Bio+Mine Project: Empowering the Community to Develop a Site-Specific System for the Rehabilitation of a Legacy Mine

Abstract

The rehabilitation of legacy mines continues to be a big challenge because of the difficulties in returning them to safe and stable conditions and ensuring that the mined-out areas become productive to support the economic activity of the host community. Previous efforts are often focused on purely technical and environmental aspects, leading to resistance from the local community due to their exclusion from the rehabilitation process. To address the issues associated with legacy mines and lack of participation of the community, we have developed a project, Biodiversity Positive Mining For The Net Zero Challenge (Bio + Mine), focusing on the abandoned Sto. Niño copper mine (Benguet, Philippines). The mine was closed in 1982 without a plan involving local stakeholders and leaving a significant ongoing negative legacy. Using the social-ecological-technological system framework, we will explore the intersections of the structure and functions of socio-economicdemographic, ecological, and technological data useful in devising a more inclusive mitigation strategy for the reconstruction of the supporting ecosystem. We aim to develop a site-specific system, underpinned by the local community's knowledge and practices, that can be a model for wider implementation in other legacy and active mines worldwide.

Development of a site-specific system for the rehabilitation of legacy mines: The challenges of social, geological, hydrological, and biological data integration

“…As outlined in the project's protocol paper (Alonzo et al, 2023), the overarching research questions of the project are:…”

“…Semi-structured interviews were used to allow for open conversation to gain in-depth information (Bryman, 2016). Using the interview guide as topic prompts (Alonzo et al, 2023), an individual's view around the themes outlined was explored. These were organised under the topics of People, Culture, Goals, Technology, Infrastructure and Ecology.…”

A Mixed Media Approach Using Locally Available Neutralizing Materials for the Passive Treatment of Acid Mine Drainage

“…Problems related to AMD are often reported in small-scale mining operations and legacy mines that were historically abandoned with little or no rehabilitation (Alonzo et al, 2023;Hatar et al, 2013;Mondejar et al, 2023;Promentilla et al, 2021). For example, one notorious mining accident in the Philippines that caused serious environmental damage, including the widespread incidence of AMD, is the 1996 Marcopper mine disaster in Marinduque.…”

The Roles Played by Environmental Sustainability and Innovation in the Rehabilitation of Abandoned Mining Sites

“…Our research contributes to the existing body of knowledge by offering a comprehensive and integrative perspective on the sustainable rehabilitation of abandoned mining sites, focusing on ways to restore the degraded land included in protected areas like Natura 2000 sites. Along with the novelty brought, it enhances the state of the art offered by international [35][36][37][38][39][40][41] and national [13,42] scholarly works interdisciplinary related to the inquiry topic.…”