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Review

Research Progress of Mine Ecological Restoration Technology

by
Yue Xiang
1,
Jiayi Gong
1,
Liyong Zhang
2,
Minghai Zhang
2,
Jia Chen
2,
Hui Liang
2,
Yonghua Chen
1,
Xiaohua Fu
1,
Rongkui Su
1,* and
Yiting Luo
3,*
1
College of Ecology and Environment, Central South University of Forestry and Technology, Changsha 410004, China
2
Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture Environmental Assessment Service Center, Xiangxi 410114, China
3
Hunan First Normal University, Changsha 410114, China
*
Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Resources 2025, 14(6), 100; https://doi.org/10.3390/resources14060100
Submission received: 26 May 2025 / Accepted: 11 June 2025 / Published: 16 June 2025
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mine Ecological Restoration)
Browse Figures
Versions Notes

Abstract

:
This article provides a systematic review of the current research status and latest progress in the field of mine ecological restoration. Using the SCI literature indexed by the Web of Science database as the data source, the research status and hotspots in the field of mine ecological restoration are displayed through the visual analysis of CiteSpace and the progress of mine ecological restoration technology this year is systematically summarized. Through a comprehensive review of existing technological methods, it is found that whether it is physical, chemical, biological restoration, or combined restoration technology, there are respective advantages, disadvantages, and application limitations. Physical remediation is a pretreatment, chemical remediation is prone to secondary pollution, while the sustainability shown by bioremediation makes it dominant in the of mine ecological remediation, but it has a long cycle and there is a risk of heavy metals that are accumulated by plants re-entering the biosphere through the food chain. Combined remediation can integrate the advantages of different restoration technologies and is the trend for the future development of mine ecological restoration. In the future, we should further promote technological innovation, perfect monitoring and evaluation technology, and promote informatization, scientization, and the effective implementation of mine ecological restoration, to achieve the ecological restoration and sustainable development of the mine area.

1. Introduction

Mining processes produce a large amount of solid waste, wastewater, and waste gas as by-products [1] that pollute the environment, leading to severe environmental degradation [2], causing acidification [3], heavy metal [4] diffusion, water pollution [5,6], waterway subsidence [7], soil pollution [8,9], and soil erosion [10], exacerbating greenhouse gas emissions [11], reducing plant coverage [12], decreasing biodiversity [13], causing habitat loss [14], and destroying the resilience of the ecosystem [15], among other environmental issues. Mining also triggers a series of geological disasters such as ground subsidence [16] and landslides [17], which endangers the surrounding ecology [18]. Soil pollution and soil erosion lead to a decline in soil fertility, vegetation destruction reduces the grazing area, and water source pollution affects irrigation and aquaculture, all of which restrict the development of agriculture [19], forestry [20], and animal husbandry [21] in mining areas, reducing ecological, social, and economic benefits [22].
With the acceleration of industrialization, the importance of ecological restoration in the mining process is increasingly highlighted, and ecological restoration in mining areas has become a global hotspot issue [23,24,25]. Mine ecological restoration aims to restore ecological functions and promote the sustainable development of mining areas, which is of far-reaching and significant consequence. Mine ecological restoration is key to achieving sustainable resource [26,27]. Mining must not be at the expense of the environment, and effective technical measures must be taken to restore the ecological environment that has been destroyed by mining activities [28]. At present, in the field of mine ecological restoration, there have been good technical results in physical, chemical, biological, and combined restoration technologies [29,30]. For example, in slope restoration, engineering measures such as retaining walls and slope protection, combined with vegetation planting, effectively prevent geological disasters such as landslides. In Pingliang City, Gansu Province, a demonstration project [31] for the ecological restoration of historically abandoned mines in the Loess Plateau ecological barrier zone adopted cave planting technology for the steep terrain of the Kongtong North Sub-project mining area. After slope cutting, caves were excavated on cliffs, filled with planting soil and organic fertilizers, sown with grass seeds and shrubs, and equipped with micro-spray irrigation systems, which greatly improved vegetation survival rate and coverage, significantly improving the ecological environment. Phytoremediation technology uses certain plants’ superior absorption capacity to reduce heavy metal content in soil. For example, the analysis of tailings of the Qinling abandoned gold mines [32] shows that Lythrum salicaria L. and Equisetum ramosissimum Desf are the preferred plants to restore As contamination by screening Pioneer phytos. Salix balfouriana, with the highest score of comprehensive membership function in Dongchuan, Yunnan, was identified as the preferred tree species for ecological restoration in the copper tailings area [33]. Microbially induced mineralization technology changes the occurrence form of minerals through microbial action, thereby reducing pollutant mobility. Lu et al. [34] found that the development of bio soil crust regulates functional genes in the biogeochemical cycle, and genes involved in carbon fixation are richer than genes related to carbon degradation, while genes mediating organophosphorus mineralization are higher than those related to organophosphorus dissolution. The application of passivators [35] can alter the physical and chemical properties of soil, reduce the activity of heavy metals and other pollutants, and mitigate their harm to the environment.
However, in practical applications, restoration technology needs to be adjusted for practicality according to the differences in the geology, climate, and pollution of the mine area. Take Hainan Lotus Mountain Mine as an example [36], where massive limestone mining left six huge quarries, causing severe vegetation damage, massive waste rock accumulation, and threats to human and livestock safety. During ecological restoration, the local government fully considered the high-temperature and rainy climate and the special geological conditions of the quarries, carried out land leveling and soil base improvement, selected locally adapted heavy metal-tolerant plants for planting, and constructed a water storage system to address surface water shortages and declining groundwater levels. In addition to the innovative application of existing technologies, with the development of technology such as predictive models [37] in recent years, UAV monitoring technology [38] has been expanding and innovatively integrated with traditional methods, constantly driving the remediation from end-of-pipe governance to whole-process regulation. During the ecological restoration process, Chongqing Oriental Hope Chongqing Cement Co., Ltd. uses drones to transport horizontal baffles and green seedlings, which was not only efficient and rapid but also eliminated the safety hazards of manual transportation [39]. UAVs were also used for safety inspections to promptly identify safety issues during construction. Meanwhile, the company adopted open-pit bench-type layered mining technology, established a “pre-covering and post-mining” land circulation system and an “interception and storage irrigation” water circulation system, cumulatively restored 50 hectares of damaged mines, achieved 100% ecological restoration in the region, and reduced carbon emissions by 307,000 tons annually, yielding significant ecological, social, and economic benefits. As the importance of mine ecological environment is further deepened, restoration technology is rapidly developing from a single technology to a diversified, intelligent and ecological direction, but it still faces challenges such as the difficulty in cleaning up long-term accumulation of pollutants, the long time for the restoration of ecological system functions, and the poor maintenance capacity. In Ankang City, multiple prominent issues exist in mine ecological restoration [40]. On the one hand, the restoration and governance tasks are heavy. On the other hand, the governance difficulty is high: there are few mature technologies and successful cases for metal-related pollution control in China. Ecological restoration of many metal-associated and non-metal mines (such as stone coal mines) in Ankang City mostly requires comprehensive engineering measures, with an average governance cost of over CNY 30,000 per mu, and higher costs if water pollution control is involved. Additionally, long-term accumulation of pollutants makes cleanup difficult: some mine ecological environment restoration projects in Ankang City have incomplete “slag treatment” and “water treatment” or only focus on slag treatment. For example, the historical stone coal mine environment restoration project in Tianchi Village, Hongshan Town, Hanbin District completed waste slag treatment, but the polluted stream was not treated, and the downstream ditch water of the slag pile remains yellowish-brown. The issues of long ecosystem function recovery time and poor sustainability also urgently need solutions. In view of the many shortcomings in mining restoration technology, it is necessary to clarify the existing technical bottlenecks and optimization directions, and therefore, it is great to review its technological research progress.
In recent years, research on ecological restoration of mining areas has become a hotspot in the field of environmental science and ecological engineering. Most of the reviews focus on a single restoration technology or a partial case analysis. This paper incorporates physical, chemical, biological and intelligent monitoring technologies into a unified framework, emphasizing the need for technologies to match the pollution characteristics of the mining area and the stage of ecological succession. This paper combines bibliometrics with empirical research, and through the document clustering analysis of Web of Science, it compensates for the lack of qualitative description in traditional reviews. The systematic argumentation of the existing reviews on intelligent technology (such as UAV remote sensing, Internet of Things real-time monitoring) has verified the global applicability of its data-driven optimization of remediation decision-making and technical adaptability. This comprehensive perspective provides complete chain laboratory research to engineering practices for the ecological restoration of mining areas and provides references and ideas for the research on mining area ecological restoration technology.

