A database of environmental impacts related to mineral exploration and placer mining in Yukon, focusing on three mining districts. Observations include detailed vegetation descriptions, soil texture and chemistry, slope stability, permafrost conditions, and disturbance characteristics for trenches, drill pads, roads, camps, and placer mine features dating from 1911 to 1993. Recommendations for site abandonment and treatment were formulated based on analysis of factors influencing natural revegetation.
Use Cases
- Modeling natural revegetation rates based on disturbance characteristics like trench orientation and surface compaction.
- Assessing slope stability and erosion risks on disturbed mining sites.
- Identifying key factors for successful reclamation, such as soil depth and fine-grained matrix content.
- Comparing environmental conditions between disturbed and undisturbed surfaces across different mining districts.
Strengths
- Detailed observations across multiple environmental layers: vegetation, soil, slope, and permafrost.
- Disturbance records span a significant historical period from 1911 to 1993.
- Analysis identifies specific quantitative thresholds for successful revegetation, such as at least 20 cm of soil with 20% fine-grained matrix.
Limitations
- Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
- Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
- Data may reflect geographic bias inherent to its focus on three Yukon mining districts.
Provenance
- Source
- Government of Yukon | Gouvernement du Yukon
- Collection Method
- Environmental impact assessments conducted under Mining Land Use Regulations.
- Time Range
- 1911 to 1993
- Geography
- Three mining districts in Yukon, Canada