Studying the geomorphological aspects of a nickel mining claim is a fascinating and interdisciplinary research topic. Below are some factors and relevant literature that you can explore for your study;

1. Geological Background and Formation;

Examine the background of the area including how the nickel deposit was formed. Understand the types of rocks, mineral composition and tectonic events that contributed to the presence of nickel.

Related Literature; Look into studies, on geology and mineralogy that focus on nickel deposits found in settings. For instance research about the geology of nickel deposits and their formation processes would be valuable.

2. Changes in Landscape;

Analyze how mining activities have impacted landforms and terrain. Consider factors, like erosion, sedimentation and modifications to the topography.

Related Literature; Delve into the field of research conducted in mining areas focusing on the effects of mining activities, on landforms and alterations to the landscape.

3. Remote Sensing and GIS;

Leverage sensing techniques and GIS methodologies to analyze transformations in land usage, land cover and terrain patterns over time. The utilization of satellite imagery combined with GIS provides insights for monitoring and comprehending these changes.

Related Literature; Explore studies that utilize sensing and GIS for environmental monitoring purposes specifically investigating changes in land cover and analyzing their impact within mining regions.

4. Hydrogeology and Water Quality;

Evaluate the influence of mining operations on both groundwater and surface water quality. Examine alterations in hydrology, water tables as potential issues related to water contamination.

Related Literature; Conduct a search for studies alongside environmental research that addresses concerns regarding water quality, within mining areas.

5. Rehabilitation and Reclamation Efforts:

Examine post-mining rehabilitation and reclamation activities. Evaluate the success of these efforts in restoring the landscape and ecosystem.

Related Literature: Look for literature on mine site rehabilitation and ecological restoration in the context of mining operations.

6. Environmental Regulations and Policies:

Explore the regulatory framework and policies governing mining operations in the area. Understand how these regulations influence mining practices and environmental protection.

Related Literature: Study legal and policy documents, as well as academic research on mining regulations and their effectiveness.

7. Community and Social Impact:

Consider the social and economic impact of mining on local communities. Assess how mining activities have affected the livelihoods and well-being of nearby residents.

Related Literature: Look for social impact assessments and community studies related to mining projects.

When conducting your literature review, be sure to use academic databases like PubMed, Google Scholar, and your university library resources to access relevant research articles and reports. Additionally, consider consulting with your academic advisor or a geology professor for guidance and recommendations on literature specific to your research area.

It is an anthropogenic landscape with technosols, waste dumps..

Issue 1: What type of mining did they apply (underground or opencast mining)

Issue 2: What is the original landscape like?

Issue 3. What is the climate zone and what does the weather record tell you?

Issue 4: What is the mineralogy of the ore, the gangue and the wall rocks found on the mining site in relation to the natural gossan around ? Als consider newly formed minerals due to processing of the ore and post-mining activities (ventilation)

Issue 5: You have to carry out a mineralogical terrain analysis for the mining site and the area around, involves mapping on different scales

Issue 6: Identify minerals a surface which are amenable for capturing digital data in the field for air- and satellite-borne mapping.

You can find several papers on the terrain analysis in purely geogenic and anthropogenic terrains among my publication on Researchgate where I can forward to you digital prints upon request.

HGD

There are folks far more expert than me on this thread, so this is from the pragmatic aspects of time, money, general data availability, and scope simplicity for an undergraduate effort - you don't mention where the mine is, or it's temporal trajectory. Although others have mentioned many data sources, finding and acquiring, the effort of correlating them grows exponentially.

So the lowest bar is probably to use satellite remote sensing imagery, and if that is the case the ASTER sensors on the Terra platform ( https://www.earthdata.nasa.gov/learn/articles/terra-at-20 )were designed specifically to look at rocks, and at fairly good resolution. The primary drawback is it's limited operational life span - but probably good enough to obtain a time series of changes on a region of interest: Article Twenty Years of ASTER Contributions to Lithologic Mapping an...

The other advantage is that the Terra platform took stereoscopic image pairs, it might be possible derive some DEM information or at least some elevation change detection.

Nominally, there were supposed to be follow-on instruments to replace Aster and MODIS, but I have not worked with those. https://www.nesdis.noaa.gov/our-satellites/currently-flying/joint-polar-satellite-system

It is admittedly kind of working backwards from the data to the research question, but realistically it usefully constrains the sorts of possible research questions that could be answered. And having a narrow temporal interval isn't necessarily a bad thing, a mine has a very long lifetime, so reconciling any imagery over multiple generations of satellites is non-trivial. If you do have any sort of ground truth, so much the better.

Weather cooperating, of course.