Data from: A novel environmental restoration method for an abandoned limestone quarry with a deep open pit and steep palisades: a case study

In general, exploitation of rock materials, such as limestone or granite
exploitation, can cause serious damage to the ecological environment near
a mine area. With economic development and the ever-increasing demand for
ore resources, mining activities have induced very serious environmental
issues in China. Therefore, environmental restoration work around mines in
China is urgently required. This study explores the Chuankou open-pit
limestone quarry in Tongchuan City, Shaanxi Province, Northwest China, as
the engineering case. The environmental issues caused by over 40 years of
limestone exploitation, including land degradation, land occupation, dust
pollution and potential geological disasters, were investigated. Combining
the characteristics of this quarry with a summary of previous studies on
environmental restoration work, this paper proposes a novel and systematic
method that was comprehensively carried out through engineering and
revegetation measures. The engineering measure, that is, the construction
of an artificial slope by using local abandoned construction materials,
solved the environmental problems in this quarry and provided site
conditions favourable for revegetation. The revegetation measure restored
the local ecosystem. This method provides both a new idea for the
sustainable development of a mining area and a useful reference for
analogous engineering cases.