The AFTER LIFE period of the LIFE TECMINE project comes to a successful conclusion - LIFE Tecmine

The LIFE TECMINE project, promoted by the Forest Planning and Management Service of the Regional Ministry of the Environment, Infrastructure and Territory, concludes its AFTER LIFE period by consolidating its impact beyond technical implementation and reinforcing its role as a benchmark in the ecological restoration of areas degraded by open-cast mining. Since 2022, numerous dissemination, knowledge transfer and replicability actions have been carried out, thus closing a cycle that has allowed the project's achievements and lessons learned to be widely shared.

During these three years, LIFE TECMINE has been present at important national and international forums. It has participated in conferences such as: the European Ecological Restoration Conference (SERE, 2022); the Conference organised by the Pan-European Network for Forest Restoration and Reforestation and COST Action (2022); the National Aggregates Conference (2022); the Spanish Forestry Conference (2021 and 2025); the 4th Mediterranean Plant Conservation Week (2023); the Mining Congress (2024); the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification - COP16 (2024); the Congress of the Iberian Society of Ecology (SIBECOL, 2025) and the Spanish Forestry Congress (2025), among others.

These interventions have made it possible to showcase the ecological restoration model applied at the Fortuna mine in Ademuz (Valencia), based on landscape engineering and functional restoration techniques, as an example that can be replicated internationally.

Furthermore, as part of the LIFE TECMINE project, two Technical Guides for Mine Restoration in Forest Areas have been developed to help public administrations and the mining sector control and monitor restoration projects, while also assisting in the selection of the best restoration techniques during the project planning and drafting process.

Likewise, the creation of the Mine and Quarry Restoration Network has been promoted, an initiative that brings together professionals from the mining sector, public administration technicians, research staff and experts in ecological restoration. The main objective of this network is to promote the exchange of experiences, knowledge and good practices in the recovery of areas degraded by extractive activities. This multidisciplinary collaboration space facilitates the development of innovative technical solutions, the transfer of results and coordination between the different agents involved in environmental restoration processes.

One of the most notable milestones has been the photographic exhibition ‘New Landscape of the Fortuna Mine’. It has been developed in two complementary formats: one permanent and one travelling, with the aim of widely disseminating the results of the project and raising awareness of the importance of ecological restoration of mining areas.

The permanent exhibition is located on the first floor of the Titania Headquarters of the Dinópolis paleontological park in Riodeva (Teruel), a site close to the Fortuna Mine, where the project's environmental restoration took place. This exhibition space allows for the stable dissemination of the restoration experience, facilitating access for both the general public and professionals and visitors interested in environmental management and natural heritage.

The travelling version of the exhibition has been adapted to a new lightweight and transportable format, designed to tour different visitor centres in the Natural Parks and Protected Landscapes of the Valencian Community. Through a careful selection of photographs and explanatory panels, this exhibition has brought the main milestones of the project and the process of transforming the mining landscape closer to the public. The exhibition has been hosted at the following locations:

• Font Roja Natural Park
• Serra de Mariola Natural Park
• Serra del Maigmó and Serra del Sit Protected Landscape
• El Fondo Natural Park
• Penyal d'Ifac Natural Park
• El Montgó Natural Park
• L'Albufera Natural Park
• Serra Calderona Natural Park

During this summer, the travelling exhibition has been open to the public at the visitor centre of the Serra Calderona Natural Park, ending its tour of the natural parks there.

The exhibition has helped to raise awareness among thousands of visitors about the value of restoring degraded areas and the importance of implementing nature-based solutions.

With the end of the AFTER LIFE period, LIFE TECMINE leaves behind not only an exemplary intervention in the natural environment, but also a network of stakeholders, monitoring tools and a wealth of technical and informative materials that will continue to be available to promote future ecological restoration actions.

The travelling photographic exhibition in nature reserves throughout the AFTER LIFE period