2. Analysis Method

2.1. Data Source

The literature was collected from the Web of Science (WOS) Core Collection. The search conditions of the WOS Core Collection database were as follows: Topic Search (TS) = (mine ecological restoration) AND Publication Year (PY) = (1 January 2015 to 31 December 2024). Document Type was set as Article. Language was set as English, and a total of 1259 relevant documents were obtained by reading the titles, abstract, and keywords and filtering according to the exclusion criteria.

2.2. Statistical Method

Taking the document data of WOS database as the data source, CiteSpace (6.3.R1 64bit Basic) [41,42] was used to perform keyword co-occurrence analysis, clustering analysis and burst term analysis, and draw the visualization diagram, while the data summary and analysis are carried out in Offices.

3. Research Status and Hotspot Analysis of Mine Ecological Restoration Technology Based on CiteSpace

The 1259 English-language articles were published in 225 journals and written by 6313 authors from 528 institutions in 81 countries.

3.1. The Annual Distribution of the Number of Published Papers

The number of articles published by domestic and foreign authors which related to mine ecological restoration is shown in Figure 1. Under the search conditions of this article, 129 English articles were retrieved. From 2015 to 2024, the annual number of articles published in WOS reached a maximum of 245 with an average number of articles per year of about 126. Overall, the number of articles published in WOS shows an increasing trend, indicating that the research attention to ecological restoration is increasing year by year.

3.2. Journal Analysis

Overall, 1259 articles in English were distributed in 225 journals, among which the number of articles published in the top 10 journals by high article count (Table 1) accounted for 37.81% of the total number of articles, which was relatively concentrated. Journals in the first and second quartiles of the Journal Citation Reports (JCR) usually have a greater impact in the academic circle, and of the top ten journals in terms of article count, all are in Q1 and Q2, and six of them belonged to the “environmental sciences” division, indicating that the quality of these journals was relatively high, and a core journal cluster was formed in the field of mine ecological restoration, which played an important role in academic dissemination and communication.

