END-OF-LIFE FOR A QUARRY, WHAT IS THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT?

Abstract: Aggregates products are the largest non-energy mining industry in the world, which is the most extracted materials after water. The most prevalent source of aggregates is from quarries, or mines that target the rock itself. Quarries need the transformation of substantial land areas, ideally adjacent to the locations where aggregates are required, such as urban centers. These activities constantly alter the balance in the environment as a result of their operations. To improve the sustainability and minimize the issues a document called a permit is granted to a qualified individual for the extraction and utilization of resources before starting any activity related to quarries. In this study, various quarry remediation and the effectiveness of the remedial strategies outlined in the quarry permits were analyzed to identify the current circumstances in Sweden. By applying the land cover classification as a method, the restoration land use of 129 closed quarries located in nine municipalities in Västra Götalands was examined. The results from the case studies reveal that the restoration designs from the former permits were taken into account properly which 96 percent of total restored outcomes were converted to the areas that help to minimize the negative environmental impacts with its several advantages. Furthermore, the most potential design is forest area (69%), farmland (13%), vegetation (6%), mixed vegetation (5%), water bodies (3%), urban area (3%), and bare land (1%) respectively. Not only these rehabilitations can enhance the ecological and land use situation, but also they can play a crucial role in biodiversity to boost the organism’s either flora or fauna habitat. In addition, according to the results, although the aggregate products are more required in areas with high populations, these current restoration outcomes are independent of the population density and they are not statistically different in the less-populated and populated municipalities.