Ecological Restoration of Open-Pit Mine Spoil Slopes Using Perforated Geocells (Mine Rehabilitation Category)

Ecological Restoration of Open-Pit Mine Spoil Slopes Using Perforated Geocells (Mine Rehabilitation Category)

1. Project Overview
The slopes of an open-pit coal mine spoil dump are characterized by loose, infertile spoil materials, severe dust generation, and susceptibility to landslides under rainwater scouring, with a slope ratio of 1:1.2. The total restoration area is 75,000 m².

2. Geocell Selection
Reinforced perforated geocells with a height of 200 mm and sheet thickness of 1.6 mm are employed, complemented with a biaxial geogrid base layer to prevent sliding.

3. Construction Procedure

• Lay the biaxial geogrid as a base layer, then install the honeycomb geocells on top;

• Fill the cellular cavities with improved soil mixed with organic fertilizer;

• Spray-seed with seeds of drought-tolerant shrubs such as sea buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides) and false indigo (Amorpha fruticosa).

4. Implementation Outcomes

• Soil erosion modulus decreased from 8,000 t/(km²·yr) to 500 t/(km²·yr), effectively eliminating shallow landslides;

• Vegetation coverage reached 85% within 12 months, suppressing dust emissions and restoring barren hills with greenery;

• On-site mine spoil was reused as backfill material, reducing the cost of external aggregate transportation by 50%.