Sustainable Development and Restoring the Landscape after Coal Mining in the Northern Part of the Czech Republic

Coal mining has an impact on the countryside and landscape where the exploitation of the mineral occurs, particularly with regard to the way it is mined, the technology used, the surface area, and the shape of the coalfield and extent of mining. The impact of mining, which is predominantly negative, is gradually being eliminated today in accordance with applicable laws by applying knowledge and experience and with the help of a variety of reclamation and revitalization activities. The newly created landscape gives the area new value and opportunity for use. The process of restoring a landscape after coal mining should be primarily guided by the principle of sustainable development to ensure that a balance of the social, economic and environmental aspects is achieved. This article discusses the theoretical basis of the individual possibilities for restoring the landscape in such a way that the anthropogenic formations caused by coal mining are best incorporated into the surrounding landscape and likewise meet the social and economic needs of society. A model area can be found in the northern part of the Czech Republic that has been scarred by coal strip mining for nearly 200 years, but the adverse effects on the landscape have been successfully smoothed over by reclamation methods.

LAND RECLAMATION IS BASIC GUARANTEE OF REGIONAL SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN COAL MINING AREAS IN CHINA

Necessity of land reclamation is discussed, setting out viewpoint of sustainable development and land connotation and its attribute and combining destroyed forms and characteristics of land in coal mining areas. It is pointed out that land reclamation of coal mining areas is basic guarantee of solving contradiction between coal mining areas and countryside,raising life of resident and ensuring regional sustainable development.

Aggressive Exploration and Sustainable Development——ZTE Puts Emphasis on R&D to Forge Competitive Edge

ZTE Corporation released its 2002 annualreport on March 12, 2003, proclaimingthat its main business line revenue andnet profit reached 11 billion RMB and0.57 billion RMB respectively.As a major manufacturer of telecommunica-tion equipment in China, ZTE constantly putsemphasis on R&D so as to forge competitiveedge.Establishing Scientific Management

On Exploration and Evaluation of Forest Ecotourism Resources in Shangsi County of Guangxi,China

Forest ecotourism resources in Shangsi County were investigated,explored and screened for the qualitative and quantitative analysis of resource units,physiographic landscape resources and forest eco-resources of the local area elaborated,characteristics of its forest ecotourism resources summarized as "having an excellent location,great development potential and high development value".Basic laws of forest ecotourism resources in Shangsi County were obtained through resource investigation,exploration and analysis,development and utilization of forest ecotourism resources further studied,and suggestions proposed to facilitate the sustainable development of forest ecotourism resources in Shangsi County.

APPLICATION OF NEURAL NETWORK WITH MULTI-HIERARCHIC STRUCTURE TO EVALUATE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF THE COAL MINES

The neural network with multi hierarchic structure is provided in this paper to evaluate sustainable development of the coal mines based on analyzing its effect factors. The whole evaluating system is composed of 5 neural networks.The feasibility of this method has been proved by case study. This study will provide a scientfic and theoretic foundation for evaluating the sustainable development of coal mines.

A Research on Problems for Sustainable Development of Mining Cities in China

As a significant issue, mining cities, especially the resource-exhausted mining cities have already been given intensive attention by academia and government. This article discusses the intrinsic and extrinsic reasons for problems of the mining cities from the perspective of sustainable development, quantitatively analyzes the economic benefit of the mining cities with statistical data, and presents the strategies and measures for sustainable development of the mining cities based on the theoretical discus- sion and empirical study of different types of mining cities. The research shows that: (1) the conflict between the mining cities and the mining enterprises which has been incorrectly dealt with for a long time is the primary reason for the problems of the mining cities. More seriously, the development gap between mining cities and non-mining cities is becoming larger than ever before, due to the domestic and international competition. (2) As a whole, the economic development level of the mining cities is lower than the average level of countrywide cities. The economic benefit of the mining cities is increasing owing to the economic scale, and the economic situations of oil-mining cites and iron-mining cites are relatively better than those of other types of mining cities. (3) The prerequisite of sustainable development of the mining cities is the realization of the transformation of capital superiority so as to promote non-mining economy and substitute the mining economy step by step.

