Maria Lazăr

University of Petrosani · Management, Environment and Geology

Berbești mining basin, located in the area of the Getic Subcarpathians, is part of the Central Heating Power Plant (CHPP) Govora, in fact representing the mining division, and has four open pits: Alunu, Olteț, Panga, and West Berbești. Given that, at least in Europe, there is the issue of giving up energy production based on the burning of fossil f...

Coal mining activity in Jiu Valley is approaching, faster than expected a few years ago, to its end and one of the main directions for transforming the area (while ensuring its sustainability) is the development of tourism. Under these conditions, a problem that has remained partially unresolved is related to the integration of the former mining pe...

This book represents an aggregated material that brings together the research conducted by the authors over the last 6 years in the Berbești lignite-mining basin. The work was focused on geotechnical aspects related to open pit mining (land stability), both during the active period and post closure, and the impact and the risk generated by such neg...

Formation of so-called open-pit lakes has become an increasingly common practice in Romania (more precisely in the Oltenia Mining Basin, where the lignite deposit contained in Dacian and Romanian formations was and is extracted through open-pits). The flooding process of the remaining gaps is in general a natural one, as water comes from undergroun...

The problem of the slope stability of open pit mines is one of constant interest and great importance, both during the period of operation, but also post-closure. The research focused on the Oltețu open pit (located in Berbesti Mining Basin, Romania) and was directed in such a way as to allow consideration in the stability analyses of natural (pred...

Romania’s new commitments to give up coal-based energy production entail the gradual closure of the last four open-pits in operation in Berbești Mining Basin, thus, raising the issue of primarily ensuring the stability of the lands in these perimeters in order to reintroduce them, too, into the economic circuit as soon as possible. Considering the...

The firm commitment of the European Union (EU) to fully implement the 2030 Agenda requires the Member States to find and implement solutions to meet global targets, including ensuring clean and affordable energy. The EU encourages the elimination of coal from the energy mix in order to quantitatively reduce emissions and the impact on the environme...

Flooding the remaining gaps of lignite open-pits and the formation of so-called open-pit lakes tends to become an increasingly common practice in Romania (in the Oltenia Mining Basin, where the lignite deposit contained in Dacian and Romanian formations was and is extracted through open-pits). This type of ecological reconstruction of former exploi...

Often, excavations of natural slopes are necessary in the site area for the construction of civil or industrial objectives. The execution of such works requires special attention, from the design phase, regarding the stability of the slope in the initial state, but also after excavation and identification, if necessary, of technical solutions to in...

Long term stability of coal mining waste dumps

Metallurgical slag is one of the most common industrial wastes. Many of these wastes are not stable over time, by reacting with water and air, continuously generating emissions of heavy metals. Metallurgical slag processing is necessary for at least two reasons: reducing pollutant emissions and broadening the raw material base. The recovery of thes...

Analysing environmental impacts of mining activities involves detailed studies of the interactions between technological activities/operations carried out in a mining operation and environmental components affected by them. In order to carry out a more complex environmental impact assessment caused by mining in the eastern part of Jiu Valley on soi...

The waste dumps resulted from the lignite exploitation activities from Oltenia are constructions that reach, in most cases, impressive dimensions and store large volumes of sterile rocks. Usually, the dumps are arranged and ecologically restored, but between the moment of their release from technological tasks and the beginning of the arrangement w...

In Romania, as in many other countries of the world, there are areas, more or less extensive, which are naturally prone to landslides. Such an area, with great extension, is represented by the Getic Subcarpathians. In general, this predisposition of the mentioned area to landslides is favored by its geology and hydrogeology, its lithological struct...

The Preface contains relevant information about the 9th edition of the International Multidisciplinary Symposium UNIVERSITARIA SIMPRO 2021.

Water is a renewable natural resource, but vulnerable and limited in terms of quantity and quality, which is why its exploitation must be done rationally, so as to ensure a complex recovery and a balanced distribution, depending on needs. The water management activity, which has as object the establishment and application of measures for rational u...

