Mining Projects Research Articles

Nickel mine planning application to support smelter demand fulfilment: a case study of gag nickel mine

Abstract Gag Nickel is a mining project in West Papua developed by Antam, with a total resource of approximately 300 million wet metric tons. In the central block, mining activities are carried out to meet the demand target for the nickel smelter. There are two types of specifications, saprolite and limonite ores, each with specific grade requirement based on sales purchase contract. The aim of this study was to fulfill the long-term target from 2024 to 2028 through integrated mine planning to generate production scheduling plan based on agreed contract of around 6 million wet metric tons ore per year. The quantitative method was implemented to gather primary data, including the 6-meter-high bench and material classification based on specific quality of elements-compounds, and to use the secondary data such as reserve block model to create a reverse model. The challenges of this study included different ore specifications of each location of the hill, and constraints on limited stockyard location to support differentiation between two types of products. Based on the simulations performed, production and sales targets could be achieved according to predetermined product specifications, amounting to 6 million wet metric tons of saprolite and limonite with fluctuating processes during the period. From the scheduling results, the smelter supply composition ratio between saprolite and limonite was between 1.37 and 1.85. After the implementation above, Gag Nickel can conserve resources by optimizing reserves of both limonite and saprolite for optimum utilization.

Economic risks in mining investments: A prospective analysis of capital cost estimation in copper mining projects

Economic risks in mining investments: A prospective analysis of capital cost estimation in copper mining projects

From exploration to production: Understanding the development dynamics of lithium mining projects

Recently, there has been considerable recent controversy whether current and new lithium mines will be able to supply the rapidly growing needs of the electromobility transition. Mineral exploration projects are typically active for many years, and only some become operational mines. From exploration to production, the projects go through several stages of characterisation and evaluation. At each stage, decisions are made by companies and stakeholders to advance, continue or stop the project. This is a complex process, and even projects with very similar geological and technical characteristics may take very different trajectories, depending on external factors such as global market conditions and local regulatory environments. The present study investigates the dynamics of this process for lithium exploration projects. A global database of 397 lithium projects was compiled, covering their progression through major development stages between 2004 and 2022. Ordinal logistic regression was used for the statistical analysis of this data. Different explanatory variables were tested, including economic, geological, technical, and geographic factors, to identify the best predictors for project progress at each development stage. The results suggest an essential role for lithium carbonate prices, and a variable role for other factors at each stage. Critically, the already elapsed lead time and project economics, which are traditionally considered important for the prediction of the start-up of individual mines, do not appear to be relevant in all cases. The results provide important insights into the dynamics of lithium supply and may eventually allow more realistic forecasts to be made for future lithium market dynamics.

Building a Circular Economy for Lithium: Addressing Global Challenges

AbstractAs countries worldwide race toward a green transition, the demand for electric vehicles is surging, and with it comes a growing need for batteries. However, the push for increased domestic mining to secure these materials raises significant concerns about environmental sustainability. Even with stringent regulations, the environmental impact of mining can be profound, posing risks such as biodiversity loss, water pollution, and broader ecological damage. Furthermore, geopolitical tensions could arise as countries whose economic interests are threatened by these initiatives may react adversely. Local communities might also resist mining projects due to concerns over environmental degradation, health risks, and disruptions to their livelihoods. Given the critical importance of metals in the ecological transition, this challenge must be approached with the same urgency and global coordination as a pandemic response. Just as the world mobilized unprecedented resources to tackle COVID‐19, a similarly robust approach is necessary to ensure the availability of critical metals for a sustainable future. This paper suggests potential pathways for academic, technological, and societal advancements within the framework of a circular economy for lithium, aiming to secure a sustainable supply of this essential resource.

Environmental Threat Assessment Framework for Mining Activities in Guinea: An Integrated Approach for Sustainable Development.

The present study aimed to investigate the environmental consequences of mining activities in boke bauxite mining areas and the Kerouane iron mining project in Guinea using a mixed-methods approach that combines quantitative and qualitative data. A reference matrix was used to evaluate the impact of the mining activities, classifying them as negligible, moderate, or significant. Data were collected from October 2022 to January 2023 by assessing their impact on water pollution, soil, noise, air quality, vegetation, fauna, and flora. These findings indicate concerns regarding the water pH, electrical conductivity, and turbidity in both the Boke and Kerouane regions. The soil composition analysis revealed the presence of Cr, Cu, Ni, and Zn in both the Boke and Kerouane project areas. Noise levels exceeded the guideline levels and substantial amounts of particulate matter (PM) were detected, with high levels of PM10 in mining operations. The Kerouane Iron Project resulted in the direct loss of 2929 ha of natural habitats and 466 ha of modified habitats, with the extraction of approximately 1.291 billion tons of ore anticipated over a 22-year mine lifespan. This study proposes an environmental threat assessment framework that integrates technical and human activity data to evaluate the environmental impacts of mining activities comprehensively. To promote sustainable development and minimize the negative impacts of mining, an integrated index of economic and environmental performance in the mining sector is recommended, along with collaboration between researchers and policymakers to develop effective climate-change mitigation strategies.