3.3. Keyword Analysis

In CiteSpace software, the “Keyword” is selected as the analysis object, and the keyword co-occurrence knowledge map (Figure 2) is obtained. The term “ecological restoration” has the highest frequency in the research on mine ecological restoration, and the keywords in the table are widely concerned and have many research results. The term with the highest centrality is “accumulation”, and the top ten keywords with the highest center all have a centrality greater than 0.1, indicating that the above keywords are important nodes [42] in the field of ecological restoration of mines, which co-occur with more keywords and are in the hub position of the knowledge network, playing a bridge role in the flow of domain knowledge. According to the high frequency keywords in Table 2, the impact of pollution, especially heavy metal, and the loss of biodiversity caused by mining are often mentioned, and the restoration technology often focuses on the reconstruction of vegetation and the improvement of soil [43]. According to the high-centrality keyword analysis in Table 2, the current research on the application of microbial remediation is relatively wide, and various technical means focus on the long-term impact of remediation projects, and the dynamic changes of mine ecological system, especially climate.
The research keywords were co-clustered into 8 categories (Figure 3), with Q  =  0.29 (Q <  0.3) and S  =  0.66 (S  >  0.5), and this clustering structure was relatively significant and the results reasonable. The smaller the number, the more keywords are included in the cluster, and the relatively large body of research. From the perspective of mining ecological restoration technology, these eight categories of keywords reflect the current diversified technology system. The study of heavy metal pollution [44] is the most popular, and microbial [45] technology is an important means. Mining subsidence area [46] is combined with landscape restoration [47] concepts for topography reshaping and vegetation reconstruction. Ecological risk assessment [48] runs through the whole process of remediation and a scientific basis for technology selection, and soil nematode communities as an indicator of ecosystem health [49] are used to evaluate the effect.
Burstness: γ[0,1] is set to 1.0 (Table 3) to obtain the top 10 prominent words the field of mine ecological restoration, the keyword with the highest burst strength is “accumulation”, the strength value reaches 5.06, and the starting burst time is 2015, which reflects that the causes of accumulation of mine ecological pollutants have been continuously concerned since 2015, and the technical means of remediation been studied. In addition, the content of the study has begun to continuously enrich and expand, “technology”, “organic carbon” is the research hots that has emerged in recent years, and it continues to attract attention, indicating that the technology of mine ecological restoration is being watched and developing in the direction of intelligence and technology, the research and application of new materials are also underway, which needs to be further studied.

4. Mine Ecological Restoration Technology

4.1. Physical Remediation Technology

Physical remediation technologies refer to mine remediation technologies that directly improve the structure and function of the damaged mine environment through mechanical, engineering, and other physical mechanisms. It is most commonly applied to polluted soils [50], including topography reshaping [51,52], soil replacement [24,53], thermal remediation [54], and pollutant separation [55] (Figure 4), which can create conditions for subsequent ecological restoration.
Topography reshaping is mainly for land leveling, terracing transformation, and slope reinforcement. Zhao et al. [30] used shotcrete, deep-hole grouting and a variety of soil consolidation measures for slope restoration in a landfill. The Fuling District mine comprehensive management project [56] remolded the topography of the mining area through a series of operations such as cleaning dangerous rocks, graded, and restoring high and steep slopes, smoothing out the originally rugged mining area into plots of land. In addition, the Hezhou Gupo Mountain abandoned mine ecological restoration project [57] has also undergone large-scale topographic reshaping. Through the grid-based filling of rubble, the abandoned land of the tailing’s reservoir has been filled and leveled, achieving a transformation from abandoned mines to comprehensive industrial agglomeration zones.
Soil replacement involves the removal of polluted topsoil and placement with clean soil or improved matrix. Merino et al. [58] studied the use of five soil covers and showed the importance of the hydraulic characteristics of the soil cover for supplementation of seedlings. The contaminated surface soil is excavated in the Muli coalfield in Qinghai [59] and then covered with clean soil transported from other areas. Meanwhile, to further improve the soil quality, some amelioration materials such as organic fertilizers and biochar [60] are added to enhance the soil’s fertility and water- and nutrient-holding capacity, creating a favorable soil environment for the growth of crops.
Thermal remediation removes pollutants by heating the contaminated medium to remove pollutants in the form of evaporation. This method has a wide range of applications in the field of oil-contaminated soil remediation [61]. In some oil-producing areas, soil is polluted by crude oil leakage, and traditional remediation methods cannot effectively remove petroleum pollutants from deep soil. By using thermal remediation technology, the contaminated soil is brought to a certain temperature by heating equipment, which volatilizes the petroleum pollutants.
Physical separation of pollutants is through screening, magnetic separation, and electrokinetic remediation, and is mainly applied to heavy metals in tailing sand and mine waste. For tailings containing heavy metal, the tailings sand is first sieved for size grading, and then magnetic separation [62] is used to separate out heavy metals with magnet. For heavy metals that are difficult to separate by sieving and magnetic separation, electrokinetic remediation technology [63] is used to separate heavy metals from soil by applying an electric field, so as to achieve the purpose of remediating the soil.
Cover isolation blocks the diffusion of pollutants by laying impermeable membrane, clay layer, or ecological blanket to prevent the diffusion of acidic drainage area, radioactive waste pile. Quispe et al. [64] studied and evaluated the shear strength of five interfaces in a cover system with synthetic material GM, synthetic clay layer GCL, and composite liner (GM and GCL), which provided valuable insights for optimizing the cover system.
Physical remediation technology has quick effects and wide adaptability, which is obvious and easy to predict in highly polluted or extreme environments, and it has been applied in practice for a long time, with mature technology and controllable cost, but it cannot fundamentally solve the problem, and it is difficult to completely remove pollutants. Massive earthwork is extremely expensive, and the mechanical operation may damage the original microbial soil community. Physical remediation is the cornerstone technology of mine ecological restoration, and it is to upgrade to the direction of intelligence, precision, greening, and resource utilization in the future, to innovate the research of UAV surveying and mapping, and AI algorithms, to optimize earthwork scheme, to develop degradable impermeable materials, to recover valuable metals in soil and other technologies, and to strengthen the synergistic technology with other technologies at the same time, in order to meet the challenges of complex contaminated sites.

