Exploring abandoned mines through a public lens

Authors: Ashby, AD; van Etten, EJB

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DOI https://doi.org/10.36487/ACG_repo/2152_46

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Ashby, AD & van Etten, EJB 2021, 'Exploring abandoned mines through a public lens', in AB Fourie, M Tibbett & A Sharkuu (eds), Mine Closure 2021: Proceedings of the 14th International Conference on Mine Closure, QMC Group, Ulaanbaatar, https://doi.org/10.36487/ACG_repo/2152_46

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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

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