Suitability Evaluation for Land Reclamation of Nonmetallic Mines in Xinjiang, China

The ecological environment is fragile in Xinjiang, so it is necessary to carry out land reclamation for mines to restore its ecology. The premise of mines land reclamation is to determine the direction of land reclamation, which requires the suitability evaluation for land reclamation. In this paper, the evaluation index system and suitability evaluation model for land reclamation of nonmetallic mines in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region were established. This model was established by using factor analysis, cluster analysis, and discriminant analysis and tested by back-substitution. First, using 149 units of 21 nonmetallic mines as research samples, the samples were divided into 4 categories by a combination of factor and cluster analysis. Then, the samples were trained using a discriminant analysis method to establish the corresponding land reclamation suitability evaluation model. This model was verified by back-substitution with an accuracy of 98.7%, and only 2 of 149 samples were misclassified. Finally, the evaluation model was applied to the Dabancheng Toga Solo limestone mine in Urumqi. Evaluation analysis of 15 land reclamation units of this mine showed satisfactory results. The evaluation model developed here could serve as a powerful complement to the evaluation of land reclamation suitability in Xinjiang.