4.2. Chemical Remediation Technology

Chemical remediation technologies are technologies that decompose or adsorb pollutants by adding chemical agents or utilizing chemical reactions, thereby reducing toxicity or removing them from the environment. They are applicable to the treatment of heavy metals, acidic wastewater, and organic pollutants. The main chemical remediation technologies (Figure 5) include chemical leaching, electrochemical remediation, chemical stabilization, adsorption and ion exchange, chemical reduction and oxidation, and neutralization precipitation. In the field of mine ecological restoration, chemical remediation technology, with its high efficiency and specificity, has become an important means to control soil and water pollution. These technologies achieve environmental remediation goals by changing the form, mobility, and toxicity of pollutants through chemical action.
Chemical leaching uses acids, chelating agents or surfactants to flush the soil and extract heavy metals. Appropriate chelating agent solution for leaching contaminated soil can have complex reaction with heavy metal in soil, forming soluble complexes, which are brought out of the soil with the flow of leaching solution. Molybdenum sulfide-modified chelating resins [65] are used to absorb toxic metal in acid wastewater. Potassium lignin sulfonate (KLS) [66] is a by-product of the pulping process and can be used as a cleaning agent to restore soils co-contaminated by lead and copper. KLS can improve soil nutrient levels while removing Pb and Cu from the soil.
Electrochemical remediation applies to a direct current electric field to drive heavy metal migration to electrode areas for centralized treatment. Yang et al. [67] found that bioelectrochemistry leaching efficiency was the highest, with a leaching rate of 92.5% for Fe and 86.2% for As.
The chemical stabilization process transforms heavy metals into insoluble forms by adding passivating agents, such as phosphates, biochar, etc., reducing their bioavailability and mobility. In the western Sichuan lead–zinc mine area, researchers prepared the passivating agent Ferric silicate [35] to address heavy metal pollution of agricultural land. Silicic acid iron reacted with heavy metals such as lead and zinc in the soil to form stable insoluble compounds, effectively reducing the activity of heavy metals in the soil and their migration to crops.
Adsorption and ion exchange are usually related processes; a newly discovered magnetic phosphate composite CAPEP-1 [68] can effectively treat acidic U mining wastewater. Due to its unique magnetism and rich adsorption sites, the material can quickly adsorb uranium ions and other heavy metal ions in wastewater. Meanwhile, removal efficiency of pollutants is further improved through ion exchange. The concentration of uranium ions in the treated wastewater is significantly reduced, effectively mitigating the harm of wastewater to them.
Redox technology changes the chemical properties of pollutants through chemical reactions between oxidants or reductants and pollutants. Oxidizing agents (peroxysulphate, ozone) degrade organic matter, and reducing agents (zero-valent Fe) convert Cr6+ into less toxic Cr3+. After comprehensive treatment, the content of organic pollutants and heavy metals in the soil in contaminated sites was significantly reduced, and the ecological environment was effectively remediated.
Neutralization precipitation is the addition of alkaline substances (lime [43], sodium hydroxide [69]) to neutralize acidic waste, forming metal hydroxide precipitates. Liu et al. [43] used a mixture of lime and other components as a modifier to significantly regulate the acid environment of the drainage site soil. The wastewater treated has a neutral pH value, and the content of heavy metal is greatly reduced, which can be safely discharged or reused, effectively protecting the surrounding environment.
Chemical remediation technology is efficient, rapid, and deeply treated, which can significantly reduce the activity of pollutants in a short time, target deep pollution, and can also customize the drug combination according to the type of pollutants, but chemical agents may destroy the soil ecology and the cost of treatment and final work is the lack of long-term stability, and some solidified products may be re-activated due to environmental changes. Chemical remediation is irreplaceable in mining governance, and needs to develop in the direction of greening, precision and resource utilization in the future, innovating the development of green agents, intelligent regulation, and recycling of heavy metals from rinse solutions, and strengthen long-term monitoring to assess ecological risk.

