REFLECTION

GAPS

This project presents a relatively complete regeneration plan for a post-mining area, spanning a period of over 30 years. The general framework of the project is feasible, but there are still parts of the project that are not addressed as a landscape-oriented project.

“Natural“

1. Tailings

This project involves a site area of nearly 4,000 hectares, which is a really huge site. It contains almost all characteristics of a mining industry except for the tailings which would be considered as the end of the ore lifeline. the tailings ponds are no less ecologically damaging than open pits and dumps. Moreover, remediation process of tailing is also a hot topic in post-mining filed, it is complicated and involves more ecological engineering techniques. And one more reason I haven’t include this part, it is far away from the three mining sites. But if it is a real project, tailings is one of the most important part that can never be ignored in a mining remediation plan.

2. Geological

Although I have done the filed trip of mine open pits and waste dumps for over 5 times. I tried to achieve everywhere of those areas that I was allowed to go to and observe the different characteristics of the sites from every angle. However, I was not able to get a true picture of the geology of these two areas, and I could not find any more details of the geological conditions of these two sites in the mine records of Panzhihua City. The test in the rehabilitation of mine open pits and wastes dumps, it will use the soil in waste dumps to cover the exposed iron ore surface. However, if the soil in the waste dumps is very loose, it will make the excavation process extremely difficult. If the geological condition is not suitable for extracting, urban construction waste soil is also a good choice.

The following image shows a corner of the site where an illegal excavation underneath the site has led to extensive landslides. The geological structure of such a rock and soil dump is precarious, and after such a collapse, more engineering techniques, such as prestressed anchor and concrete gunniting, need to be conducted, restoring the site to a safe condition.

REFLECTION

3. Phytoremediation

In general, Panzhihua is an arid and relatively infertile site, so the variety of plants is low compared to places with healthy soils and a humid climate. Although phytoremediation of heavy metal contaminated soils in and around mines is a reasonable and feasible approach, there is still a lot of research to be done on plant selection. Phytoremediation has been introduced in some areas where iron ore tailings have been deposited, but the choice of plants is relatively small and includes some exotic species, which will take some time to see if these plants will become invasive in the future.

In some studies of soil’s heavy metal contamination in Panzhihua, it has been mentioned that ferns have a great ability to improve heavy metal contamination and that there is a lack of ferns in Panzhihua, which could affect the effectiveness of phytoremediation. However, the climatic conditions in Panzhihua are not suitable for the growth of many ferns, so the theory itself is untenable. On the ore surface of some abandoned mines, where there is already a layer of soil covering a few centimetres to a dozen centimetres, there is a very strong grass that the locals call “rocket grass”. There is no research on the potential for hyperaccumulators, but it does grow freely and as fast as possible on the surface of the mine. The downside is that rocket grass is highly susceptible to hill fires when grown in dry and hot conditions. However, the point I am trying to make here is that the role of local plants cannot never be ignored. Moreover, the results of the researches are also controversial.

“Arrow grass“

“Arrow grass“

REFLECTION

“Industrial“

There is actually a lot of uncertainty in the renovation plan of mining plan, especially in relation to the arts. However, those ideas are not unfounded, for example,inviting the filmmakers to come to the plant for filming. The remote location of Panzhihua and the slow pace of urban development means that many of the buildings or structures still remain in a style characteristic of China’s 1980s. One day during the year of the project, I suddenly learned that The Old Town Girls, a film set in Panzhihua, had been selected for the 33rd Tokyo International Film Festival. It was an amazing news, although the film had not yet been screened, it was a great opportunity to promote a small, remote city like Panzhihua. This was the inspiration for the new opening of the factory.

Then regarding the second step, inviting artists to come to this place and create freely. The probability that this step can achieve its purpose is much lower than the previous one. So far, there are many local artists who are doing some work, but the impact of their art may not be enough to support the whole mine restoration project. Therefore, at the beginning of the project, it is necessary to invite some more well-known artists to work on the project to increase the probability of success.

Scenarios in film The Old Town Girls

“Community“

Community-based reviving schemes are the ones with a relatively higher probability of success. But there are still some uncertainties. Firstly, it is about the design of a treatment system for the acid mine drainage, which comes from the mine and flows out of the ditch from the tunnel. But I don’t know if there is a better way to treat this wastewater closer to its source.

Secondly, some parts are not involved. There are some other people in Lanjian community that lives in even worse conditions. They are still living in shanties on either side of the railway buffer zone. There are several other informal settlements of this type in Panzhihua, and in previous years there have been incidents where trains have hit the buffer zone and run over these shanties. Their lives are at great risk. They are real farmers living in “urban area”(even if it is very marginal). Some are former miners, but they had had to become miners after their farmland was taken over by mine industry. And now they continue to farm in the city living in a poor condition.