The present paper attempts to identify the spatial patterns of soil nutrients in the abandoned Haizhou opencast coal mine and waste disposal site, in China. A geostatistical approach was used to overcome problems due to the heterogeneity of the site (some parts have been abandoned for more than 30 years, lack of clean soil, presence of overburden and low-grade ore, co-disposal of wastes from adjacent sites) and the limited number of available samples. One hundred and eight soil samples were collected from an area of 332 ha and analyzed for pH, organic matter (OM). NH(4)-N, available phosphorus (AP) and available potassium (AK). The results indicate that nutrients exhibit different spatial distribution and only NH(4)-N showed strong spatial dependence and a relatively large nugget effect. Relatively high content of OM, NH(4)-N, AP and AK was seen in the northeastern part, whereas pH was higher in central north and southern parts of the site. The determination of the spatial variability and heterogeneity of nutrients in mining and waste disposal sites assesses the need for amendments and assists in the selection of the most feasible revegetation scheme. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.