Comparison of different soil reconstruction methods for reclaiming contaminated lands in Geevor mine

The presence of land contamination is an inevitable legacy of an industrial past. There are about 100 000 and 220 000 ha of land is contaminated in the UK. To reuse the contaminated land, some treatments such as soil reconstruction are useful. This paper evaluated three treatments of soil reconstruction in Geevor mine based on soil tests. The results revealed that copper pollution was the most serious in this mine site. The plot with the treatment of topsoil removal was still of high contaminants and low pH. Remedied plot by industrial mineral amendments could removal some of the contaminants and buffer pH effectively, but it still had high level of metals. Subsoil cover plot showed the lowest content of contaminants, which was less than the threshold value. The remedied plot with industrial mineral amendments and subsoil cover plot have higher macro nutrients for plant growth. Therefore, subsoil cover and mineral amendments are effective methods in reclaiming contaminated lands.