Eliezer Schwartz

Quarries, especially those situated near populated or near recreation areas, are representing visual and environmental nuisances.
Reclamation of quarries is an initiated intervening action, the aim of which is the improvement of the disruption caused by quarrying and the adapting of mining areas to some alternative use.
This intervention involves costs, deriving from the resources allocated for the reclamation of the quarry. There are alternative uses for these resources; therefore, the choice of intended projects depends on the maximum social benefit that society can gain from their performance.
The purpose of the project described in this thesis is to establish a methodology, by which optimal use can be determined for the site of an abandoned quarry.
According to the methodology developed, determining optimal use in the area of an abandoned quarry depends on a combined engineering and economic examination of the alternative reclamation possibilities.
The Benyamina Quarry was chosen for the application of the methodology. The special, sensitive geographical location of this quarry, on the southern tip of Mt. Carmel, its wide area, and the predicted demand for alternative uses of the site created an interesting research challenge.

Five different alternatives for the reclamation of the quarry were identified during the course of the work:
1. abandoning the site on completion of the exploitation of its mining material;
2. reclamation of the quarry for recreational purposes;
3. for agricultural;
4. for housing;
5. for industry.

Preliminary design plane for the alternatives identified were prepared in conjunction with advice obtained from experts in differing fields.
Upon completion of both a detailed economic examination and a profitability analysis on investing in each alternative, an initial ranking of alternatives was conducted.
With the aid of sensitivity analysis, further scenarios of reclamation alternatives were tested; and, after including quality and environmental considerations, a further ranking of alternatives was evaluated.
The final grading factors involved in the came study performed for this work were presented in tables summarizing all the information and calculations performed for the analysis of reclamation alternatives. Such a presentation may allow decision-makers, members of planning bodies, who determine reclamation policies, to arrive at more rational decisions in determining the socially optimal allocation of an abandoned quarry area.