On 7 March 2022, during the gala celebrating the 30th anniversary of the Mining Chamber of Industry and Commerce, prizes were awarded in the Mining Success of the Year competition.
In the Ecology category, the jury awarded the company TAURON Wydobycie S.A. and the Central Mining Institute for the solution entitled “Developing the concept of an experimental cover for the reclamation of a fragment of a heap using materials and waste, and the construction of a testing ground in the Janina Mining Plant in Libiąż, as part of the RECOVERY project”.
The RECOVERY project “Reclamation of degraded and transformed ecosystems in post-mining areas” concerns the development of various techniques of biological reclamation of the so-called mining waste disposal facility, using soil substitute mixtures based on by-product materials from the TAURON Mining and Power Plants of the TAURON Group.
The Janina tailings pile in Libiąż was recultivated using innovative substrates which neutralise the high acidity of mining waste, reduce water pollution and provide favourable conditions for the development of semi-natural plant communities. Thanks to appropriately selected soil mixtures based on waste materials, substrates for various plant habitats have been prepared, which will allow for effective revitalisation of difficult areas.
The recultivation method developed by GIG enabled the initiation of diversified plant communities i.e. meadow and shrub vegetation. The monitoring of physicochemical parameters of soil and leachates will allow to assess the positive impact of the project on the environment.
The RECOVERY project is being implemented under the Research Fund for Coal and Steel, with financial support from the Ministry of Education and Science.
