MINING INDUSTRIAL LANDSCAPE. EVALUATION AND ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT ELEMENTS.

Mining is a special human activity, indispensable for the exploitation of Earth's solid mineral resources. But modern extractive operations face environmental problems due to the emotional, subjective, and interpretable assessments of the impact generated, because, most often, in assessments the environment is reduced to something relative or vague. In the exploitation of useful mineral substances (u.m.s.) the operations are located in the Pedolitosphere, corresponding to the lower level of the atmosphere and the upper level of the lithosphere. This level implies a geographical approach to ecological studies at different spatial scales. Thus, although it introduces a disturbance in relation to the natural landscape, marking a relative fragmentation in the historical evolution of the geographical environment in which it develops as an economic activity, mining is still a pillar of development. It is the result of practices, decisions and activities that produce quantifiable plus-value, as an implicit cultural landscape through the multiple deposits of material values, technical knowledge and social memory that it includes, long after the cessation of mining activities. In this context, among the scientific concerns promoted during the 70 years of publication of the Mining Revue let's mention those related to the sustainable development of mining areas, to the impact on environment and to the mine closure management. The paper aims to contribute to the understanding of the concept of landscape environment and the value assessment of mining, in the context of new paradigms debated in Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]