Sustainable Development around Small Scale Mining Areas by the Development of Micro Hydro Power: Application Cases in Cameroon

Of all the precious metals buried in the Cameroonian subsoil, gold is certainly the longest exploited. It has longtime been the subject of artisanal exploitation. In 2014, the monthly national production was estimated at around 170 kg. In these mining areas, people still live in a screaming precariousness of which one of the main causes is often the lack of electricity, because of the distance of these localities to the national electricity network. Cameroon has a great hydroelectric potential, but the access rate to electricity is still very low in isolate or rural areas of this country. The objective of this work is to show that it is possible to efficiently exploit gold in isolated areas and contribute to the sustainable development of these localities through the development of micro hydro power (MHP). The mining community of Tikondi in the East Region of Cameroon is the practical case study for an illustration. The results of this study show that the development of the MHP project can be developed with installed power of 87 kW, where the Banki-Michell turbine is recommended according to the Sulzer-Escher Wyss diagram. The investment cost evaluated at 79,832,775 FCFA (1 Euro = 656 FCFA). It is a profitable project with a maximum payback period of 8 years. This project can be easily funded by gold mining activity. That Tikondi’s MHP can make this village becoming attractive for others activities, improving the quality of education of children (there is not any school and lots of them do not go to school), the building of health centers and the quality of life in that locality and therefore contribute to their sustainable development too.

Impact of the Mining Rights Allocation Process on the Sustainable Development of the Copper Mining Industry in Zambia

The limited character of minerals must be recognized in the development of mining activities, as well as the necessity to form bonds that allow mining advantages to be enjoyed long after natural resources have been consumed. Because mining activities have the potential to affect a wide variety of environmental entities and are of interest to a large range of stakeholder groups, the sector has a lot of room to improve its sustainability. According to studies, the economic advantages of copper mining operations in Zambia are not allocated equally among stakeholders in the process of granting mining rights to potential investors. This paper examines how the existing system of granting mining rights in Zambia impacts the distribution of economic gains among copper mining project stakeholders.

Rehabilitation of Mining Sites: The Case of the Gora/Sabodala Gold Mine in Senegal Prospects for Sustainable Development of a Mine

The southeastern part of Senegal, in West Africa, is home to the country’s first major gold mine owned by Sabodala gold operations SGO, as subsidiary of Teranga Gold Corporation during the timeframe of this study. As part of its expansion, the company opened and operated the Gora satellite mine for 4 years’ exploitation. At the end of the mine’s life, the authorities decided to close the site. In this context, SGO in compliance with its legal, regulatory and normative obligations, has commissioned a study of rehabilitation activities for a better environmental and social management of the Gora gold mine. This study is a first in Senegal and presents the general framework for the rehabilitation of a gold mine which will allow scientists to have several research perspectives in this field. The methodological approach consisted of a participatory process of collecting field data and data from stakeholders directly involved in mine rehabilitation and closure;these data were analyzed and coupled with international best practices in rehabilitation, closure, and post-mine management. Results of the selected options are based on known experiences from around the world, coupled with analysis of the SGO’s field activities results and those obtained from the synthesis of the interview guides from the numerous consultations. This synthesis made possible to align them with international guidelines presented in this document. In this context, the aspects related to the open-pit mine equipment, processing facilities and related infrastructure were a particular interest to the various stakeholders. Thus, the following rehabilitation options were retained by the group constituted by the populations: 1) Backfilling pits, for cultivation practices and development of agribusiness and the establishment of grazing land for livestock;2) Setting up water storage basins for the sustainable development of certain activities around the mine and aquifer recharge while respecting the protection and safety standards of the basin in order to avoid the risks of accidents;3) Returning certain facilities to the communities and the competent State services. These few measures will allow the indigenous populations affected by the mine to participate in the rehabilitation program by integrating all relevant ideas and discussions on the issues of rehabilitation as perceived by the actors involved in the study, as well as the implementation of the best international strategic orientations in this field for sustainable development. In addition, it will be necessary to set up an internal technical committee within the mining company to coordinate the rehabilitation and closure operations with the various departments, and an external technical committee composed of the relevant government departments, the local community, and civil society, among others, to examine and validate the closure options. A closure clearance should be issued to operators who have responsibly closed their mines.

Challenges and new insights for exploitation of deep underground metal mineral resources

Long-term and continuous large-scale exploitation has increasingly exhausted shallow metal mineral resources,and deep mining has become inevitable.The current global status of deep mining of metal mineral resources was presented,a series of engineering challenges faced by deep mining were systematically analyzed,and some progress and future innovation focus in key engineering technologies,such as the prediction and prevention of rockburst,cooling techniques,rock support techniques,deep hoisting techniques,and several nontraditional deep mining techniques,were highlighted.Meanwhile,new insights into development strategies of deep mining technology were proposed.The integration of these forward-looking key innovative technologies will form the overall framework of an innovative technology system for the deep mining of metal minerals.This technology system will help to achieve safe,efficient,and green exploitation of deep underground metal mineral resources and ensure the sustainable development of the metal mining industry.