REPLANTEAMIENTO DE LA PLANIFICACIÓN DE PROYECTOS MINEROS: USO DE NASA-TLX PARA MEDIR UNA NOVEDOSA INTEGRACIÓN ENTRE OTSM-TRIZ Y DSM

This research introduces an integrated methodology combining OTSM-TRIZ and the Design Structure Matrix (DSM) to enhance project planning and risk management in mining projects. OTSM-TRIZ, through a Network of Problems (NoP), systematically addresses complex challenges, while DSM analyzes task dependencies, optimizing resource allocation and sequencing. Applied in a real-world Chilean mining company with over 120 workers, the methodology improved outcomes by reducing trial-and-error iterations and boosting efficiency. Workers gained valuable insights into managing project complexity. NASA-TLX was used to explore usefulness authors’ proposal. Keywords: Mining Projects, OTSM-TRIZ, DSM, NASA-TLX

A Nonaxial-Type Swirling Cavitating Nozzle for Exploiting Natural Gas Hydrate

Summary Natural gas hydrates (NGHs) have garnered widespread attention in the new energy sector, owing to their efficient and clean combustion properties. NGHs are ice-like substances formed by methane and water under high-pressure and low-temperature conditions, abundantly deposited in seabeds and frozen soil of highlands on Earth. However, the rock shelves of NGH reservoirs are mostly fragile and sparsely colloidal. Traditional mechanical mining methods can easily cause rock-shelf collapses, leading to mining accidents. Long-term indoor experiments and pilot mining projects have shown that cavitating nozzles can provide a feasible solution to the problem of efficient mining of NGHs. To further improve the efficiency of cavitating nozzle mining for NGHs, we have optimized and designed a nonaxial-type swirling cavitating nozzle (NASCN) based on traditional swirling cavitating nozzles (SCNs). Both numerical simulations and indoor experiments have verified the higher mining performance of this nozzle. In the numerical simulation experiments, we analyzed the cavitation performance, erosion performance, and energy consumption characteristics of different cavitating nozzles using the mixture multiphase flow model and the renormalization group (RNG) k-ε turbulence model. In the indoor experiments, we utilized a jet erosion experimental device for NGHs to analyze the erosion effects of different cavitating nozzles on hydrate samples. The results of these experiments indicate that the NASCN reduces energy consumption by 12% compared with traditional nozzles when there is little difference in cavitation performance and erosion performance. Moreover, under similar energy consumption, the NASCN improves erosion efficiency by 35.2% compared with traditional nozzles. These results demonstrate that the NASCN has good application value in the mining engineering of NGHs.

A Portfolio Management Method for Process Mining-Enabled Business Process Improvement Projects

AbstractProcess mining has received tremendous attention from research and industry, establishing itself as a highly sought-after technology. Despite the technological maturity of process mining solutions, which has been achieved through extensive investments in research and development, organizations still face the challenge of elusive value when systematically adopting process mining. The authors attribute this dilemma to a lack of support for scaling and managing process mining project portfolios. To address this practical need and research gap, the authors propose a method for managing portfolios of so-called process mining value cases, which are defined as process mining-enabled business process improvement projects, towards an evolutionary roadmap (mapper). The method is designed to support organizations identify portfolios of process mining projects that generate value by improving business processes. The method was developed through a combination of design science research and situational method engineering and comprises five activities that each outline techniques, roles, and tools: strategize, identify, select, implement, and monitor. The method has been instantiated as a software prototype and iteratively evaluated for applicability and real-world fidelity by involving an expert panel of academics and practitioners. The usefulness of the artifact was substantiated through a real-world case study in a naturalistic setting.