4.3. Bioremediation Technology

Bioremediation is a technology that uses the metabolic activities of biological entities such as plants, microorganisms, or animals to degrade, transform, or immobilize pollutants, thus restoring damaged ecosystems. It is mainly divided into plant, microbial, and animal remediation (Figure 6). These technologies play a leading role in the fields of mine ecological restoration, soil pollution control, etc., with the advantages of environmental friendliness, cost-effectiveness, and sustainability.
Plantation often utilizes the accumulation effect of plants, and different parts of roots, stems, and leaves absorb pollutants differently according to the types of plants and pollutants. For example, the content of Cu in oak [70] tissues follows the order of root > leaves > stems, while Zn shows the order of leaves > stems > roots. In addition, in practical application, it is necessary to select appropriate plant species according to the climatic conditions and types of pollution in different regions. Lolium perenne [71] has a strong ability to absorb pollutants, often being used in temperate regions, and Poa annua [72] is a common choice due to its drought resistance and accumulation ability for heavy metals. Miscanthus floridulus [73] is a highly carbon-fixing plant and a good choice for phytoremediation. Miscanthus floridulus can not only fix carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, but also has tolerance to heavy metals such as Pb and Cu. In the practice of remediation, Miscanthus floridulus not only absorbs heavy metals but also improves the local ecological landscape.
Microbial remediation often uses microorganisms such as bacteria [12] and fungi [74] to improve soil self-purification ability [75], accelerate soil reconstruction [76], and promote nutrient cycling and ecological restoration [77]. Mycorrhiza [16] is a symbiont of plant and fungi, which can improve soil structure and fertility [78]. Amir et al. [79] found that a combination of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal isolates with complementary functional traits showed a high synergistic effect on plant development. And a highly efficient inoculant is produced for mine ecological restoration. In addition, Du et al.’s [80] research has shown that in arid and semi-arid regions, artificially inoculating AM fungi in open-air landfills can promote plant root growth, favor the of soil pores, and improve soil penetration. Microbial inoculates with waste mushrooms as carriers change the structure of soil microbial [81], and promote soil multifunctionality and plant growth. Microbially induced carbonate precipitation is an environmentally friendly heavy metal remediation technology, and the discovered Lysinibacillus capsici [82] exhibits good environmental adaptability and solidification, providing new ways for pollution remediation. In the laboratory simulation experiment, the strain can effectively solidify lead ions in the soil, reducing their mobility and bio-toxicity.
The assessment of ecosystem restoration has traditionally focused on soil and vegetation, rarely considering animal groups. The use of animals (such as earths [83] and frogs [11]) or animal manure [84] can improve soil structure and increase organic matter content. The participation of appropriate avian pollinators [85] can better carry out plant restoration, but the environment under ecological restoration is mostly unsuitable for animal survival, so the development and utilization of animal remediation is still in its infancy.
Bioremediation is environmentally friendly and without secondary pollution, which can promote ecological balance, mainly relying on natural processes, low operate cost, and the system can maintain itself after remediation—but the period is long, it takes several years to show effect, and it is limited by the environment, temperature, and nutritional conditions which will affect biotic activity, and it is difficult for roots or microorganisms to reach deep pollution. Bioremediation is the green cornerstone of mine ecological restoration; in the future, it is necessary to break through the efficiency bottleneck through synthetic biology; cold-resistant, drought-resistant strain selection and circular design; expanding the field of biology through microbial group regulation and plants that accumulate heavy metals for smelting valuable metals; and further improving bioremediation technology.

4.4. Integrated Remediation Technology

Integrated remediation technology refers to a synergistic governance strategy that integrates multiple technical means such as physics, chemistry, biology, etc. It is a key tool for cracking the complex pollution problems in mines. It breaks the limitations of single technology in terms of remediation efficiency and applicability, and through the complementary advantages technologies, it achieves efficient governance of contaminated soil and water bodies in mines and the restoration of ecological functions. In practical application, a variety of combined forms such as physical–chemical combined chemical–biological combined, and physical–biological combined (Table 4) continue to emerge, and have achieved remarkable results in mine remediation projects around the world.
Physical–chemical integration changes the existence form of pollutants through physical means, and combines chemical methods to further reduce their mobility and toxicity. For example, the rich pore structure and surface functional of biochar enhance the adsorption capacity of uranium ions, and compost improves soil physical and chemical properties through microbial activities. The combined application of biochar and compost [86] is more effective in improving soil pH value, soil organic carbon, total N, available P, and K than adding them.
Chemical–biological integration gives full play to the rapid detoxification advantage of chemical fixation and the long-term purification capacity of bioremediation [87]. For example, rare earth mines [88] recover soil nutrients and enzyme activity in 5 years through organic ameliorate and plant remediation, which is close to or exceeds the efficiency of undeveloped land. Biochar organic fertilizer combined with native microorganisms [89]—biocarbon—provides a good habitat environment for microorganisms, and organic fertilizer provides sufficient nutrients for microbial growth and reproduction. Under this synergistic effect, the growth rate of ornamental grass planted in the substrate mixed with Fe tailing and mining surface soil is improved. The application of biodegradable chelating agents [90] can improve the physical and chemical properties of copper tailings, increase the biomass of Lolium perenne L., and improve the efficiency of enriching Cu and Cd in copper tailings.
Physical–biological integration isolates or concentrates pollutants through physical means, and microorganisms degrade or transform toxic forms. The Al mining area [83] is first reshaped by physical means and then restored by biological methods to wait for its natural recovery, and finally the soil is effectively covered by trees and shrub within seven years, and the important surface depth of the reconstructed soil is restored. The brownfield area in the Ruhr area of Germany [91] is transformed into a greenfield area through physical isolation and then microbial degradation.
Reclamation, as an important link in the ecological restoration of land, plays a key role in the joint remediation technology system. Zhu et al. [92] revealed that the development and symbiotic enhancement of heavy metal-resistant microbial species in terms of reclamation enhances soil stress resistance.
Table 4. Applications of combined remediation technologies.
Table 4. Applications of combined remediation technologies.
Technology TypeMine TypeSpecific Recovery MeasuresRecovery SituationReferences
Physical–chemical–biologicalPPhysical: land leveling, soil replacement
Chemical: compound fertilizers
Biological: plant, microbial		2020-22 Ecological Remediation Effect Index from 48.40 to 93.23[93]
Physical-–biologicalCoalPhysical: slope reinforcement
fiber blanket covering
Biological: sheep manure,
mixed seeding of grass species		Overall vegetation coverage increased to about 80% and stabilized within five years[94]
Physical–biologicalAlPhysical: topography reshaping
Biological: natural succession		Reforestation effectively covers soil within seven years[83]
Chemical–biologicalCu and Pb-ZnChemical: activated carbon
Biological: Lolium perenne		Water holding capacity of Cu and Pb-Zn tailings were 47.33% and 47.67%[60]
Chemical–biologicalRare earthChemical: organic amendments
Biological: microbial		Soil nutrients and enzyme activity are close or exceeds the undeveloped land within five years[88]
Plant–microbialCdPlant: Brassica juncea
Microbial: Penicillium oxalicum strain ZP6		Combination removal rate of 88.75%[95]
The synergistic effects of combined remediation technologies complement each other, from pollutant removal to ecological function reconstruction, reducing the high cost of single technology investment. However, considering the compatibility of technology, the aspects needing attention are also more complex. For example, some agents can inhibit the activity of microorganisms, long-term stability, the risk of passivate failure or pollutant reactivation, complex management, the integration of various technologies, pH, precise adjustment of water, nutrition, and other parameters. Joint restoration is the inevitable direction of mine ecological governance, which needs further innovation, intelligent innovation, and technological innovation. For example, these include real-time monitoring of soil parameters based on the dynamic control platform of Internet of Things, and the development of joint technologies such as electron thermal enhancement of microorganisms in cold regions for arid or alpine mining areas, to build a full range of solutions. Future research should focus on the coupling mechanism of technology and long-term ecological effect to ensure sustainability.

