Patent ID: 8323509

Claim:
A method of rehabilitation of a deposition area to render it suitable for plant growth comprising a particulate mineral material, which particulate mineral material has been dewatered from a suspension of said material, the method comprising the steps of: (i) transferring the suspension of particulate mineral material as a fluid to the deposition area, and in which the suspension is allowed to stand and dewater at the deposition area to form a dewatered particulate mineral material; (ii) rehabilitating the deposition area by adding a dewatering amount of a polymer to the suspension of the particulate mineral material while it is being transferred as a fluid to the deposition area; (iii) allowing the suspension to form a non-segregated treated stack; and (iv) introducing into the particulate mineral material prior to rigidification any of plants, seedlings, or seeds suitable for germination, wherein the polymer is either a synthetic water-soluble polymer formed from one or more ethylenically unsaturated monomers having an intrinsic viscosity of at least 4 dl/g or a water-soluble polymer that is a natural polymer or semi natural polymer, wherein the synthetic polymer is formed from monomer(s) selected from the group consisting of (meth)acrylic acid, allyl sulphonic acid and 2-acrylamido-2-methyl propane sulphonic acid as the free acids or salts thereof, optionally in combination with non-ionic co-monomers, selected from the group consisting of (meth)acrylamide, hydroxyl alkyl esters of (meth)acrylic acid and N-vinyl pyrrolidone, and wherein the polymer is combined with the suspension at a dose of 10 grams to 10,000 grams per tonne of material solids.