Application of space-based processing technologies to estimating environmental conditions of mining landscape objects in Korshunov iron ore field

Abstract

Recently researchers widely use resources of the method of remote sensing. The present authors have estimated current mining conditions in Korshunov iron ore field in the Irkutsk Region. The evaluation of mining system parameters and monitoring of vegetation eco-system in the area of the operating open pit mine, dumps made using dump trucks and rail transport as well as tailing storages used available remote sensing resources in free access. In a satellite image of June 2016, the size of the mining and transportation equipment fleet in operation is determined. The whole area of the mining-induced landscape is divided into study objects – operating open pit mine, overburden dumps and tailings pond. Based on the interpretation of images obtained during the monitoring period between 2000 and 2016, the areas of vegetation trends and basic growth levels are identified. Peculiar attention is paid to the dumps made using rail transport as their area has increased from 1212 ha in 2000 to 1270 ha in 2016. During this time, it is found that the area without the vegetation cover reduced from 577 to 265 ha. By the estimate of the present authors, a continuous cover of grass develops well in the freshly dumped sites. Concurrently, the brushwood of taiga species appears on the slopes of the dumps. The vegetation recovery factor of the eco-system is 0.791, which means the stable vegetation cover over the area not less than 80% of the total area of the dump, and this is undoubtedly a high ecological index from the viewpoint of restoration of ecological balance in the territory of Korshunov iron ore field. The article demonstrates application of satellite imaging data in the solution of such mining tasks as the analysis of process parameters of open pit mining systems and long-term monitoring of ecological state of mining landscape objects.