4.5. Monitoring and Evaluation Technology

Mine ecological restoration monitoring and evaluation technology is a technical system that quantitatively evaluates the restoration effect through multi-scale, parameter data collection and analysis, and has the characteristics of being dynamic [96], systematic, and predictive. It can design effective strategies based on the results. Monitoring [97] and evaluation [98] are key to ensuring the success of restoration work, providing scientific basis for adaptive management and continuous improvement, and ensuring the effectiveness and sustainability of restoration.
The monitoring technology system covers a wide range of fields such as spatial information technology, Internet of Things sensor network, biomonitoring technology, and geophysical exploration technology (Figure 7). New technologies such as satellite images [99], remote sensing [100], and ecological modeling are constantly innovating the assessment methods and play a key role in the global mine ecological restoration. For example, in South America and India [101], more than 75% of coal is mined from open-pit mines, and coal mining leads to large-scale land degradation and soil erosion. The scientific research team used spatial analysis of LANDSAT-TM and LI satellite data to obtain data on vegetation coverage and land use change in the mining area, accurately locating the ecologically fragile areas, and emphasizing the importance of prioritizing ecological restoration and adopting sustainable mining practices addressing the environmental degradation caused by coal mining activities. The copper mine belt in Zambia, Africa, is facing a serious ground subsidence problem. In Fengfeng mining area in Handan City, China [102], the assessment of heritage corridors and suggestions for remediation and management are provided through GIS-based spatial models (ESM) and multi-source data and are verified through AI-based image semantic segmentation analysis. The over-exploitation of mineral resources in the northwest of China has caused serious ecological degradation and even desertification in some mining areas, and based on remote sensing, geographic information systems, and the InVEST model research findings [47], the mining areas have lost their water production capacity, and water source protection is negative, which helps to provide the next step in remediation. UAV systems or drones are very useful tools for managing open pit mining operations and carrying out ecological restoration activities. Krauss et al. [85] developed a UAV-DAR monitoring method for high-intensity mining ground subsidence, which obtained high-precision data. In addition, Padro et al. [38] used images captured by drones and their subsequent photogrammetry processing to obtain data that can be used for 3D indicators, which is a very practical tool for landscape modeling to describe the evolution of open-pit mining space.
Evaluation technology includes ecological integrity, environmental risk, engineering performance, and socio-economic impact evaluation. Vegetation is an important indicator, and the city of Tonghua in Jilin Province [103] has selected vegetation coverage (NDVI) data for nearly 10 years, and the time series of NDVI, and the practices of farmland restoration, forest land restoration and ecological reconstruction are put forward for different natural geographical locations of mining areas. Moreover, Wang et al. proposed a vegetation net primary productivity analysis evaluation [104], which provides valuable insights for mining ecosystem and carbon sink and ecological protection. In the Atlantic region of Brazil [105], the GIS-based multi-criteria evaluation analysis associated with the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and the weighted linear combination (WLC) method was used in the standard aggregation to map and determine priority areas for forest restoration in the Rio Doce basin of the state of Minas Gerais. Sun et al. studied a novel quantitative relationship model [106] to distinguish the impact of mining activities from climate, soil types and topography. In the restoration of coal in Jiaozuo City [107], remote sensing and GIS technology are used to obtain multi-period evaluation index data, and the comprehensive evaluation of land ecological quality is out, and the spatial–temporal differentiation characteristics of land ecological quality are explored, which provides a reference for the identification and restoration of land ecological problems in the mining agriculture urban composite. Shi et al. constructed an ecological security evaluation system [108], which reflects ecological conditions of mining city areas, and provides a reference for mining city plans. In Italy, the Petronio and Gromolo valleys [109] are based on GIS-based models to conduct a complete survey of abandoned mines to assess geological heritage and geological tourism value.
The deep integration of remote sensing monitoring and Internet of Things technology is reshaping the strategy of mine ecological restoration. Traditional remote sensing monitoring is limited, and by deploying low-power Internet of Things sensor networks to collect real-time data such as and combining it with high-resolution satellite remote sensing data, high-resolution can be obtained for precise analysis, enabling managers to immediately adjust the restoration plan and achieve a closed-loop management of “monitoring–analysis–decision”. However, there are still limitations in current technology. Remote sensing can cover a large area with a short period, but it is easily affected by weather and the resolution is limited. The Internet of Things monitoring can be in real-time and dynamic, but the equipment maintenance cost is high. Biological monitoring (such as algae [110], nematodes) can reflect the ecological actual response, but the timeliness is poor. The model evaluation prediction warning function is strong, but the parameter sensitivity is high. In the future, we need to focus on the development of multi-source data fusion technology and overcome the difficulty of integrating data into different scales and sources. For example, by using artificial intelligence algorithms to deeply integrate remote sensing, Internet of Things, and biological monitoring data, a more comprehensive ecological information map can be generated, dynamic early warning models can be perfected, adaptive risk early warning algorithms be developed, and ecological management systems with multi-dimensional display and intelligent analysis functions can be constructed.
Ecosystem restoration measures have always focused on vegetation and soil, but ecological restoration needs to rebuild the animal and plant community. Ants [111] have a long history as a biological indicator, and the establishment of animal restoration standards is regarded as “the next challenge in restoration ecology” [112]. In the future, we need to strengthen the research on the ecological restoration of animals, explore the application of remote and Internet of Things technology in the monitoring of animal habitats and the tracking of population dynamics, and provide data support for the comprehensive restoration of the ecosystem.

