Distributions and existing problems of mining land of abandoned open-pit mines in China

To obtain the fundamental data of mine environments objectively, this study monitored the damaged mining land and the ecological restoration land in abandoned open-pit mines in China by combining remote sensing data with multi-source data, computer automated information extraction with human-computer interactive interpretation, and comprehensive laboratory research with field investigation. The remote sensing monitoring in 2022 shows that the mining land of abandoned open-pit mines in China covered an area of 82.74×10⁴ hm², representing 0.86‰ of the national land area, primarily distributed in Inner Mongolia and Xinjiang Uygur autonomous regions as well as Hebei, Shandong, and Heilongjiang provinces. Among them, the damaged mining land and the ecological restoration land accounted for 50.74×10⁴ hm² and 32.00×10⁴ hm², respectively, with an ecological restoration rate of 38.68%. The mining land of abandoned open-pit mines occupied primary farmland of 2.63×10⁴ hm², representing 3.18% of the total mining area. The mining land of nationwide abandoned open-pit mines within the ecological red line accounted for 8.09×10⁴ hm², representing 9.77% of the total mining area. The mining land of nationwide abandoned open-pit mines, coinciding with the result of the third national land resource survey (mining land), totaled 30.13×10⁴ hm², representing 36.42% of the total mining area. This study preliminarily analyzed the present situation and existing problems of remote sensing work involving the mining land of nationwide abandoned open-pit mines, the occupation of primary farmland, the mining land of such mines within the ecological red line, and corresponding environmental restoration and governance. Finally, this study proposed countermeasures and suggestions in this regard.