Strategies For The Return Of Heavy Mineral Sands Mines To Productive Agricultural Uses

Significant economic deposits (> 4,000 ha) of heavy mineral sands (ilmenite, rutile and zircon) were discovered in the Atlantic Coastal Plain of Virginia and North Carolina in 1989. The majority of these lands support highly productive row crop agriculture, and the development of restoration protocols that would return these lands to agricultural use was deemed to be critical to the long-term sustainability of mining operations. Virginia Tech worked closely with all stakeholders to develop appropriate restoration protocols and to coordinate their implementation. Full-scale mining operations at the Old Hickory Project in Virginia were initiated in 1997 by Iluka Resources Inc., and restoration protocols have continued to evolve in response to a variety of economic, technical, and social issues. Return of these lands to agricultural row-crop production has been complicated by lateral variability in soil physical conditions in the reclaimed pits and limited topsoil return. Approximately 150 ha of land are in various phases of reclamation, and approximately 25 ha have been released back to landowners to date. Currently, the reclaimed pits are returned to pasture vegetation, but return to more intensive agricultural production practices may be possible as soil reconstruction procedures are improved over time.