Abstract
Rock minerals such as dimension and crushed stones and sands and gravels (aggregates) are indispensable materials for the building and construction industries. The growth in demand for these resources causes intensification of mining operations (and their consequent environmental impacts) and transport problems in regions abundant in rock minerals. The balanced management of these resources by regional policy-makers is difficult as it requires, among other things, comprehensive and up-to-date information on the spatial distribution and temporal changes of available reserves, demand, production, and transport. This information can be provided by means of spatial and temporal analyses through geographic information systems (GIS). In this research, the focus is on the following aspects of rock mineral (aggregates) resources and mining management in the context of regional spatial planning in the example region of Lower Silesia in Poland: the spatial and temporal changes in distribution and intensity of mining, the availability of economic reserves in active mines, the magnitude and distribution of road transport flows of aggregates, the potential of railways as an alternative means of transport, and the valorisation of undeveloped aggregates deposits to assess their suitability for future use. For the purposes of this study, cartographic models have been developed using GIS to facilitate analyses of these mineral resources, mining, and transport. The results of these analyses provide current and comprehensive information on the state of aggregates mineral resources, production and transport in the Lower Silesia region. They also give an insight into availability of rock mineral resources for the future. Knowledge of these processes is important for spatial development planning, especially physical infrastructure, conducted by national, regional, and local governments.
Highlights
Rock minerals such as dimension and crushed stones and sands and gravels are indispensable materials for the building and construction industries
The development of new deposits is determined by constraints such as: land use, environmental protection considerations, connectivity to transport networks, geological and mining conditions, quality of rocks, quantity and uniqueness of rock minerals
The most comprehensive concept of deposit valorisation has been proposed by Radwanek-Bak (2007) and Niecand Radwanek-Bak (2011). This is based on four criteria: geological assets, mining conditions, environmental aspects, and spatial planning constraints; these are assessed from information in available deposit documentation, resulting in a four letter classification being assigned to a deposit describing its suitability for development
Summary
Rock minerals such as dimension and crushed stones and sands and gravels (aggregates) are indispensable materials for the building and construction industries. In this paper the term ‘‘aggregates’’ will be used to cover all of these various types of rock mineral raw materials Deposits of these raw materials, the locations of which are conditioned by geology, are usually unevenly distributed across any given area (e.g., region or a country). The most comprehensive concept of deposit valorisation has been proposed by Radwanek-Bak (2007) and Niecand Radwanek-Bak (2011) This is based on four criteria: geological assets, mining conditions, environmental aspects, and spatial planning constraints; these are assessed from information in available deposit documentation, resulting in a four letter classification being assigned to a deposit describing its suitability for development
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