Extraction of inert materials in the Zamarik Gorge

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Coordinates: 40.412684, 72.902266

The extraction of natural resources invariably benefits people while harming the environment. Numerous ecological problems arise during their extraction and processing stages.

When developing mineral resources: rocks are extracted from the depths, underground voids appear, subsidence occurs, dumps, sludge storage facilities, and spoil heaps are created, surface and groundwater get contaminated, their levels change, atmospheric air becomes dusty, vegetation is destroyed, and modern geological processes develop, worsening the ecological situation. There is atmospheric pollution from vehicles. It will take many years to restore the natural environment.
The open-pit mining method involves creating pits at the deposit, known as cuts or quarries.

During the extraction and processing of minerals, a significant geological cycle occurs, involving various systems. As a result, there is a substantial impact on the ecology of the extraction region, and this impact leads to negative consequences. The influence of mineral extraction on the lithosphere:
1. The development of deposits of dense rocks is accompanied by significant land withdrawal from agricultural use and forest lands. Mining leads to significant landscape changes: the creation of anthropogenic forms of mesorelief – quarries, dumps.
2. There is a possibility of activating geological processes (karst, landslides, rockfalls, subsidence, and shifting of rocks). Underground mining creates subsidence bowls and sinkholes.
3. Mechanical disruption of soils and their chemical contamination.

For the atmosphere, the main sources of pollution are vehicles operating at construction sites. They emit gases such as sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, among others. The production of building materials, depending on specific technologies and substances produced, can contribute to the emission of other hazardous substances. It is also important to note the role of dust generated during any land works. Dust can impair the photosynthesis processes of plants and cause respiratory diseases in humans and animals. Construction activities lead to significant noise and vibration pollution.

The open-pit mining of mineral deposits causes not only degradation of the earth's surface in the area of mining operations but also a sharp change in hydrological and hydrogeological conditions, leading to changes in the quality of surface and groundwater.

Quarry developments lead to a number of ecological problems: atmospheric pollution as a result of extraction or explosions during mining operations; exposure of aquifers and reduction of water pressure in them; infiltration of minerals into fresh groundwater and their salinization; withdrawal of large areas of land from economic circulation. The increase in mineral extraction exacerbates climate change and environmental pollution processes.

Thus, as the conducted analysis of the impact of non-metallic mineral extraction and processing shows, the relevance of ecological issues is constantly increasing. To protect nature, the mining industry must utilize all main directions: the protection and rational use of land, atmosphere, water resources, and subsoil, as well as implement a comprehensive approach to waste management.