Abstract
Sustainable mining management is increasingly seen as an important issue in achieving a social license to operate for mining companies. This study describes the life cycle cost (LCC) analysis and environmental valuation for several coal mine tailings management scenarios. The economic feasibility of six different options was assessed using the Net Present Value (NPV) and Benefit-Cost Analysis (BCA) methods. These options were belt press (OPT 1), tailings paste (OPT 2), thickened tailings (OPT 3), and OPT 1 with technology improvement and renewable energy sources (OPT 1A-C). The results revealed that OPT 1A (belt press technology with stack cell flotation) was the first preference in terms of LCC while OPT 1C (belt press technology with stack cell flotation and 10% wind energy) generated the highest benefits value (BCA) compared to the other options. The LCC and BCA components and the volume of GHG emissions were used to determine the best option. Normalization of these three elements resulted in the selection of Option 1C as being the most cost-effective option.
Highlights
Environmental management is a crucial tool for any activity that generates adverse impacts and mining is one such activity
This study focuses on three environmental issues: water use, land use, and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions
The option which consumed the largest amount of electricity was OPT 2 which used paste thickener technology, while the belt press technology of
Summary
Environmental management is a crucial tool for any activity that generates adverse impacts and mining is one such activity. The tools that are usually employed to study the environmental impacts of different systems include life cycle assessment, life cycle costing, net present value, and benefit-cost analysis (Ahlroth, Nilsson, Finnveden, Hjelm, & Hochschorner, 2011; Erkayaoglu & Demirel, 2016; McLellan, Corder, Giurco, & Green, 2009). These tools can be used to determine the feasibility of the environmental management strategies for mining operations
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