ALROSA restores more than 4,000 hectares of industrial land in 13 years

Alrosa reported that since 2006, the company has financed the cost of land reclamation and the recovery of habitat that was typical to the area before the sites were mined. During the past 13 years, Alrosa allocated more than $15 million for the restoration of the fertile layer and the planting of dozens of grass, shrub and tree species in the areas affected by mining and processing. The total area of reclaimed land during the past 13 years exceeded 4,000 hectares.

"[When a mine is shut down and] mining operations are completed, the company must restore and then return the area back to the owner (municipality or forestry enterprise). This is a policy of conducting business and ability to implement socially oriented activities. To the year 2002, the main concept of reclamation of disturbed lands was to carry out only a technical stage for further overgrowth. In 2002, reclamation became more complex with phased implementation of works combining both technical and biological reclamation. Today, the company reclaims land, water reservoirs and integrity of land after exploration," explained Nadezhda Liss, Chief Specialist for land reclamation and resources management of Alrosa.

She also noted that the company's employees themselves are actively involved in land restoration: they are engaged in sowing the territory, preparing the fertile layer, taking measurements of plants, tying up young trees, etc.

This is done at various locations. Young specialists helped with land restoration at the mining and processing division in Udachny. At the placer deposit near Mirny a site for land reclamation was created. To restore the fertile layer and plant composition, the company said it finances the purchase of flower and plant seeds, as well as bush and tree seedlings.

The reclamation of the territories began in Mirny, where almost all the dumps of the Mir open pit have now been processed. The reclamation of the Udachny open pit dumping grounds has also begun and dumping grounds of International open pit were partially restored.

Up to 2029, ALROSA plans to restore and rehabilitate 4,290 hectares of land in exploration areas. The company will restore the fertile layer and set out the plants in the territories where tailings of the processing plants in Mirny and Aikhal are located.