STATE REGULATION OF THE EXTRACTION OF CRITICAL MINERALS AS A DOMINANT COMPONENT OF ACHIEVING THE GOALS OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND STRENGTHENING THE ECONOMIC SECURITY OF THE STATE

The article states that the climate crisis and measures to mitigate it in recent years have significantly changed the energy landscape of the countries of the world and the configuration of the investment portfolio. Long-term investments in fossil fuels have been replaced by investments in environmentally friendly technologies, renewable sources of electricity, and smart systems for its distribution and storage. It is emphasized that even with full support of investments, plans for the decarburization of the electric power industry may remain unattainable, as the global reserves of «critical minerals», which are absolutely necessary for the transition to ecologically clean electric power, are noticeably decreasing and the demand continues to grow relentlessly. The scenarios developed by the International Energy Agency for the further transformation of the electric power sector to a low-carbon economy model were reviewed and briefly characterized: the scenario of declared policy (STEPS), the scenario of declared obligations (APS), and the scenario of net zero emissions by 2050 (NZE). The main aspects of each of the scenarios are outlined: the volume of demand for «critical minerals» their geographical concentration of extraction, and processing. It is emphasized that the world leader in the extraction and processing of «critical minerals» is the PRC, which dictates the «rules of the game» to the majority of the world's countries. Therefore, the issue of supplies of “critical minerals” is quite painful. It was emphasized that critical minerals market participants hope to reduce total dependence through new mining projects in different geographical regions, facilitating cross-investment opportunities between partner countries, and strengthening cooperation through initiatives such as the Mineral Security Partnership and the implementation of financial instruments. The potential of Ukraine's «critical minerals» and its ability to reduce the dependence of EU countries on the People's Republic of China are characterized. The main challenges of the development of the extractive industry in Ukraine are identified, and the main vectors of the Roadmap of the partnership between Ukraine and the EU regarding critical raw materials for 2023-2024 are outlined. It was emphasized that in order for Ukraine not to become only a supplier of raw materials, it is necessary to develop the processing of raw materials and the production of products with added value. It is emphasized that such localization requires much wider efforts of the government than the list of measures in the field of regulating the extraction of «critical minerals» defined by the latest legislative acts. The author emphasizes the need to develop a comprehensive system of incentives and introduce new opportunities for stabilization and sustainable development of Ukraine's economy in order to ensure sustainability and progress towards sustainable resource management and optimization of supply chains for critical raw materials. Proposals have been developed for climate-smart mining of «critical minerals» in Ukraine in the near future.

Geometallurgical modeling and reconciliation with production data in a fhosphate mine

The characterization of the ore and its performance prediction in the processing unit are essential for the success of mining projects and should be part of the resource model. The greatest difficulties encountered in the elaboration of these models are the characteristics of the metallurgical variables, such as non-additivity and non-linearity, lack of uniformity of the database and the few samples of process tests. The generalization of geometallurgical models from primary attributes is a valid option when the relationships between geological characteristics and metallurgical responses are well established and will be tested in this work. Bench tests that simulate the mineral concentration process were performed and compared with geological and chemical information. Multivariate statistical analyses and computational algorithms allowed the prediction of metallurgical attributes from the properties of the rocks simulated by Gaussian sequential simulation. The results were reconciled with the plant data over a period of one year and proved to be consistent.

Study on the Properties of All-Solid Waste Fluidized Filling Materials Applied to Mine Void Area Filling Engineering.

The extraction of mining resources, as well as processing processes such as ore beneficiation and smelting, generate large amounts of tailings that are difficult to directly utilize. Meanwhile, substantial filling materials are required for the voids formed after mining operations, and the environmental issues and safety hazards brought on by massive solid waste disposal cannot be ignored. By utilizing solid waste with alkaline and pozzolanic activity as the binder component and gold tailings as filler aggregate to prepare filler material to fill up the void areas, the purpose of waste treatment can be achieved. In this study, salt sludge, steel slag, ground granulated blast furnace slag, and gold tailings were used to prepare all-solid waste fluidized filling material for filling mine void areas, which not only solves the engineering safety problem of easy collapse of the mine airspace in the mining process but also ensures a backfill effect with high strength, which continuously guarantees the uninterrupted progress of the mining project. At the same time, the preparation of fluidized materials can consume a large amount of tailings and other solid waste, solving the problem of their stockpiling. The components of the solid wastes used are all general industrial solid wastes, so the preparation of the fluidized materials will not have an impact on the surrounding environment. The effects of binder ratios on the workability of the filling materials were investigated by means of the slump and slump flow tests. Combined with the unconfined compressive strength test, the change in backfill material strength with curing age and the water-binder ratio was studied. The experimental results showed that the slump and slump flow value of the filling material were positively correlated with the water-binder ratio. The water-binder ratio range satisfying a slump value of 180~260 mm and a slump flow value not less than 400 mm was 0.95~1.106. However, the strength decreased with the increase in the water-binder ratio, conforming to a hyperbolic relationship. The all-solid waste fluidized filling material had strengths not less than 0.22, 1.09, and 1.95 MPa at 3, 7, and 28 d, respectively, meeting the workability requirements. Finally, a method for determining the optimal range of water-binder ratio considering both workability performance and strength is proposed based on the relationship between slump value, slump flow value, unconfined compressive strength, and the water-binder ratio.

