The article provides an overview of different type of water settlement treatment systems in the open cast extractives industry and provides descriptions of the potential hazards from fine particles and suspended solid pollution as a result of mining operations, concentration and process waste management which determines that a lack of mine process utilization leads to fines accumulations in the working areas. Several solutions and alternative means are offered for utilization and re-use of settled material, consisting of fines/dust/silt components within various industries and agricultural enterprises, such as manufacturing artificial soil and culture media for the use as bio-filtration. The article also explores the potential technical, economical and legal challenges identified as well as the issues of the use of mining fines commercial utilization including taxation regimes, insufficient product specification and necessity for additional treatment of the material.

Aim. The basis for the optimal development of mountain regions is the regulation of anthropogenic impact on natural land-scapes. The purpose of the study is to assess the state of natural landscapes of the highlands of the Central Caucasus and substantiate effective mechanisms that regulate economic activity in territories adjacent to nature conservation ones. On the example of the Karasu river valley, which is representative of the Northern macro slope of the Greater Caucasus, analyzes the features of anthropogenic impact in the form of recreation, tourism and grazing.
Research methods. The key method of this research is the making of maps showing the landscape structure of the area under consideration, the spatial features of the location of exogenous processes and types of nature management.
Using the above maps, the features of the geological and geomorphological basis and landscape structure of the Karasu river valley were identified, the features of modern nature management were characterized, the consequences of anthropogenic impact on natural landscapes were assessed, and the management approach were formulated to reduce the negative impact on the nature of mountain areas.
To assess the land cover, high-resolution satellite images were used, according to which the difference vegetation in-dex was calculated, which most clearly distinguishes the main types of the cover.
Results. Within the boundaries of the study area, the role of shrub-meadow vegetation of the subalpine zone, which performs a water-retaining function, is especially significant. The destruction of land cover due to overgrazing, the construction of capital facilities, and other types of economic activity without the necessary protective engineering and land reclamation measures favors the development of destructive exogenous processes. The border of the reserved and non-reserved territories is smooth (not sharp).
Conclusions. The gradual transition from landscapes with a reserved regime to landscapes with different uses requires a revision of the concept of nature protection in the direction of developing measures on the principle of “protection in use.” Particular attention should be paid to the conservation of sub-alpine meadows, alpine meadows and wastelands, bog complexes, which have a high species diversity, the presence of endemic species and are small in area. The main environmental measures for these communities are state monitoring and the maximum possible reduction in anthropogenic impact.

The aim of the work is to study the peculiarities of the formation of the microelement composition of sod-carbonate soils of the North-West Caucasus. 
Methods: Determination of the features of the formation of the microelement composition of sod-carbonate soils was carried out in the western part of the Labino-Malkinsky landscape district of forest-steppes and settled meadows. 
The Kuestov District occupies a band of ridges of the North-western Caucasus, composed of limestones, dolomites and sandstones of the Jurassic (K) and Cretaceous (k) periods. 
Chemical analysis of the soil was performed by conventional methods. The content of strongly bound compounds Pb, Cu, Zn, and Cd by acid decomposition using 5 M HNO3 was analyzed in the humus horizon of soils. The metal content was determined by the methods of inversion volt-amperometric and atomic absorption analyses. 
Results: In most cases, the microelement composition of sod-carbonate soils is characterized by the enrichment of Pb, Cu, Cd and depletion of Zn in comparison with the Clark soils. The constant anthropogenic input of pollutants into the soil as a depositing medium directly affects the trace element composition-the soils are intensively enriched with all the elements considered, especially strongly accumulated on CD and PB. 
In the radial distribution of trace elements between sod-carbonate soils and the soil-forming rock, a high intensity of accumulation of chemical elements in the humus horizon of soils was revealed. The intensity of the redistribution of trace elements in soils is largely determined by the position in the terrain. Within the Cretaceous cuesta, high Cd contents are typical for plakor soils, Cu and Zn-for the soils of the slope of the beam. On the slope of the Jurassic questi higher contents of Pb, Cd and Cu are typical for soils of placorestan cavage array Zn for soils of steep hillside with oak and beech forests.
Conclusions: The microelement composition of sod-carbonate soils is a consequence of such soil-forming processes as humification, humus accumulation, leaching, glinting, and loess age, the specifics of which are largely determined by calcium carbonates. The microelement composition of sod-carbonate soils reflects the most significant features of the microelement composition of soil-forming rocks, which are characterized by low Zn content. The possible aerotechnogenic intake of trace elements affects the intensity of the radial accumulation of trace elements in the soil relative to the rocks. 
The degree of transformation of the microelement composition of anthropogenic disturbed soils depends on the intensity of anthropogenic impact on the soil. The conducted research is important in the aspect of revealing the regularities of the formation of the microelement composition of the soil as a depositing component of the landscape in modern conditions of anthropogenic pressure.

