Exploring abandoned mines through a public lens
Document Type
Conference Proceeding
Publication Title
Mine Closure 2021: Proceedings of the 14th International Conference on Mine Closure
Volume
2021-August
Publisher
Qualified Mining Consultants LLC
School
School of Science
RAS ID
37031
Abstract
Research suggests that there are potentially millions of abandoned mines around the globe. As such, it is highly probable that these operations have the potential of resulting in a magnitude of social and environmental issues. However, there is limited literature on their social impacts specifically to a local community. To explore this issue, we investigated four case studies through a literature review using a wide range of white, grey and peer-reviewed literature. We examined case studies in Australia, China, Europe, and the USA. From this preliminary review, we determined that all have a significant number of abandoned mines. We examined these Case Studies as their respective economies rely heavily on the mining industry. The terminology ''abandoned mines'' is often ambiguous and potentially not well understood. Our research shines the spotlight on the problem and examines novel solutions to manage issues associated with abandoned mines. We also examine the closure requirements for abandoned mines in a broad setting, and how these operations can be successfully monitored using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). Accordingly, our aim was to explore a wide range of jurisdictions and determine how local communities are affected by abandoned mine, and where UAVs technologies are commonly utilised.
DOI
10.36487/ACG_repo/2152_46
Access Rights
free_to_read
Comments
Ashby, A. D., & van Etten, E. J. B. (2021, August). Exploring abandoned mines through a public lens [Paper presentation]. Mine Closure 2021: Proceedings of the 14th International Conference on Mine Closure, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. https://doi.org/10.36487/ACG_repo/2152_46