Minería y Geología (Oct 2017)
Sustainable closure of construction materials quarries in Cuba
Abstract
The inclusion of effective mine closure plans in the exploitation project is the way to compensate for the harmful effect of this activity. Based on a diagnosis carried out in 11 sites in operation, belonging to the company Canteras, a methodology was designed with a systemic and integral approach that consists of five stages and allows the execution of quarry closures in a sustainable manner. The Delphi method was applied to select the criteria that directly affect the sustainable closure of quarries in such a way that it considers the essential postulates of the Cuban Economic Model (MEC). The proposed methodology represents a contribution to the planning and design of the mining closure in Cuban non-metallic deposits to guarantee the reduction of the environmental impacts caused during its operation and the reduction, to the lesser extent possible, of negative socio-economic effects for the workers and the community located in the area of influence of the quarries. Currently applied in the quarry of San José, in Mayabeque province.