Introduction. Medico-geographical researches are now becoming particularly relevant, since geographic methods with their inherent complexity, diversity, vision of the territory, the identification of medical geographic factors and the application of cartographic methods can explain the basis of those processes and phenomena that occur on the territory of our country and its regions in terms of the morbidity of the population and find ways to optimize the health system.
Methods. Medical geography studies the impact of natural, socio-economic and environmental factors on the health of the population, examines the geography of the spread of diseases and identifies the territorial organization of health. 
Particular attention is paid to the complexity of research; The identification of interaction, mutual development and mutual influence of geographic factors affecting the health of the population in a particular region, as well as the application of GIS technologies and cartographic methods.
Results (discussion). The natural conditions of North Os-setia (excluding the highlands) are generally favorable for the population living. Their diversity (despite the limited territory) leads to significant differences in the level and structure of the population morbidity. Within the republic there are five medical-geographical zones, each of which has its own natural-focal diseases. So, for example, rabies, echinococcosis, trichinosis, intestinal infection, leptospirosis, tularemia are characteristic for the steppe zone (the north of the republic); For the forest zone – ascaridosis, endemic goiter, dental caries, echinococcosis, rabies, trichinosis, leptospirosis. Congenital dislocation of the hip is common in the mountainous zone. 
And  girls get this disease five times more often than boys. In addition, almost all of the republic is characterized by a shortage of fluoride, iodine and some other elements.
Conclusions. The study of the geographical factors of the morbidity of the population is of great practical importance since it allows developing measures aimed at preventing many diseases.

The study of long-term climatic changes is carried out based on the data of the normalized relative vegetation index NDVI, which is a characteristic of phytobiomass and is used to describe the ecological situation, the amount of contamination and productivity of land. This theoretical work is based on the statistical and mathematical processing of MODIS satellite data (EOS Terra, Aqua), with the help of which the temporal and spatial variations of the NDVI vegetation index for the southern regions of the Russian Federation are studied. Several regions were selected, which located in mountainous or foothill areas on the territory of the North Ossetia-Alania, located in the central part of the North Caucasus. For each region, 20-year data series were obtained, each point of which is the NDVI index averaged over two weeks. With the help of these data series, the annual behavior of the NDVI index and its long-term variation are investigated, which shows the shift of a favorable growing season to an earlier period of the year. The annual integral characteristic of the NDVI index was used, which characterizes the long-term changes in the vegetation index in the studied regions. A statistical analysis of the series of integral characteristics was carried out, the parameters of linear regression were determined. The behavior of these characteristics for the foothill and lowland regions of North Ossetia-Alania indicates the presence of long-term trends in the changing conditions of the growing season.
For the southern regions of the Russian Federation, observational data show a relationship between trends in NDVI changes with a long-term improvement in climatic conditions for plant vegetation and changes in conditions during cold periods of the year. This factor should be taken into account in economic activities in the southern regions of the Russian Federation.

The results of chemical analyses of the waters of the transboundary Pyanj river tributaries – Gunt, Shakhdara, Bartang, Yazgulem and Vanch rivers are presented. The absence of stationary sources of pollution in the river basins and the dominance of rock weathering in the formation of hydrochemistry of the studied tributaries of the transboundary Pyanj River were established.

In this study, we use Sentinel 2 satellite imagery and GIS technology to evaluate the dynamic of land cover around Tan Rai bauxite mining area, Lam Dong province (Central highland of Vietnam). 02 Sentinel 2 images taken on November 15, 2015 and December 3, 2020 with spatial resolution 10 m (band 2, 3, 4, 8) were used to classify the land cover using object-oriented classification method. The results of land cover classification are used for creating the land cover status maps from 2015, 2020, and then for mapping the land cover change in the period 2015 - 2020. The results obtained showed that there was a significant decrease in forest area, both dense forest and mixed forest, plantation forest. Meanwhile, the area of agricultural land and industrial crop land increased by about 10% in the period 2015 – 2020. The area of Tan Rai aluminum mining project in 2020 also increased to 376.47 hectares, nearly 2 times higher than 2015.

