Temporal Changes due to Mining in Khetri Copper Complex, Rajasthan

The satellite imagery has become an intelligent and quick tool for temporal detection of features. Of the myriad features, the user is able to visualize specific features of interest to evaluate for their relative changes over a period of time. In and around a mining industry, the features of interest include area of mining excavations, overburden dumps, tailings dam, mining infrastructure, reclamation zones, water bodies, etc. This paper presents a preliminary assessment of the various features in an area surrounding the mines of Khetri Copper Complex, Rajasthan with the use of remote sensing (RS) and Geographical Information systems (GIS). The temporal changes have been brought out on the feature classes identified as ridges, geological slopes, agriculture, vegetation, buildings and fallow land. Spatial attributes of these temporal changes have also been determined. The classes of vegetation, ridges and agriculture present a significant amount of variation over the five year period. This study also established a spatial transition of the changes in the feature classes. (C) 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.