The use of surface heating with heat exchangers significantly affects the temperature regime of the soil and the surface air layer. It is manifested in a change in the distribution of temperatures according to the soil horizon, in a considerable increase in the temperature of the soil and air, in a change of heat exchange between the soil and the s...

Some valuable minerals, such as lignite, are extracted through open-pit mining works. After the cessation of mining activity, large-scale gaps result in the landscape. These gaps, also called "remaining gaps", represent some of the roughest types of environmental impacts. After the cessation of mining activity, recovery and ecological restoration w...

Purpose. This study aims to identify the main factors that influence the flooding process of the remaining gaps of open-pits comprising essentially the velocity and duration of flooding, but also the stability of in situ and dump slopes during and after the flooding and the water quality in order to ensure the takeover of the future function of the...

The exploitation of low-grade ore deposits or the recovery of useful minerals from old waste dumps and tailing ponds is considered as an interesting economic opportunity especially in the context in which we speak more and more of a reduction in availability of some mineral resources or depletion of conventional ore deposits. The exploitation of ol...

With the occasion of complex and detailed studies, conducted especially from the geotechnical point of view (between 2016 and 2019), on the North Pesteana mining perimeter (more precisely on the lignite open-pit with the same name) numerous areas affected by suffosion were highlighted, mainly located on the lower steps (steps III and IV). Starting...

As open-pits occupy the land only temporarily, post-mining planning for sustainable land reuse represents an important stage and it can be done since the pre-exploitation stage. There are more possibilities to reuse former open pits depending on the nature and location of ore deposits. Coal open-pits are often reused as artificial lakes. Depending...

Controlled flooding of the remaining gaps of former open-pits (especially lignite open-pits) and the formation of lakes that can take different uses is one of the ways of recovering and rehabilitating degraded mining lands which offer opportunities for sustainable development of a mining region. The advantages of such a solution are multiple, start...

Surface mining is the main exploitation method of lignite in Europe. EU lignite production since 2017 is somehow stable at aprox. 380 million tones/year and is a very important source of energy in Poland, Germany, Greece, Czech Republic, Romania and Bulgaria. Flooding the residual gaps of former lignite open pits is often applied worldwide, offerin...

Alunu lignite open pit, part of Berbești Mining Basin (Vâlcea County), is located in a hilly area, whose morphology, structure as well as the geological and tectonic conditions favor the periodic triggering (especially in periods characterized by heavy rainfall) of landslides, variable in size, volume of material involved and velocity. Obviously, o...

As a result of open-pit mining exploitations, impressive size gaps occur in the landscape. Their flooding leads to the occurrence of so-called open-pit lakes and represents an interesting way to reclaim and use sustainably the degraded land. In the literature, there are numerous plans, strategies, and guidelines for mine closure and open-pit recove...

Assessing land stability is a difficult process. Over time, evaluation methods have been developed providing a high degree of reliability. Stability studies are complex activities that involve interdisciplinary research, time, material resources, and financial resources. In addition, many uncertainties and errors could affect the stability studies....

This paper presents a case study aimed at a project for the exploitation of mineral aggregates in gravel pits slightly different from the usual ones, in the sense that it does not have as its sole purpose the exploitation of mineral aggregates, but has provided from the design phase a second purpose, namely to create fish ponds in the exploited are...

Pit lakes result from the natural and/or artificial flooding of the remaining gaps of the former open-pit mining perimeters. Urdari and South Pesteana pit lakes were formed by natural flooding of the former lignite open-pits located in the mining perimeters identically named. The paper presents data regarding the quality of the water in the two lak...

This issue aims to pit lakes, which is one of the most common uses of post exploitation voids There are many examples of flooded smaller final pits and in some of these, during the process of filling with water, serious geotechnical problems have been encountered Almost all such artificial lakes are currently (and in the future) dedicated to recrea...

Lake South Pesteana was formed, starting with 2015, with the cessation of productive activities (lignite mining) in the open pit of the same name. Until now, the remaining gap of the open pit is flooded in a proportion of over 70%, the level being maintained by keeping in operation a part of the dewatering system that served the open pit, in order...

