Remote Sensing in Mining-Related Eco-Environmental Monitoring and Assessment

Mining activities exert profound and long-lasting impacts on terrestrial eco-environmental systems, manifesting across multiple spatial and temporal scales throughout the mining lifecycle—from exploration and extraction to post-mining reclamation. Remote sensing technology serves as an advanced monitoring and analysis tool, playing a critical role in the continuous monitoring of mining-related eco-environmental disturbances. This work provides a systematic review of remote sensing applications for mining-related eco-environmental monitoring and assessment. We first outline the importance of mineral resource development and summarize the associated eco-environmental issues. The second section presents an overview of remote sensing platforms and data types currently employed for monitoring in mining areas. The third section systematically summarizes recent research advances in key mining-related eco-environmental dimensions, including spatiotemporal land-use and land-cover analysis, terrain and deformation monitoring, natural environmental factor disturbances assessment, comprehensive ecological-environment quality evaluation, and post-mining reclamation assessment. Finally, we analyze the opportunities, challenges and future perspectives associated with remote sensing applications in mining areas. This review aims to provide reference for advancing remote sensing-based eco-environmental monitoring in mining areas, thereby supporting more effective, long-term monitoring and informed decision-making within the mining sector.