Quarry Reuse: Presenter-Dr Thrivikramji.K.P.

REUSE OF ABANDONED QUARRIES AND MINE PITS, KERALA Presentation by the EXPERT COMMITTEE 2012

ISSUES 

Nearly 8,000 to 10,000 quarries



Roughly a third abandoned



Flooded quarries sites of accidental deaths of humans/animals



Pose huge concerns to ecological health

REUSE OF ABANDONED QUARRIES ETC.-2011

CURRENT STATE 

Spread across the state wherever quarriable rocks occur



No zoning laws governing siting of quarries



Stoppage of quarrying : choice of operator



Pre-FY 2011, no regulations on closure of quarry or rehabilitation


CURRENT STATE (Cont’d) 

“Safer and secure” sites for various anti-social activities



Many quarries waterlogged seasonally or

perennially to variable depths 

Despite vastness of abandoned quarry lands, currently, no express recommended use


GENERIC TYPES TYPE

GEOMETRY

TYPE OF EXTRACT

L-shaped

L-shaped

Rock /rubble

U-shaped

U-shaped; a deeper pit

Rock /rubble

Composite U-in-L Walled shallow Box ; walls of Box shaped variable height; flat or stepped floor; China clay

Large geometric pits or L-shaped

pits/mines cuttings with benches/steps

Rock /rubble Laterite brick/red earth; brick and tile clays China clay

(under MMRD Act, 1957)


PRE-TREATMENT FOR REUSE 

Protective barrier



Hoist warning signs



Stabilize shoulders/rims



Ease steepness at head of cutting/slope



Rough levelling of quarry floor



Re-develop and manage disturbed lower order streams



Remove assorted refuse in quarry REUSE OF ABANDONED QUARRIES ETC.-2011

ROCK SYSTEMS OF HARD ROCK QUARRIES 

Rock types: Charnockites, Gneisses and Granites



Structures: joints (fractures), shears, micro & micro-folds, foliations and lineations



Litho-static pressure keeps such weak planes tightly closed


ROCK SYSTEMS OF HARD ROCK QUARRIES 

Abandoned quarries flooded most of the year



Some quarry basins behave like sealed basins



Examples are: Peroorkada (T’puram), PTP Nagar (T’puram), Beside the Kovalam Beach Road (T’puram), Sargalaya, Iringal (Kozhhikod)


MENU FOR SUCCESSFUL REUSE Each reuse option proposed

needs validation by a

is

site-specific

and

group of specialists

All measures need periodic monitoring and maintenance.

Key to success of the reuse programmes is the

identification of suitable indicators - biodiversity, soil, water and air- (to monitor the quality).


REUSE OPTIONS (Cont’d) L-Shaped-Quarry Floor 1. Solid waste composting yard

6. Silvopasture

2. Mini-biogas plant site

7. Forage culture

3. Modern Crematoria

8. Mini-livestock farms

4. Mini-solar electric farms 5. Plant nurseries

9. Roadside rest area 10.Quarry learning site


REUSE OPTIONS (Cont’d) L-Shaped-Quarry Wall/Rim and Shoulder Greening by planting Vetiver in artificial gutters on quarry walls, built by rock bolt and concrete/ rigid plastic slabs Stabilize rim/shoulder by hydro-seeding, geotextile carpeting and planting of tree species REUSE OF ABANDONED QUARRIES ETC.-2011

REUSE OPTIONS U-Shaped Deep Quarries 1. Water reservoir 2. Aquaculture 3. Artificial aquifer 4. Water recharge point- laterite , clay pits etc REUSE OF ABANDONED QUARRIES ETC.-2011

REUSE OPTIONS (Cont’d) U-Shaped Shallow Quarries 1. Community Composting /Biogas site 2. Aquaculture 3. Pisciculture 4. Horticulture


REUSE OPTIONS (Cont’d) “Rogue” Quarries (No express reuse possible ) Yet, amenable only to rim/shoulder stabilization by hydro-seeding, geo-textile-carpeting and tree

planting. Erection of protective metallic barricade around the rim, display hazard warning signs and depth charts recommended. REUSE OF ABANDONED QUARRIES ETC.-2011

REUSE OPTIONS (Cont’d) Laterite Brick and Red Earth Pits a.

Protective green fencing, and warning

signs and crash barriers (if wall abuts on edge of right of way of road) Pre-Treatment: b.

Re-vegetation

with

Lemon

grass,

rim and

Vetiver along the rim and shoulder of

shoulder

the pit c.

A Green belt of Casurina/Bamboo

d.