The article is devoted to the technogenic triggering of the hazardous dynamic development of the landslide massif, which poses a threat of blocking the Khanikomdon stream with partial restrictions in the movement of residents of the mountain village of Dzuarikau. One of the main reasons for the intensive development of landslides in the Northern and Southern Jurassic shale depressions is the technogenic undercutting of slopes, caused mainly by the need of development of the mining industry or transport communications, although scientifically grounded pre-design solutions for minimizing the development of landslide processes can significantly reduce negative geoecological loads on the territory, which is especially important for the sustainable development of the mountainous areas. The aim of the work was to study the state of the landslide with modern measuring systems. Geophysical surveys were carried out by methods of vertical electrical and location-based sounding; the measurements of landslide movement were also carried out in the monitoring mode using surveys with a total station and a global positioning system GPS/GLONASS. The obtained results characterize a three-layer section of the “K” type with the thickness of a landslide high-resistivity massif of 18-21 m of crushed-loamy and gravelly composition, which is overlaid and underlain by more conductive clay strata. Geodetic observations show that the landslide body has moved throughout the entire monitoring period, but the velocities varied depending on the season. It is assumed that the seasonal variability in velocities is caused by the groundwater levels and associated pore pressures, which decrease when surface water is absent or cannot penetrate frozen landslide material, and increase when surface water from melting snow or rain penetrates the unfrozen landslide material.

The practical development of the algorithm for optimal control of mine ventilation was preceded by comprehensive studies of the specific features of mining sites in order to obtain their mathematical description. The latter includes the static and dynamic characteristics of objects, i.e. the relationship between input and output values.
The purpose of the research: to develop methods and management tools aerogasdynamics processes on mining sites of coalmines.
Research methods. The methodology based on the system approach; modern methods of mathematical statistics, decision theory; mathematical logic devices; factor analysis; mathematical modeling; set theory and system analysis.
To determine the dynamic characteristics of aerogasodynamic processes, experimental methods were used, divided into active and passive. The active method consists in con-structing a dynamic model of airing objects by approximating the transition curve obtained because of special effects on the airing object with an analytical expression. Statistical dynamics methods were used to obtain dynamic characteristics based on normal operation data. The method of correlation analysis was used.
Results of research: experimental verification showed that the maximum relative error of in determining the methane concentration from the static characteristic constructed using a modified technique does not exceed 10 %.
The value of the error was determined by comparing the static characteristic obtained by the modified correlation analysis method with the exact static characteristic of the airing object. The latter were found with regard to dynamic properties of the object and additive structures aerogas dynamics processes.
Conclusion. The method of correlation analysis can be used to determine the dependence of the methane flow rate on the airflow rate in the steady-state mode, i.e. the static characteristic q = f (Q) for the site and lava. To determine the static characteristics based on the data of normal operation with a limited observation interval (5-10 days), a modified method of correlation analysis is proposed.
Small values of the relative error of indicate the possibility and feasibility of using a modified correlation analysis technique to construct a static characteristic of the airing object based on random processes of methane concentration and air flow obtained during normal operation of the site.
The static characteristics C= f (Q) and q= f(Q) are widely used to determine the mathematical expectations of the methane concentration and flow rate of mining sites, in the modeling of ventilation facilities and in the analysis and synthesis of mine ventilation control systems.

Increasing the economic efficiency of enrichment of refractory gold-bearing ores is possible by reducing the cost of opening sulphide gold-bearing concentrates by reducing the yield of flotation concentrate sent to pyro- or hydrometallurgical processing. It is important to maintain the achieved level of gold recovery into concentrate with a lower concentrate yield. In order to achieve this goal, the gold content in the main flotation operation is increased by mixing the rough concentrate separated from ½ part of the ore feed with another ½ part of it. Mixing in the flotation operation of products with a high level of wash ability (ability to separate) – initial feed and rough concentrate – is identical to an increase in the content of the extractable component in the original ore.
In accordance with the new regime of flotation, the process is carried out in cold slurry with bubbles filled with hot steam. The physical basis of the new flotation regime is the dependence of the surface properties of air bubbles and surface forces that determine the stability of the liquid film separating the bubble and the particle on the temperature, which increases due to the heat of the vapor-liquid phase transition. Radial oscillations of the bubble surface as a result of pressure pulsations during condensation and vapor evaporation and surface thermal flows of liquid in the wetting film are factors that provide an increase in the completeness of gold recovery and the selectivity of flotation adhesion obtained in ore flotation experiments.
In laboratory conditions, a comparison was made of the indicators obtained during the dressing of gold-bearing ores according to the factory and new schemes. It was revealed that the use of the developed technology allows, with a lower concentrate yield, to obtain an increase of 7.06% abs. extraction of gold into a concentrate of the best quality. A decrease in gold losses with flotation tailings is a consequence of an increase in the number of particles reaching the bubble surface due to radial oscillations of its surface and a weakening of the stability of the wetting film by the thermo-capillary mechanism. An increase in adhesion selectivity can be interpreted using the concept of surface forces of structural origin – an increase in the forces of hydrophobic attraction and hydrophilic repulsion with increasing temperature. The interaction of vapor bubbles with nanobubbles on the surface of the solid phase (wetting by the Cassie-Baxter mechanism) ensures efficient particle recovery by the coalescence mechanism of flotation.