5. Challenges and Prospects

5.1. Challenges

The negative impact of mining on the ecology [113] is an important factor that restricts the sustainable development of mining areas. Mining areas suffer from heavy metal, acidic wastewater, and organic pollutant compound pollution. It is difficult to experimentally achieve effective governance with a single technology. Physical and chemical remediation has high short-term cost, and biological remediation has a long cycle [114]. After chemical remediation, heavy metals may be re-released due to acid rain (pH < 5). If exogenous remediation plants are introduced in biological remediation, they may occupy the ecological niche of native species. In response to the demand for synergistic governance of compound pollution, combined remediation technology has become a research hotspot. However, the difficulty of technology coupling faces significant challenges. Compatibility, action sequence, and term stability of different remediation technologies still need many experiments to verify. The difficulty of interdisciplinary technology integration is high.
In recent years, monitoring and evaluation has developed rapidly, but bottlenecks are prominent and still in their early stages. Remote sensing monitoring is easily affected by weather and limited in resolution, the maintenance cost of IoT monitoring equipment is high, and biological monitoring using indicator organisms has a delayed response and is affected by seasons with poor timeliness, the sensitivity of model evaluation and prediction early warning parameters is high, and it is prone to misjudgment, which are all challenges that need to be faced and resolved. Overall, the current mine ecological restoration still faces the entire chain of technology challenges basic research to engineering application [115].

5.2. Prospects

Mine ecological restoration is transitioning from “passive governance” to “active design”, and to achieve more efficient, precise, and sustainable ecological recovery, it is necessary to break through the three major barriers of intelligent restoration, technological synergistic innovation, and economic sustainability in the next decade.
(1)
Intelligent and information
Intelligent and information technology will become the core driving force of mine ecological restoration, and its application will improve the accuracy and efficiency of restoration work through data-based decision-making. It is necessary to further improve the research on monitoring and evaluation techniques for remote sensing, GIS, and the Internet of Things, to achieve high-precision dynamics, analyze data based on machine learning algorithms and models, identify the distribution and diffusion laws of pollution, construct a digital database, and dynamically adjust restoration strategies.
(2)
Technological innovation and integration
The disadvantages of a single remediation method are obvious, and there are still many problems with joint remediation technology. In the future, efforts are required to promote the integration of multiple technologies, build a collaborative remediation system, and improve the engineering remediation system. Research is needed to develop efficient chemical agents, develop controllable slow-release products, and reduce secondary pollution. We must improve the enhancement of bioremediation, genetically improve and cultivate high enrichment plants, optimize functional microbial groups, and enhance the degradation capacity. We must research and improve the compatibility of combined technology, explore the integration of traditional remediation technology, and develop new technologies and materials combined with traditional technology. We must use intelligent systems to monitor soil pH and heavy metal concentration in real time, and dynamically adjust remediation strategy through AI algorithms, materials, and technology such as nano-zero-valent iron–sulfur bacillus which can reduce the concentration of uranium-polluted groundwater by 90%.
(3)
Green materials and circular economy
Green materials are essential to develop a circular economy for environmental sustainability, and further research and development of waste resource utilization should be conducted in the future. This is to recover rare earth metals from remediated soil and plants, to transform phosphorus into artificial soil or building materials, or to extract rare earth from tailing. Future directions should include the study of degradable impermeable membranes, exploration of natural modified materials, development of emerging green chemical agents, discovery of new hyperaccumulators and degradation microorganisms, and promotion of remediation equipment for solar energy such as the utilization of microbial fuel cells to achieve green development of mining ecological restoration.

6. Conclusions

Through literature metrology analysis, it is shown that the attention to mine ecological restoration has continued to rise in the past decade, and the main focus is its restoration technology and the follow-up impact after the completion of the restoration.
At present, restoration technology mainly covers three categories: physical, chemical, and biological. Each technology shows different characteristics and has applicable scopes in practical applications. It is difficult for a single restoration technology to cope with the complex composite pollution problems in mines. Technology integration is the direction of the future, and it is necessary to construct a multi-dimensional collaborative restoration system.
The long-term stability of the restoration urgently needs to be improved; existing restoration projects generally face the problem of effect degradation (such as plant decay, heavy metal re-activation), and sustainability needs to be improved through soil improvement, and microbial and dynamic monitoring.
Intelligent technology has great potential. The Internet of Things, UAV remote sensing, and other things can achieve real-time optimization of the restoration process, but it is necessary to solve the problems of data standardization and cross-platform integration.

Author Contributions

Conceptualization, Y.X., J.G., L.Z., M.Z., R.S. and Y.L.; data curation, Y.X., J.G., L.Z., J.C., H.L., Y.C. and X.F.; formal analysis, Y.X., L.Z., H.L., Y.C., X.F., R.S. and Y.L.; funding acquisition, R.S. and Y.L.; investigation, Y.X., J.G., L.Z., M.Z., Y.C. and X.F.; resources, M.Z. and J.C.; project administration, R.S.; writing—original draft, Y.X., J.G., J.C. and H.L.; writing—review and editing, R.S. and Y.L.; supervision, R.S. and Y.L. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Funding

This research was funded by Hunan Provincial Natural Science Foundation of China (2023JJ31010, 2024JJ7094, 2025JJ70604), Key Project of Scientific Research Project of Hunan Provincial Department of Education (23A0225), Hunan Province Environmental Protection Research Project (HBKYXM-2023038), and Scientific Research Foundation for Talented Scholars of CSUFT (2020YJ010).

