Soils (Pre-operational Phase)
Topsoils and subsoils are valuable commodities necessary for the restoration of quarries to agriculture, forestry, amenity or ecological afteruses. Information on soils is essential whether on greenfield sites or quarry extensions. This information is usually acquired and assembled as part of the site investigation works and environmental assessment process which accompanies most mineral planning applications.
Information required includes the type, quality, chemical makeup, organic content, pH (acidity/alkalinity), moisture content, physical structure and stone content of any topsoil. The depths and volumes require measurement as well as the distribution of topsoil, subsoil and overburdens across the site.
Such background information is necessary to help to determine the stripping regime, the handling and storage requirements, the restoration options as well as any enhancement techniques to improve the quality of the soils.
In particular, topsoils/subsoils need to be handled as little as possible to avoid damage to soil structure and texture through compaction; they need to be stripped with appropriate machinery, in dry weather and transported as short a distance as possible. Adequate storage space (with separate heaps for topsoil, subsoil and overburdens) needs to be allocated at the pre-operational stage. Double or triple handling of soils not only damages them but incurs substantial unnecessary costs. Soil storage and movement is one key element in the overall site development planning over the quarry's life.
The quality and quantity of available soils are fundamental in the determination of restoration objectives; progressive restoration demands that there is a clear understanding of which materials are to be used when and in which sequence.
If there is a predicted shortfall at the pre-operational stage of quarry planning, it is possible to plan the storage of non-waste by products (unsold quarried material) and ameliorate these using amendments such as PAS100 compost or PAS110 anaerobic digestate or other beneficial additives.
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