. N., Rudakovskaya T. G. et al. Sposob zashchity soleotvalov kaliynogo proizvodstva ot vodnoy erozii (Method for protection of potassium production salt piles from water erosion). Certificate of Authority USSR, No. 397654. Applied: January 06, 1983. Published: April 23, 1984.
20. Franziska Liemen, Sabine Bernsdorf and Ralph Meissner. Reclamation of a potassium mining waste pile with municipal sewage sludge compost. Transactions of the 19^th World Congress of Soil Science, Soil Solutions for a Changing World, 1–6 August 2010, Brisbane, Australia. Available at: (accessed: March 18, 2016).
21. Hostert Patrick et al. Land abandonment and reclamation in Central and Eastern Europe. Geography Department Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. NASA LCLUC Program, Transactions International. Regional Science Meeting, Sopron, October 2014. Available at: http://lcluc.umd.edu/Documents/ScienceTeamMtg/2014_OCT/12_Hostert.pdf (accessed: March 18, 2016).
22. Belkin V. V., Platygin V. I., Kuznetsov N. V. Sposob izolyatsii soli otvalov na kaliynykh rudnikakh (Method of salt pile isolation on potassium mines). Patent RF, No. 2273735. Applied: July 23, 2004. Published: April 10, 2006. Bulletin No. 10.