Mercury risk reduction in artisanal and small-scale gold mining: A fuzzy AHP-Fuzzy TOPSIS hybrid analysis

Abstract

Decision-making in choosing the appropriate mining technique can be difficult, especially when there are a plethora of alternatives and criteria. Mercury amalgamation has been the most prevalent technique employed in artisanal small-scale gold mining (ASGM) but this has been associated with profound health risk. As part of a process of developing a risk management framework for ASGM, this paper reviews the common mining alternatives and criteria for their selection, and demonstrates a methodology for choosing an optimum technique. A hybrid model of fuzzy AHP and fuzzy TOPSIS has therefore been developed to evaluate mining options. The fuzzy AHP is used to obtain criteria weights while the fuzzy TOPSIS is used in evaluating alternatives in respect of criteria to select the ideal solution.