Stabilization and reclamation of a waste tip at an asbestos mine in Cyprus

Safety considerations regarding mine waste tips and environment requirements often seem to conflict. This is usually due to insufficient evidence and lack of understanding of the engineering and geotechnical properties of the waste tip material. In the case of a large waste tip at an Asbestos mine in mountainous part of Cyprus it was shown that a thorough knowledge of all the engineering geological parameters of the waste tip material and its geological environs allowed the build up of a flexible model which optimized the requirement for safety, reforestation and reinstatement of environment in general.