Assessing and prioritizing environmental hazards associated with abandoned mines in Gangwon-do, South Korea: The Total Mine Hazards Index

Abstract

This paper presents a new index, the Total Mine Hazards Index (TMHI), which has been developed to support reclamation planning in abandoned mining areas in Korea. The TMHI quantifies the extent of the hazards caused by mining in terms of five problem areas: (a) mine subsidence, (b) deforestation, (c) mine tailings, (d) waste rock dumps, and (e) mine water. These five mining hazards are statistically analyzed and the results are combined with Geographic Information Systems (GIS) modeling to prioritize the abandoned mines that pose the greatest hazard risk. A GIS database of mine-related information, including topographic data, land cover data, and road maps, is analyzed and used to evaluate the likely extent of mine-related pollution. As a case study, the TMHI is applied to Gangwon-do province in Korea, and the results show that the TMHI can be used to identify those mines most in need of attention and support mine reclamation planning by comprehensively quantifying the nature and extent of any hazards associated with abandoned mines.