The LIFE RIBERMINE project started the fieldwork at the Santa Engracia mine (Peñalem, Spain) in early July 2020, beginning the first phase of the restoration activities.
These works, which take place on the “front of the track al río Tajo, o a Poveda” and consist mainly of specialized earthworks by the drivers, are being carried out by the partner CAOBAR, S.A. and the contractor for the works (Félix Moya). Specifically, is being done the topographic remodeling of one of the large external heaps, around the Santa Engracia mine. The objective is to accommodate the volumes that configure very high slopes and steep slopes, forming “natural” reliefs of the partition type, river channels and hills and smooth valleys on the slopes between partitions and channels.
After a few weeks, the result is already spectacular: from a large artificial heap, a “natural landscape” begins to emerge.
Finally, the great depression that occupies the internal well of the Santa Engracia mine, previously filled with water, also began to drain in a controlled manner and avoiding risks and sediment emissions.
For the official presentation of the project in Peñalén, on September the 4th, 2020, it is expected that this entire heap is completely remodeled. The work is progressing at a good pace!
Using a differential GPS, the designs of the “natural” landscapes, in CAD format, are transferred to the terrain, through the location of wooden stakes, which with the appropriate indications, guide the work of the machines.
The land remodeling work is being carried out by a 374 crawler escavator and by a D9 bulldozer, that together have a huge earth-moving capacity.
A new “artificially natural” landscape emerges from the topographic remodeling of one external heap at Santa Engracia mine.