Vetiver hedge row to protect rim and wall of quarry


REUSE OPTIONS (Cont’d) Laterite Brick and Red Earth Pits a. Garden land (Cashew, tuber crops, Reuse

yams etc.)

measures:

b. Real estate

floor

c. Amphitheaters

and

open-air

theaters Water storage & conservation Recharge pit with recharge bores. structure REUSE OF ABANDONED QUARRIES ETC.-2011

REUSE OPTIONS (Cont’d) Tile & Brick Clay Pits Topsoil of undisturbed patches in the ela gathered and stored. Pre-Treatment

Saved topsoil put in place in the abandoned

pit

to

resume

cultivation. Reuse

Initiate co-op farming in such areas


REUSE OPTIONS (Cont’d) Tile & Brick Clay Pits: Abandoned, Battery of pits in an ela a. If water-logged, fencing and water-hazard

PreTreatment

warnings along with display of depth charts

a. Pisciculture of edible and ornamental fish b. Farming sites of aquatic plants (e.g., lotus, Reuse

water lily) c. Source of irrigation water and domestic use after treatment.


REUSE OPTIONS (Cont’d) China Clay Mine Protective fencing, and warning signs

Depth charting Re-vegetation of rim and edge (e.g., vetiver, lemon grass) Pre-Treatment

Masonry/earthen

gutters

to

divert

surface runoff away from the mine pit to protect erosion of walls & water quality A Green belt of Casurina/Bamboo in the buffer zone


REUSE OPTIONS (Cont’d) China Clay Mine  Pisciculture: Edible and ornamental fish  Cultivation of aquatic flowering plants like lotus, water lily Reuse measures

 Source of water for lift irrigation, industrial and domestic use after treatment.  Develop children’s park, picnic ground,

play ground, open air theatre etc. after landscaping the land around the back shore as in Sargalaya, Kozhikode district REUSE OF ABANDONED QUARRIES ETC.-2011

MENU FOR SUCCESSFUL REUSE Each reuse option proposed needs careful validation by a group of specialists in the Quarry Reuse Advisory Cell, Office of DMG, GoK. All measures need periodic monitoring and maintenance.

Key to success of the reuse programmes is the identification of suitable environmental health indicators biodiversity, soil, water and air- (to monitor the quality).


AVOIDANCE OF RISK TO COMMUNITY 

Provide metallic barricades as a safe

barrier 

Erect caution boards/depth charts in sufficient numbers and sites



Legally entrust LSGs with powers to implement safety measures


QRAC: AGENCY FOR REUSE ASSISTANCE 

Panel of multi-disciplinary experts at QRAC

to approve, modify, re-design DPR tasks for reuse 

Establish QRAC (Quarry Reuse Advisory Cell), @ DMG to validate and/or design/approve

reuse measures/ DPR raised by LSGs REUSE OF ABANDONED QUARRIES ETC.-2011

QUARRY DATABASE, KERALA 

Geo-spatially

referenced

database

on

quarries currently does not exist. 

A

basic

information

for

management, control and

environmental for

plugging

revenue loss to the State. 

A format for geospatial data collection appended in the report



DMG in charge of populating maintaining and updating the DB

LEGAL MEASURES 

The Kerala Minor Mineral Concession Rules, 1967 allow stoppage of quarrying at any time. No express closure clause



The draft Minor Mineral Regulation and Development Act, 2011 of GOI requiring quarry

closure

plan

is

under

consideration of GOK.



Hence, adoption of MMRD, 2011 by GOK is of high priority. REUSE OF ABANDONED QUARRIES ETC.-2011

LEGAL MEASURES (Recommendations) 

The SC recommends take over (of quarries by

the LSG) of all categories abandoned for more than 5 years to implement reuse tasks.



Government may enable by new rules for this based on legislation or executive order.


FINANCING REUSE 

A Cess on tradable quarry extracts



A share (up to 20% ) of tax or royalty



Issue a Kerala State Quarry Reuse Bond



A quarry restoration superfund with the support of GOI (special to Kerala)



Bumper Lottery for quarry-eco-restoration fund



WB/ADB rehabilitation

loan

for

environmental

SUCCESS STORIES OF REUSE 

CESS Complex, Akkulam, T’puram



KSRTC Bus station, Chathannoor



Sargalaya, Kozhikode dist.


SUCCESS STORIES (Cont’d) 

KRL taps ponded water from a cluster of abandoned

quarries

to

supplement

industrial water needs 

Commercial

ornamental

fish

farming,

Palakkad 

Farm Irrigation with ponded quarry water,

Palakkad & Wayanad dist.


SUCCESS STORIES (Cont’d) 

Domestic abandoned

water clay

supply mine,

sourced

from

Magalapuram,

T’puram. 

English India Clays refines clay with recycled

harvested water from abandoned mine pits, T’puram. 

Prime real estate (of TCS) is restored mine pit, T’puram. REUSE OF ABANDONED QUARRIES ETC.-2011

We acknowledge quarry operators, government departments and above all Professional staff of Mining & Geology Department in making our outdoor work a great success.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH

Quarry Reuse: Presenter-Dr Thrivikramji.K.P.

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