LANDFORM REPLICATION IN QUARRYING

Landform replication as part of progressive quarry restoration is an a pproach that has advantages in the restoration of visually intrusive s ections of quarries in sensitive locations, such as national parks and areas of outstanding natural beauty, as well as in locations where sc reening techniques would themselves be intrusive and where the nature of after-use is an important issue. The approach has been applied with success to the restoration of chalk workings in southern Britain, and research and trials relating to restoration blasting and the replicat ion of limestone dale landforms have been undertaken. An essential pre requisite for application of the technique is rigorous geomorphologica l analysis of the locality to ensure that final quarry landforms are c onsistent with the local geomorphological and landscape setting. It is always important to ensure compatibility of the final landform with t he intended after-use and, to achieve this, it is also essential that such restoration schemes have a sound geotechnical basis. A disadvanta ge of the approach is that final slopes tend to be flatter, especially in weaker strata where natural slopes may not be steep, and this has implications for reserves that can be unacceptable, particularly in qu arry extensions.