Guidelines for cerrado establishment on open pit mine sites – Paracatu, Brazil

Authors: Slingerland, N; Kelly, S; Landman, K Download Paper

DOI https://doi.org/10.36487/ACG_rep/1152_122_Slingerland

Cite As:
Slingerland, N, Kelly, S & Landman, K 2011, 'Guidelines for cerrado establishment on open pit mine sites – Paracatu, Brazil', in AB Fourie, M Tibbett & A Beersing (eds), Mine Closure 2011: Proceedings of the Sixth International Conference on Mine Closure, Australian Centre for Geomechanics, Perth, pp. 541-550, https://doi.org/10.36487/ACG_rep/1152_122_Slingerland



Abstract:
Too often, open pit mine reclamation is typified by minimal revegetation efforts and monocultures of grass species. This is most evident in developing nations where ongoing remediation may not be government mandated during the extraction process, and where native habitat tends to be valued more for its production or real estate potential, rather than its inherent ecosystem services. The Brazilian cerrado biome is one such region, regardless of its high proportion of endemic plant species and diversity, which is second only to the neighbouring Amazon rainforest. Deforestation rates in this tropical savannah are amongst the highest in the world, partially due to rapidly growing mining and agricultural practices, despite having naturally poor, toxic soil. Through an in-depth literature review, landscape inventory and analysis, and synthesis of results, this research sought to determine if post-mining landscapes in the cerrado could serve as islands of native habitat. Preliminary results and guidelines were critiqued by specialists in the fields of mine reclamation and cerrado ecology. The research showed that cerrado soils and post-mining soils are remarkably similar both chemically and physically, which results in an overlap of vegetation that thrive in (and in some cases, remediate) these toxic environments. The two landscapes also share similar landforms, including plateau and cliff topography, suggesting that they may have comparable microclimates that support inhabitation by selective plant and animal species. The finalised guidelines for cerrado establishment on open pit mine sites have been graphically applied to a gold mine in Paracatu, Brazil, in order to demonstrate how these guidelines, when paired with appropriate land use planning, can contribute to safe and effective contaminant remediation, revenue generation, and renewal of ecosystem services to this region.

References: