Section 37 in The Mineral Conservation and Development Rules, 2017
37. Storage of overburden, waste rock, etc.
(1)Every holder of a prospecting licence, prospecting license cum mining lease or a mining lease shall take steps so that the overburden, waste rock, rejects and fines generated during prospecting and mining operations or tailings, slimes and fines produced during sizing, sorting and beneficiation or metallurgical operations shall be stored in separate dumps.(2)The dumps shall be properly secured to prevent escape of material therefrom in harmful quantities which may cause degradation of environment and to prevent causation of floods.(3)The site for dumps, tailings or slimes shall be selected as far as possible on impervious ground to ensure minimum leaching effects due to precipitations.(4)Wherever possible, materials such as waste rock and overburden shall be back-filled into the mine excavations with a view to restoring the land to its original use as far as possible.(5)Wherever back-filling of waste rock in the area excavated during mining operations is not feasible, the waste dumps shall be suitably terraced and stabilized through vegetation or otherwise.(6)The fines, rejects or tailings from mine, beneficiation or metallurgical plants shall be deposited and disposed in a specially prepared tailings disposal area such that they are not allowed to flow away and cause land degradation or damage to agricultural field, pollution of surface water bodies and ground water or cause floods.
