Compliance Monitoring Report for Mines and Quarries - National ...

quantity of waste materials (overburden and other waste). Most of these wastes are washeddownhill during heavy monsoonIn most of these mines, because of the geological formation, maintenance of final Pit slopeof 45 0 , and bench height and width of 5 meters and 2.5 meters each is not possibleGenerally the mines are leased for a maximum period of three years. The environmentalrestoration bond collected is based on reserve, which is predetermined and not on the basisof actual mineral deposit and environmental damage/degradation caused. The amountcollected may be less since mineable reserve estimated is comparatively small compared tothat of captive minesThe majority of the mines are located at the foothill of Sukrety and Kharipakha underSamtse, which may affect the settlements lying at the top of the mines. Some miningoperation have been carried out in private land, which have been bought by the proponentsSamtse Dzongkhag has constructed a farm road to connect the resettlement areas and othervillages. The take-off point of the road is from Sukrety and passes below the Talc mines inKharipakha area. There is a potential risk to the road if the mine is not managed properlyand restoredSpecific findings for coal minesIn case of Rishore coal mines, the demarcation pillars 4, 5, 6 and 7 are just next to the crest of theultimate pit slope maintained at a gradient of 70º, which is too steep and may cause instability ofthe area. The pillars (4,5,6 and 7) located above need to be shifted further by 30 to 80 meteres forformation of benches and to stabilize the slope. The crest of the top bench at piller No. 5 wasobserved to be a thin ridge. On the other side, it was found to be sloping downwards falling in theprivate land which is being acquired by the company. Once acquired, benches can be developed bythe company from top down and the steep dead end can be reduced in height by atleast 15 metersand the slope made more gentle.Rishore Mine No. 5 was abondoned. Though the ultimate pit slope was maintained at a steeperangle, it was observed that there was no sign of instability. The scope of further advancement toform proper benches and reduce the slope to restore the mine was restricted by private landsituated just above it. The management has built a check dam to arrest the overburden rolling downthe hill. However, there were two rows of benches maintained at the top of the mine followed by anumber of benches along the lateral side of the mined area.There are 34 registered households and about 28 thram holders in the village located on thenorthern side of the mine. Out of the above mention registered households, 15 of them are close tothe mine area. However, no immediate threat to the settlement above is observed.6. RecommendationsThe recommendations are further segregated into immediate, medium and long-term approach tocarry out environmentally sound mining operation.8