Access denied: Land alienation and pastoral conflicts

Conflicts involving pastoralists have been on the rise in the past two decades in West, Central and East Africa. This article argues that land alienation is a major source of this type of violence. We employ a narrow identification strategy of relevant pastoral conflicts based on the Armed Conflict Location Event Dataset and create a unique indicator of land alienation comprised of three types of land use changes (conversion of land into conservation areas, crop farms, and industrial mining projects). Relying on a disaggregated quantitative comparative design of 50 km-by-50 km cells covering the Sahelian region from 2002 to 2019, we find that land alienation is an underlying cause of pastoral conflicts. Moreover, we show that the impact of land alienation on pastoralist violence spreads over long distances and is influenced by state presence and climatic conditions. Our analysis further reveals an overlap between pastoralist violence and armed conflict. Bridging a gap between macro- and micro-level studies, we contribute to shed more light on the determinants of pastoral conflicts, a type of violence that has received scant attention in the geospatial quantitative literature.

Assessing environmental liabilities of mining in Northern Australia: A case study of the McArthur River Mine

Mining projects supposedly offer enormous economic benefits; however, they often involve serious environmental liabilities that extend far beyond the life of the mine, including perturbing the ecological balance and causing the loss of ecosystem services that are vital for sustaining human well-being. Understanding and assessing the environmental liabilities of mining is crucial for estimating the costs of restoring, replacing, or providing the equivalent of the damaged natural resources. This study estimates the market and non-market values of the mining impacts in the Northern Territory, Australia, particularly for the McArthur River Mine. We assess these costs by applying the Replacement Cost, Welfare Costs Savings, and Basic Value Transfer methods in terms of the loss of local Indigenous communities' well-being, loss of ecosystem services from native vegetation and freshwater, and the opportunity cost of the mine site none of which are not fully accounted for in the mining operator's environmental assessments and mitigation measures approved by the local governmental authorities. Our valuation analysis indicates that the market value of the environmental and social impacts of mining ascends to AUD 1.1 billion per year while the non-market value is AUD 20 million per year. Assessing mining-related environmental liabilities offers crucial insights for informed decision-making regarding mitigation and remediation efforts and strengthening environmental and mining legislation in the Northern Territory. In conclusion, our study contributes to developing a comprehensive understanding of the true economic impact of mining activities on ecosystems and local Indigenous communities.

Economic analysis of shipping route planning in deep-sea mining operations under uncertain shipping market

Deep-sea mining is an emerging interdisciplinary and cross-domain research topic. As commercialization of deep-sea mining advances, economic analysis of the maritime transportation of minerals is critical to forming sound commercial plans. This paper proposes an approach for the economic analysis of shipping route planning in deep-sea mining operations, considering the varying capacities of the proposed mobile offshore minerals units (MOMUs) and the limited capacity. Capital expense (CAPEX), operational expense (OPEX), and voyage expense (VOYEX) are taken into account according to the arrangement of mineral transportation vessels (MTVs) with different capacities of MOMUs and fluctuating shipping prices. Monte Carlo Simulation is used to analyze the uncertainties of the total cost for MTVs with respect to CAPEX, OPEX, and VOYEX. A case study of the shipping route from the Chinese contract area in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone to Ningbo-Zhoushan Port is presented to interpret the proposed approach. The derived results demonstrate that 120,000 tons is the most economically viable MOMU size, saving at least 1.9 % of the total cost. These savings are mainly due to better scheduling, speed, and resilience to market prices. The proposed approach can support economic feasibility for deep-sea mining projects and provide investors with more specific operational measures to make well-informed decisions.

Studying a women’s collective from a politics of commoning perspective: the case of Skouries, Greece

ABSTRACT We live in a period of multiple crises, including economic, environmental, and social emergencies. The prioritisation of capitalist economic growth by most political institutions is among the most critical drivers of these crises in a never-ending loop. Against this context, commoning, perceived as collective care, presents an alternative political strategy to respond to those crises. In this paper, we investigate how an anti-mining community in Skouries, Greece, opposes the imposition of a large-scale mining project by forming a commons. Our commons is a women’s collective that sought a sustainable economic alternative to large-scale mining and a model that could influence different political values much needed for politics in a crisis-ridden framework. We argue that commoning can enrich the politics of our times. Commoning highlights the importance of caring collectively for developing collective identities and relations between humans and the environment, which can benefit local, national, and international politics.

