ABSTRACT
Mineral extraction, particularly in a densely populated country such as Britain, is unpopular with the general population both because of its environmental impact during working (Roy Waller Associates, 1992) and the long-term effects on the land. Many environmental campaigners see mineral extraction as the ultimate form of land degradation (e.g., Adams, 1991). However, well-planned and executed reclamation of mineral workings can do much to overcome local opposition. The government position is that “restoration and aftercare should provide the means to maintain or in some circumstances even enhance the long term quality of land and landscapes taken for mineral extraction, so that there is no net loss of land for use by future generations. At the same time local communities are provided with an asset of equal or added value” (Department of the Environment, 1996a).