Mining and sustainable development may be compatible with the priority of measures to reduce impacts on the major ecosystems with severe consequences for the future generations. Infiltration of contaminated water into soils/rocks due to activity of different sectors of mining industry causes increasing concentration of minor and major deleterious e...

In the conditions of the dump slopes formed by loose rocks, predominantly sandy rocks, which are at the first saturation, there is a significant risk of sliding due to liquefaction of the waste material. The liquefaction process may be triggered by hydrological, mechanical or seismic factors. In saturated sand, the space between the solid granules...

Flooding the residual gaps of former lignite open pits is often applied worldwide, offering opportunities for the use of the lake and the reclaimed land, as well as many benefits, ranging from the restoration of ecosystems to the development of the local economy. The flooding process is conditioned by the available quantities of water from natural...

Surface water pollution is one of the consequences of modern society development through permanent pressures on the environment imposed by economic activities to provide the necessary resources for keeping modern living standards. Degradation of fresh water bodies is caused by the disappearance of natural water collection areas, deforestation and u...

The city of Petroșani, as well as the whole area known as Jiu's Valley, is integrated in a general vision of transforming a mining region into a tourist destination and, in this context, the aspects related to the quality of the urban landscape must be taken into account in a vary serious manner. Although the Petroșani municipality is located in an...

Continuing the process of restructuring the mining sector in Romania, more specifically coal mining (and as a result of aligning national energy policies with the common policy of the European Union), means closing in the near perspective of 2 more mining units from Jiu Valley, namely Lupeni M.E. and Lonea M.E. With the cessation of the productive...

The geotechnical characteristics of rocks influence their behavior in terms of their strength and stability. Changing the geotechnical characteristics of the rocks is the direct cause of the loss of the natural balance of the slope when the resistance forces defeated by the sliding forces. Influence factors, which may be of geological, hydrogeologi...

One of the most acute problems of contemporary society, the quality of the environment and, implicitly, the quality of life, is an intense and sustained concern of specialists from all over the world. After nearly two centuries of accelerated industrial development, the issue of ensuring the quality of the environment and of life on Earth is an ess...

According to EC Decision No. C (2018) 1001 final, at the end of this year, productive activity at Lupeni Mining Exploitation will cease, and from the beginning of next year the ecological reconstruction of the site will be started. In this context, the ecological reconstruction of the mining waste dump (branch III), active at the moment, is also un...

The purpose of this work is to anticipate the most important consequences generated by the installation of a micro-hydropower plant on mountain rivers, on the main components of the environment, and also to identify and locate the potential disruptions caused by the implementation of these projects. In addition, the authors would like to clarify ce...

Recovery and reuse of the lands affected by mining activities in the Panga open pit is carried out on a complex project that takes into account pedological, agrochemical and spatial aspects that highlight the physico-chemical properties of the land and, implicitly, the productive and recreational potential. The importance of eliminating or mitigati...

The geomorphological changes in the Berbeşti Mining Basin have an impact on the environment by: excavating the mining mass and depositing the tailings in the waste dumps, the contrast between the black color of the coal with the general green landscape, the local damage to vegetation and fauna, the change of groundwater regime and aquifers, the exp...

Deformations and changes occurring in a rock mass, whether natural or anthropic, result from the geotechnical characteristics of the rocks and the influence of various external or internal factors. Under the influence of external factors, such as vibrations, overloads, the presence of groundwater or surface water, there results deformations and cha...

The main intervention to eliminate the environmental impact of mining activities is represented by the ecological reconstruction of the affected areas at the end of exploitation, and consists in establishing all the necessary measures to prepare the area for an environmentally compatible reuse. The problem of ecological rehabilitation of the lands,...

Rezumat: Recuperarea golurilor remanente ale carierelor reprezintă o etapă importantă pentru dezvoltarea sustenabilă a mediului, economiei și societății. Aceasta asigură reducerea impactului negativ generat de exploatările miniere, impact care nu poate fi evitat pe perioada desfășurării activităților, dar care poate fi compensat prin aplicarea prac...