Data Availability Statement

Data is contained within the article.

Acknowledgments

The authors thank all the participants who devoted their free time to participate in this study.

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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Figure 1. The number of publications related to mine ecological restoration in 2015~2024.
Figure 1. The number of publications related to mine ecological restoration in 2015~2024.
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Figure 2. Keyword of mine ecological restoration research co-present map.
Figure 2. Keyword of mine ecological restoration research co-present map.
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Figure 3. A clustering map of the keywords of mine ecological restoration research.
Figure 3. A clustering map of the keywords of mine ecological restoration research.
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Figure 4. Physical remediation technology.
Figure 4. Physical remediation technology.
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Figure 5. Chemical remediation technology: (a) chemical leaching, (b) electrochemical remediation, (c) chemical stabilization, (d) neutralization precipitation, (e) chemical reduction and oxidation, (f) adsorption and ion exchange.
Figure 5. Chemical remediation technology: (a) chemical leaching, (b) electrochemical remediation, (c) chemical stabilization, (d) neutralization precipitation, (e) chemical reduction and oxidation, (f) adsorption and ion exchange.
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Figure 6. Bioremediation technology. (a) Plant remediation. (b) Microbial remediation. (c) Animal remediation.
Figure 6. Bioremediation technology. (a) Plant remediation. (b) Microbial remediation. (c) Animal remediation.
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Figure 7. Smart mine ecological monitoring system.
Figure 7. Smart mine ecological monitoring system.
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Table 1. The top 10 journals in the study of mine ecological restoration.
Table 1. The top 10 journals in the study of mine ecological restoration.
RankJournal NameWeb of Science Major DivisionNumber of ArticlesImpact Factor (2023)
1SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENTENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES Q1668.2
2ECOLOGICAL ENGINEERINGECOLOGY Q1623.9
3RESTORATION ECOLOGYECOLOGY Q2572.8
4JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENTENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES Q1538.0
5ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCHENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES Q1494.9
6SUSTAINABILITYENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES Q2473.3
7LAND DEGRADATION DEVELOPMENTENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES Q2413.6
8ECOLOGICAL INDICATORSENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES Q1367.0
9REMOTE SENSINGENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES Q2334.2
10FORESTSFORESTS Q1322.4
Table 2. High-frequency, high-centrality keywords of mine ecological restoration research.
Table 2. High-frequency, high-centrality keywords of mine ecological restoration research.
NumberHigh-Frequency
Keywords		FrequencyHigh-Centrality KeywordsCentrality
1ecological restoration317accumulation1.32
2diversity165microorganisms1.23
3restoration165pollution1.12
4soil142mine1.01
5vegetation135dynamics0.73
6heavy metals110impact0.71
7community107patterns0.69
8reclamation104climate change0.69
9growth85jarrah forest0.61
10mine83Western Australia0.61
Table 3. The top 10 prominent words in the field of mine ecological restoration research.
Table 3. The top 10 prominent words in the field of mine ecological restoration research.
KeywordsYearStrengthBeginEnd2015–2024
accumulation20155.0620152018▃▃▃▃▂▂▂▂▂▂
management20153.8420152018▃▃▃▃▂▂▂▂▂▂
acid mine drainage20164.4920162019▂▃▃▃▃▂▂▂▂▂
ecological restoration20153.9320172018▂▂▃▃▂▂▂▂▂▂
biodiversity20153.4220172018▂▂▃▃▂▂▂▂▂▂
land use change20183.5520182020▂▂▂▃▃▃▂▂▂▂
organic carbon20164.5920192020▂▂▂▂▃▃▂▂▂▂
technology20203.4820202021▂▂▂▂▂▃▃▂▂▂
abundance20163.420202021▂▂▂▂▂▃▃▂▂▂
phosphorus20214.120212024▂▂▂▂▂▂▃▃▃▃
Light blue indicate that the node has not yet appeared, red sections show that the keyword received significant attention, and dark blue sections reveal low research interest.
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MDPI and ACS Style

Xiang, Y.; Gong, J.; Zhang, L.; Zhang, M.; Chen, J.; Liang, H.; Chen, Y.; Fu, X.; Su, R.; Luo, Y. Research Progress of Mine Ecological Restoration Technology. Resources 2025, 14, 100. https://doi.org/10.3390/resources14060100

AMA Style

Xiang Y, Gong J, Zhang L, Zhang M, Chen J, Liang H, Chen Y, Fu X, Su R, Luo Y. Research Progress of Mine Ecological Restoration Technology. Resources. 2025; 14(6):100. https://doi.org/10.3390/resources14060100

Chicago/Turabian Style

Xiang, Yue, Jiayi Gong, Liyong Zhang, Minghai Zhang, Jia Chen, Hui Liang, Yonghua Chen, Xiaohua Fu, Rongkui Su, and Yiting Luo. 2025. "Research Progress of Mine Ecological Restoration Technology" Resources 14, no. 6: 100. https://doi.org/10.3390/resources14060100

APA Style

Xiang, Y., Gong, J., Zhang, L., Zhang, M., Chen, J., Liang, H., Chen, Y., Fu, X., Su, R., & Luo, Y. (2025). Research Progress of Mine Ecological Restoration Technology. Resources, 14(6), 100. https://doi.org/10.3390/resources14060100

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