August 2015
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World Coal
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99
rehabilitation
Henk Lodewijks, Anglo American,
South Africa,
details the use of
Fungcoal for land rehabilitation during a
mine’s operational life.
W
ith strong considerations of minimising harm to
the environment throughout the whole lifecycle
of an operation – from the design and
operation, to the eventual closure of operations
– Anglo American has been working with Rhodes University’s
Institute for Environmental Biotechnology (EBRU) to develop a
promising technique that minimises disruption to local
communities when mines are rehabilitated and restored:
Fungcoal. Fungcoal – a portmanteau of ‘fungi’ and ‘coal’ – aims to
achieve in one growing season what nature does in 60 yr by
searching out and harnessing organisms that already exist in
nature to speed-up the rehabilitation process.
Planting the
Roots for land
