Opencast coal mining Research Papers (original) (raw)

With the increase in depth of mines, the movement and dispersion of
particulate matter (PM) are very difficult to predict due to improper
ventilation. Insufficient open pit ventilation remains the principal driver for
the lack of dispersion and evacuation from mines and ultimately increases
the time and amount of exposure to miners. Studies suggest that there is a
direct and dependent relationship between the composition and exposure
time to PM in mining operations. Furthermore, this paper helps the reader
appreciate the need of carrying out studies to understand the nature of the
dispersion of PM inside the mines.

- by Dr. Sneha Gautam
- •
- Respiratory Health, Exposure, PM10, PM2.5

Breaking of sandstone or other rocks overlying coal seams as well as coal seams in opencast coal mines is essentially required for ease in excavation. The process of breaking rocks normally involves drilling and blasting. Coal mining industry world over, for all its importance and contribution to the energy sector, is viewed with skepticism for its impacts on environment and society. Apart from other processes, blasting of rocks with explosives is a major contributor to originate several evils of coal mining like emission of noxious gases, high speed dust and fly rocks, heat, and noise and ground vibrations. Moreover, what miners get after blasting is rock wastes, lumpy coal and sometimes quality of coal also gets deteriorated due to mixing of rock wastes in blasted coal. Waste dumps also create long-term environmental problems. This paper develops a new methodology to generate sustainable value in opencast coal mining significantly increasing the inextricably-linked demand of production systems, by way of designing blast-free opencast coal mines. Mechanical method of cutting and breaking the overlying rocks and coal seams as well can replace the prevalent practice of blasting with explosives. An experiment of the designed method has been conducted using locally made simple tools and a comparative study was made to examine the benefits of the design over the prevalent practice. The method is found socio-eco-effective, economically viable and provides new business opportunity. There appears substantial prospect for applicability of the design in coal mining industry, and it deserves a high potential to become a brand CSR practice on the industry to benefit the society and improve sustainability.

- by Pawan Kumar Singh
- •
- Environmental Sustainability, Blasting, Sustainability, Opencast coal mining

The aim of this study was to determine the structure of zooplankton in three artificial water
reservoirs, the technological function of which is to pre-treat waters from a drainage system of a brown coal
open mine by removing inorganic suspension. The background for the zooplankton qualitative and quantitative
analyses was the hydrochemical conditions in the individual reservoirs. The greatest zooplankton abundance
(N), number of taxa (n), Shannon’s diversity (H'), and species eveness (J') was noted in reservoir Chabielice
(Nmean = 1311 ind. L1
, n = 26, H'= 2.09, J' = 0.64) which was dominated by eurytopic Rotifera species
(Keratella cochlearis, Keratella tecta, Keratella valga, Polyarthra longiremis, Filinia longiseta). Their
abundance was positively correlated with water pH and nutrient concentrations. Reservoir Kamień was
characterized by the highest mean values of total suspension (9.6 mg L1
), chlorophyll a (Chl a) content
(10.4mg L1
), and water temperature (20.0 °C). These factors significantly correlated with crustacean biomass.
The thermal-oxygenation conditions, low trophic level, and low productivity of the water (Chl a = 5.4mg L1
)
in reservoir Północny determined the overall low zooplankton abundance (Nmean = 153 ind. L1
). Artificial
water bodies of opencast mine drainage systems are biologically unstable, but they do have some
characteristics of natural ecosystems, and they do take over their functions. Zooplankton is an indicator of their
ecological functionality. Knowledge gained about such reservoirs could contribute to decision-making about
strategies for water reclamation and how to manage it.

- by Jacek Koszałka
- •
- Crustacea, Biodiversity, Rotifera, Opencast coal mining
- by Dr. Sneha Gautam
- •
- Air pollution, Opencast coal mining

Welcome to the official pages for Greening Deserts projects in arid or dry, hot or cold regions. We offer professional greening services and solutions for coastal, subtropical, cold and semi-arid areas nearby water sources like lakes, rivers, seas or oceans! The project wants to show what today is possible with professional greenhouses and greening or gardening techniques like Hydroponics. We always prefer Permaculture, also without extra irrigation, but this depends on the plants and environment conditions. Greening Deserts is a cultural, educational, economic, social, scientific and sustainable agriculture project using classical greening or gardening methods but also new and alternative techniques. Greening of deserts, dry areas or barren lands with sustainable irrigation and renewable energy. With the right (financial) support we can start everywhere topsoil is needed. Together with the people of each region we also can create parks, woods and forests, especially in dry countries like Egypt,

- by Dr. Sneha Gautam and +1
- •
- Air pollution, Opencast coal mining

We want to write about a special Greening Deserts project we started for opencast mining landscapes. Since years we think about greening camps and professional greenhouses for dry and barren landscapes like in opencast mines. We started to work on or planning an extra research camp at the opencast mine and new lakeland nearby Leipzig, Markleeberg and Zwenkau. We informed all responsible institutions, regional, national and Europe-wide – so far and good we could with our projects.