The recovery of the remaining gaps of former quarries represents an important stage for the sustainable development of the environment, economy and society. This stage ensures the reduction of the negative impact of mining operations, which can't be avoided during exploitation but can be offset by the application of practices aimed at recovering th...

The flooding of the remaining gaps of the former quarries is a process that can be achieved naturally, by influx of water from various permanent and/or temporary sources such as rainwater, superficial water courses, underground water or artificially, through water adductions from other nearby water sources like rivers, lakes etc. Knowledge of hydro...

The main economic activity in the Jiu Valley is mining, which provides to the society an important content of mineral raw materials required for the development and progress, representing the main activity in producing the value chain. The majority of the mining activities and other economic activities deployed along the basin of the East Jiu gener...

Underground mines from Jiu Valley have as objective the extraction of hard coal, used for energetic purposes. Exploitation activities are associated with the extraction of significant amounts of sterile, derived from opening and preparing works, but also from coal processing activity. The sterile rocks are stored in waste dumps of different sizes,...

The central objective of the European Water Framework Directive is to achieve a "good status" for all bodies of water, both surface and underground, with the exception of heavily modified and artificial bodies, for which the goal is to achieve a "good ecological potential". Based on the principles contained in this directive, at the level of the Ji...

Open pit mining exploitation involves a considerable change in the geomorphology of the region, especially through the development of deep qurries. The remaining gaps resulting from cessation of the open pit mining operations have impressive dimensions and a major negative impact. In addition to radically changing the landscape that causes a negati...

The quality of bucket wheel excavators (BWEs) operations is largely influenced by the physical-mechanical (structure, mineralogical composition, plasticity, anisotropy, degree of fracturing etc.) and technological properties (compressive strength, tensile strength, shear strength, compaction, consolidation, cutting resistance etc.) of the rocks. If...

As a result of the massive industrialization, the eastern area of the Jiu Valley presents an irreversible degradation on the environment factors especially on the soil and water. The influence of mining activities on the environment begins with the prospecting and mining activity of the mining deposits and increases with the development of the prod...

Water filling of remaining gaps of lignite open-pits are used frequently worldwide, is economically acceptable, having long-term benefits, regardless of the use of pit lakes. Choosing this type of use leads to appearance of a water surface, which may increase, for example, the ecological, productive, cultural value of both the landscapes and terrai...

The performances of the excavation machines depend largely on the tool and overall machine characteristics and on the other hand on physical mechanical characteristics of the excavated rock. There were more theories based on analytical deductions to explain the main cutting parameters on the basis of basic physical mechanical properties of the exca...

The main economic activity in the Jiu Valley is mining, which provides to the society an important content of mineral raw materials required for the development and progress, representing the main activity in producing the value chain. The majority of the mining activities and other economic activities deployed along the basin of the East Jiu gener...

The paper shows the results of a lab model for strain gauges based measuring system for multiple measuring heads of the mechanical stress in lattice structures of the bucket wheel excavator for open pit mines-harsh environment. The system is designed around a microcontroller system. Because of specific working conditions, the measuring system sends...

The paper is a summarizing the validation stage of the strain gauges based remote measurements in bucket wheel lattice structures. The validation process is required when multiple and synchronized measurements are required in harsh environment. The authors propose virtual models with specific interaction facilities demanded in dynamic measurement s...

The proposed paper shows some experimental results of a research in metallic structures inspection by using a high definition camera controller by high processing capabilities. The dedicated ARM Cortex-M4 initializes the ARM Cortex-M0 system for image acquiring. Then, by programming options, we are action for patterns (abnormal situations like meta...

Ecological restoration and reuse of degraded lands must contribute to the region's sustainable development. Therefore, in order to determine the post degradation land destination, a number of opportunities and restrictions should be taken into account. For this reason, it is necessary to develop a methodology for establishing the optimal reuse alte...