An artificial reality for mine site rehabilitation—the industrial symbiotic approach

摘要: This paper presents the results from pot culture studies undertaken to test the performance of synthetic soils built from overburden (OB) waste, power station Combined Ash (CA), Brown Coal (BC) and composted Sewage Sludge (SS). These soils are essential to meet the large predicted shortfalls at open pit coal mines for successful progressive rehabilitation needs at the mines in the Latrobe Valley in the Gippsland Region of Victoria.The study identified a suitable artificial soil mixing ratio that would ultimately neutralise AMD and amplify nutrient content (1 part OB, 1.23 parts CA and varying proportions of BC and SS), based on net acid producing potential derived for each component. The constructed artificial soils also demonstrated increased water retaining characteristics and enhanced vegetation growth, effectively supporting grass growth after mixing.