Chinese Mining toward Sustainable Development in a Global Perspective

In view of sustainable development, this paper presents the challenges faced by the global mining sectors, outlines an integrated approach of the global minerals industry for sustainable development, introduces actions for the mineral professionals toward sustainable development, and proposes changes in the mineral operations, management, and governance practices in the Chinese perspective.

Towards sustainable mining cities: what policies should be sought and experiences could be learnt for China?

This paper aims to explore interinks between population, resoures, environment anddevelopment of mining cities in China. The authors place emphasis on speeific policy stud of how tostep a sustainable rnining city based on the analysis of six components constituting the integrative andsystendc backdrop to mining city sustainability. The attempts are taken to make a deep comparisonbased on the studies in the five typical cities of Datong, Daqing, Panzhihua, Jinchang and Golmud ofChina, combining some experiences and theorehca thoughts from the Western countries. Therelationship between the resourees endoment, mining (in broader sense) and economic developmentis given based on the analysis of development of mineral resources and formahon of mining cities.Morcover, some changing characteristics and related issues of China's mining cities on environmentand socio-econondc dimensions are considered. The last part of the paper focuses on the discussion ofrestructuring approach to the mining cities in China, some reflections and suggestions are put forward.

Ecology economic mode of mining area and its way to realize

Practice has proved that if the traditional economic development mode of isolating exploitation of resources from environmental protection was adopted, or the land reclaim mode of managing after having been destroyed was taken, it is unable to solve the serious environmental problem of mining area effectively. According to the thought of sustainable development, the ecology economic mode of mining area-regard mining area as one three-dimension compound ecological economic system was put forward, and the exploitation and reconstruction activities were arranged, according to the objective rule of the whole operation of ecological economy, so as to make ecology economic system’s whole function optimize, the regional ecology harmonious and the pollutant be controlled in the whole course. It was discussed that the way to realize the ecology economic mode of mining area; the ecological programming of mining area on the basis of the cleaner production and green products strategy; the whole course controlling of ecological disruption based on the ecological industrial technology; the land reclaiming on ecological agricultural technology and the integration craft of exploitation of resources and ecology reconstruction of mining area based on the two integrated new technologies; and the technological system about the programming, monitoring, and appraising on exploitation of resources and the ecological reconstruction of mining area based on “3S” technology.

The Case for Integrative Sustainable Development Practice Based on the Minas Conga Gold-Mining Experience in Peru

Mining projects are among the most impactful development projects, and the most controversial. The Conga Mining Project, proposed by the U.S. based Newmont Mining Corporation, in partnership with Minas Buenaventura, was slated for the Cajamarca region of Peru. Since the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) was completed in 2010, controversy has escalated: public protests have precipitated a political crisis for President Humala, with several ministers resigning. The proposed project would have been made located approximately 73 km northeast of the city of Cajamarca, in the northern Peruvian Andes, in the district of Sorochuco, within an area defined by four major lakes, headwaters of rivers, and wetlands. Despite findings of “no significant impact” by the 2010 EIA, the project is currently postponed indefinitely due to the public backlash, international attention, and questions of integrity surrounding environmental and social concerns. We use the Conga Mining case to interrogate business-as-usual (BAU) design, assessment, planning, implementation and monitoring practices for extractive development in Peru, and suggest alternatives. Our analysis is based on an integrative framework that is empirically based (previously developed by the authors), one with a greater likelihood of improving sustainable development and the equity of positive and negative impacts among stakeholders. Suggestions are tailored to the setting: we pay special attention to the climate-change and socio-political contexts of Peru. We seek to exploit a shifting political landscape that is resisting BAU and countering the systematic disenfranchisement of vulnerable populations by extractive resource industries. These appear to be enabling conditions to promote the adoption of a capacity building, socio-technical enterprise approach to framing and designing sustainable development projects in Peru, with implications beyond.

