Technosols use in industrial rock quarry environmental reclamation

Mining and quarrying are strategic and fundamental to the entire world economy and will play an increasingly central role in the near future. However, the related impacts are not insignificant, affecting air, water, soil, landscape, surrounding communities and, above all, the production and management of the waste. The objective of this work is the development of an artificial soil, defined technosol, using tailings such as residual sludge and crushed rocks from different Portuguese quarries to verify their possible use in the reclamation of the same sites. These materials were physically and chemically characterised and combined to obtain different mixtures, then placed in transparent boxes inside a temperature and humidity controlled chamber, on which the growth of Lolium Multiflorum Lam is tested. The results reported are positive and show good plant growth in terms of root system, length and aspect. This indicates that there are alternatives to landfilling of waste and through the correct design it is possible to use it to build a fertile substrate for quarry rehabilitation reducing the environmental impact.