Of late, mining has been a bone of contention and a cause of great controversy in the corridors of power, the industry, and certainly in the media. Mining companies have been damned, crucified and charged with crony capitalism and causing irreparable damage to the environment. Notwithstanding its description as a ?search-and-destroy mission?, mining is a necessary evil for an economy that aspires to clock double-digit growth on the back of rapid industrialisation and infrastructure development. It?s here to stay and just can?t be wished away. All the focus then comes down to best practices in mining and mine reclamation efforts, to somewhat lighten the ugly footprint and scars of mining. FE travels to some mining areas to make sense of the bridges built and gaps ignored in order to make mining as sustainable as possible.
Whoever associated mining with only controversy and environmental degradation needs to make a trip to Sanquelim in Goa, considered a model for mine reclamation, and where the lush cover of acacia, casuarina and cashew trees completely belies the fact that this area, till the late eighties, was deep open pits with red dust flying around.
The government introduced mine closure plans for reclamation as mandatory requirements for mining companies only in 2003, but at Sesa Goa?s Sanquelim group of mines in Bicholim taluka of north Goa, these efforts have been on since the past two decades. Of the total lease area of 203 hectares, 106 ha has been reclaimed while around 30 ha is still under active mining. It is estimated that around 30 million tonnes of iron ore had been extracted from the mines at the time of cessation of mining.
And as one drives further into reclaimed land, one encounters a small ?oasis? of five hectares, which was once a mining pit called Lisboa. The area has been developed with horticulture cash crops and includes a 10-15 metre deep, 200 metre long, rain-fed pond teeming with rohu, catla and carp fish.
The lowermost part of the pit was refilled partially to facilitate afforestation, and pisciculture was launched in 1990 in collaboration with the National Institute of Oceanography. The ground staff urge you to taste the coconut, banana, jackfruit, star apple (jam) and pineapple growing there, as you admire the black pepper, cinnamon and vanilla plantations. This patch also includes a butterfly garden that has nectar producing plants, besides a garden of medicinal plants.
No wonder, the Sanquelim reclamation project has won prestigious awards, including the ?Certificate of Appreciation for Plantation Management for Reclaimed Sanquelim Mine? during 6th CII WR Safety, Health and Environment (SHE) Award 2009, and first prize for ?Reclamation & Rehabilitation? at the 22nd Mines Environment and Mineral Conservation Week 2010-2011 by the Indian Bureau of Mines (IBM).
So, how did Sesa Goa manage to convert dead soil into fertile land again? Those working on the project say an exhausted mining pit can be reclaimed in 8-10 years easily if done properly. And the cost of reclamation is surprisingly quite low?not more than R50,000 per hectare per year, and in horticulture plantation, it costs somewhere in the range of R3-4 lakh per hectare per year. The soil after reclamation, they claim, can support most vegetation, except for food crops like wheat and paddy that require high fertility.
?Mine reject soil is dead soil as it does not have organic matter. That soil can be made alive by either introducing organic matter like manure and cowdung or through the decomposition of leaf-fall and other vegetation,? says Mahesh Patil, associate VP, HSEC, Sesa Goa.
Another interesting R&D exercise that has borne fruit has been the development of geotextiles for dump stabilisation, which is facilitating direct plantation of local species. Geotextile mats made of coconut coir are being actively taken up for use in mining reclamation by other mining firms as well now, but it all began with Sesa Goa. For geotextiles, the research started around 1998 and Sesa Goa started using it by 2002. By 2004, it became an accepted norm. The environment and forests ministry is now stipulating the use of geotextiles as a norm for all mines, says Patil.
In fact, Sesa Goa MD PK Mukherjee feels mining is one of the very few modern land uses that can bring back the land and its ecosystem to as much as 70-80% of its original nature if proper reclamation efforts are undertaken. ?Can such a thing happen in real estate and the construction business? I would say no. Mining has been perceived unfairly both by the public and the press,? he says.
Vedanta Resources acquired majority stake in Sesa Goa around three years ago. But Mukherjee feels that connecting Sesa Goa to the Orissa controversy involving Vedanta would be unfair. ?Vedanta is not only about the Orissa controversy and being part of Vedanta would not finish Sesa Goa. Has anyone ever raised any fingers towards its other projects, be it in Rajasthan, Balco or even in Zambia?? he asks.
He adds that Sesa Goa?s environmental ventures have been part of the company?s culture and have run smoothly through various principal ownerships through the decades. ?It?s not just about compliance, but about leading the way and going beyond compliance. And environmental stewardship and social stewardship is always good business sense,? he sums up aptly.
