Vale is again taking flight this week to spread grass seed over more than 100 hectares of land the miner has targeted in its reclamation efforts.
It’s no secret the mining industry has had a negative impact on the environment through historic smelter emissions, said Quentin Smith, project engineer with Vale’s environment department.
Since 1990, the company has treated more than 4,000 hectares (or 10,000 acres) of land through its aerial seeding program. This year, Vale is targeting land southeast of Coniston.
“(This program) is a unique aspect of Vale’s biodiversity and land reclamation strategy for the Sudbury basin,” said Smith. “Helicopters are used to drop payloads of lime, grass seed and fertilizer onto areas that have been historically stressed by mining activities.”
The grass seed is a mix of seven different species Vale developed in conjunction with Laurentian University and the City of Greater Sudbury’s vegetation enhancement technical advisory committee, said Smith.
“The different species are representative of what is indigenous to the area, and would occur in local ecosystems,” he said.
The aerial seeding is the first part of a two-step process Vale uses to reclaim the lands, said Smith.
The first step is mending the soil and getting the grass seed down, which is currently underway, and the following season, the city’s tree-planting crews go in and plant the same areas with pine seedlings. This year, Vale has donated 100,000 seedlings to help support the City of Greater Sudbury’s regreening effort.
“We know that once we’ve applied this mixture to the ground, by the following spring, we’re going to see a lot of grass growth in the fields here, which helps stabilize the soil and creates the conditions that allow the seedlings to be planted,” he said.
One of the biggest challenges facing this process is weather, Smith said.
“We perform this work in the fall to take advantage of the fall frechette and the fall rains, but unfortunately, we cannot fly in inclement weather,” said Smith. “So, if it’s foggy in the morning, or we’re seeing too much rain in the day, we have to ground the helicopters for safety reasons, and it means the project plays out over a longer time frame.”
The program will take place until Oct. 10.