The Effect of Brown Coal Mining on the Environment and Health of the Population in Northern Bohemia (Czech Republic)

Coal mining has proven negative impacts on the landscape and health of inhabitants. Solid dust particles and SO2, which are the main polluting substances in coal mining and burning, are the main causes of diseases in areas with intensive coal mining. This contribution deals with areas in the Czech Republic which have the greatest problems in this regard, being North Bohemia (Chomutov, Most, Teplice and ústí nad Labem districts). It is an area with considerable anthropogenic activity, mainly due to the intensive mining of brown coal, which has a direct effect on the health of the inhabitants of the entire ústí nad Labem region. Along with the growing number of inhabitants, energy consumption demands are constantly increasing. Nevertheless, it’s important to focus primarily on renewable energy sources, which will ensure the sustainable development of the environment and society. At the same time, the question arises, which energy sources can potentially be utilized here after mining ends (2052). In terms of geography, wind energy has the greatest potential in this area. This and associated issues are dealt with by the project “Sustainable Forms of Management in an Anthropogenically Burdened Region” at the Faculty of Environment at the University of Jan E. Purkyně in ústí nad Labem.

Theoretical and exploratory research on sustainability mental model of the public in China:based on a typical survey in Guangdong province

This article aims to investigate the public's sustainability mental model(SMM), which can reveal the sustainability dilemma from the public respective, other than enterprise or government. In this article, SMM is defined as one's cognitive structure, thinking mode, and behavior tendency when someone deals with sustainability issues. After theoretical analysis, the authors developed reliable and valid measures systematically and conducted a typical survey with 581 participants from college students' families in Guangdong province in China. Based on those samples, the author used the exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis to construct a measurement model of SMM, which includes three dimensions, i.e. sustainable cognition, sustainable thinking, and sustainable behavior intention. According to SMM survey and clustering analysis, the results indicate that SMM of those participants is inactive. Even though those samples do not represent the whole country comprehensively, but this survey was sampled typically and they came from around China. So, the authors consider the SMM scores can reflect Chinese people to some extent, leading to the assumption that SMM of Chinese people is not active presently.

Survey of Sustainable Logistics Services via Text Mining

Environmental sustainability has recently become more and more of a concern in logistics service industry. Although studies on sustainable initiatives among logistics service providers (LSP) have been increasing in the extant literature, still little investigation has been performed between LSPs and shippers. The present paper aims to demonstrate award-gained sustainable logistics service initiatives implemented during the period 2006-2017 in Japan. Different with questionnaire- and interview-based studies employed in literature, we use text mining technique to explore the co-occurring links of data, i.e. connections of the practices, to present the collaborative sustainability actions carried out through providing and requiring logistics services. In contrast to the research regarding green supply chain management focused on manufacturing perspective, this study is positioned in the dual sides of consignors and logistics business operators, to depict their combined effort in achieving sustainability goals. The results of the study showed that text mining technique is useful for summarizing and presenting data in this research area. However, much remains to be learned about how to deal with the data more means-end logically for revealing more indirect associations between the data.

Morphologic Response of a River Channel to Sand Mining in River Tyaa,Kitui County,Kenya

Over 40 billion tons of sand is mined worldwide every year which isestimated to be higher than the natural replacement rates. In Kenya, therate of sand mining is raising concerns over its environmental effects sinceit is not regulated. This paper presents findings on the geomorphic effectsof sand mining in the ephemeral River Tyaa channel in Kitui County. Thestudy adopts the concept of feedback response mechanism of a naturalgeomorphic system. Through purposive sampling River Tyaa was selectedfor the study, where rampant sand mining was reportedly taking place.Random sampling on the five sand mining sites identified came up with arepresentative site namely Kanginga on which systematic sampling wasapplied while collecting data at both the active and control sites. Dataon channel width, depth and slope angles was obtained through physicalmeasurements while data on quantity of sand mined was obtained fromMwingi Sand Mining Cooperative. Multiple logistic regression analysiswas used to analyse data whereby the model compared active and controlsites. Test results indicated that sand mining had significantly increasedriver channel’s width (O.R. =1.531), depth (O.R. =1.527) and slope angles(O.R. =1.634) at active mining sites compared to control sites as deducedfrom the respective Odds Ratios. It concluded that sand mining had alteredchannel’s morphology resulting to adverse environmental effects such asloss of riparian vegetation and channel incision. It recommended curbingof illegal sand mining through licencing operators and reducing quantity ofsand mined by closing some mines. Furthers, it recommended monitoringthrough regular Environmental Impact Assessment (E.I.A) and Audit (E.A)to inform protection of the river system from degrading.

Two Kinds of Nontraditional Mining Technology

The nontraditional mining industry is an important part of nontraditional mineral resources projects. It is a new mining industry focusing on the application of new science and technology, producing high value added outputs, offering comprehensive services, protecting the environment and saving energy sources. This paper discusses main principles of two kinds of nontraditional miming technology: the drilling hydraulic fracturing and drilling hydraulic mining applied to the coalbed methane production. Furthermore, this paper introduces the characteristics and application of these two kinds of technology.