Today we visited the Amiantos Asbestos mine high up in the Toorodos Mountains, where the rainfall increases from about 470mm per year at sea level to 900 - 1m here, where snow is common in the winter.
The mine was closed in the seventies due to the health implications of Asbestos. The mineral was known of since at least roman times where it was used for shoes and (amognst other things)cremation cloaks allowing the ashes to be gathered after the incineration.
The site is huge and can be seen from space. It covers an area of over 300ha. At the time of the closing the waste material (for every 1 tonne of asbestos you need 10 tonnes of rock) was dumped in huge heaps, that threatend to cascade down the slopes towards the village of Amiantos.
The Forestry Department are reinstating the area. Terraforming the slopes into terraces, adding tonnes of topsoil, brash matting to stop erosion during downpours, replanting and maintaining for the first 3 years. The cost is astronomical but well worth it at 23,000 pounds per ha (hectare). 10 ha is replanted every year so in 2015 after 30 years the whole site will be replanted, but this will be far from the end of the story.
