Modeling mining company activities under conditions of resource base depletion: Ecological-and-economic aspect

Abstract

Depletion of the resource base is typical of many mining companies in the major sector in the recent decades, which dictates that some scientific and applied problems are to be solved in order to develop business strategy to function further, considering ecological consequences of such solutions. This article addresses waste management as a new resource base for mines. The substitute resources are characterized and evaluated with regard to accumulated volumes of overburden rocks, content of useful component (copper) and potential reserves of copper in stock piles. It is substantiate that each substitute resource in mine waste should be provided with model and method of processing. In terms of Erdenet Mining Corporation in Mongolia, the methods of economical-and-mathematical modeling of a mining company’s activities by the criterion of cost minimization in ore processing and waste disposal are discussed. Furthermore, the forecasting up to 2040 is carried out based on the data extrapolation. This allows estimating the operational life of the mining company and the reduction in the environmental impact owing to use of the substitute resources. The waste management efficiency model is based on the substitution of primary natural resources by waste materials from tailings and dumps. Evaluation of the waste use efficiency dynamics determines relative economy and profit gained by a user in manufacturing of marketable products from waste in comparison with traditional production, i.e. using primary resources. The calculations are performed with regard to the ecology factor—reduction in contaminated land as a result of treatment of substitute resources. The formulation and implementation of the model completes a number of strategic missions, namely, extension of operational life of mining company owing to utilization of waste, transfer of waste, mitigation of ecological stress, release of lands withdrawn earlier for placement of waste, as well as cost saving in prospecting and exploration of new mineral deposits.