Between a rock and a hard place: the Social Acceptability of the Mary River mining project in Nunavut

Between a rock and a hard place: the Social Acceptability of the Mary River mining project in Nunavut

Engagement strategies in the context of the Itabira mine closure: impacts and stakeholder participation

Purpose: This article aims to propose and apply a set of analytical categories for evaluating engagement in mine closure processes. Design/methodology/approach: The qualitative research adopts a case study strategy considering the singularity of the phenomenon studied. The mine project analyzed is the country's first large-scale closure, scheduled for 2041, with the potential to influence future processes. Data collection involved observation, documentary analysis, and interviews. Sixteen interviews were conducted with representatives from the public power, community, organizations, and the company. The research strategy chosen was content analysis using the analytical categories raised in the literature review and triangulation of data collection sources. Findings: The results highlight the importance of the mining company's active role in constructing the city's post-mining future, collaborating to reconvert socio-economic dynamics, and fostering a trusting relationship with the community. However, the company remains distant from the debate. Interviews revealed a paternalistic relationship between the mining company that guides engagement in a predominantly unilateral flow, with communication directed to meet its interests. Originality/value: This research fills a gap in the existing literature by focusing on engagement in a vulnerable context. It contributes to the theoretical advancement of the main characteristics of engagement in mine closure processes and for dialogue practices with communities to favor sustainable territory development in the post-mining period.

An AI-Based Approach for Developing a Recommendation System for Underground Mining Methods Pre-Selection

Selecting the most appropriate mining method to recover mineral resources is a critical decision-making task in mining project development. This study introduces an artificial intelligence-based mining methods recommendation system (AI-MMRS) for the pre-selection of underground mining methods. The study integrates and evaluates the capability of two approaches for mining methods selection (MMS): the memory-based collaborative filtering (CF) approach aided by the UBC-MMS system to predict the top-3 relevant mining methods and supervised machine learning (ML) classification algorithms to enhance the effectiveness and novelty of the AI-MMRS, addressing the limitations of the CF approach. The results reveal that the memory-based CF approach achieves an accuracy ranging from 81.8% to 87.9%. Among the classification algorithms, artificial neural network (ANN) and k-nearest neighbors (KNN) classifiers perform the best, with accuracy levels of 66.7% and 63.6%, respectively. These findings demonstrate the effectiveness and viability of both approaches in MMS, acknowledging their limitations and the need for continuous training and optimization. The proposed AI-MMRS for the pre-selection stage supplemented by the direct involvement of mining professionals in later stages of MMS, has the potential to significantly aid in the MMS decision-making, providing data-driven and experience-based recommendations following the ongoing evolution of mining practices.

One-dimensional model for vertical hydraulic transport of high-concentration mineral particles

A novel model is proposed for analyzing high-concentration granular flow systems comprising equally sized spherical particles within vertical, long straight pipelines. This model is specifically tailored for simulating the vertical hydraulic transport of ore particles in marine mining projects. The proposed model treats the granular system akin to a pseudo-fluid and operates through three mechanisms. First, fluid characteristics of the granular system are derived from particle–particle collisions. Second, the resistance exerted by the pipe wall on the granular system is calculated based on the momentum loss of particles during particle–wall collisions. Third, the interaction between individual particles and the surrounding fluid is transformed into an interaction between the carrier fluid and the pseudo-fluid. Additionally, the present work develops a dedicated numerical format and iterative method for solving the one-dimensional two-fluid governing equations. The one-dimensional (1D) model notably enhances computational efficiency and facilitates accurate tracking of high-concentration particles over extended distances within straight pipelines. Notably, the proposed 1D model demonstrates a high degree of predictive accuracy when compared against experimental data as well as results from computational fluid dynamics and discrete element method simulations.

Identification of Potential Landslides in the Gaizi Valley Section of the Karakorum Highway Coupled with TS-InSAR and Landslide Susceptibility Analysis

Landslides have become a common global concern because of their widespread nature and destructive power. The Gaizi Valley section of the Karakorum Highway is located in an alpine mountainous area with a high degree of geological structure development, steep terrain, and severe regional soil erosion, and landslide disasters occur frequently along this section, which severely affects the smooth flow of traffic through the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). In this study, 118 views of Sentinel-1 ascending- and descending-orbit data of this highway section are collected, and two time-series interferometric synthetic aperture radar (TS-InSAR) methods, distributed scatter InSAR (DS-InSAR) and small baseline subset InSAR (SBAS-InSAR), are used to jointly determine the surface deformation in this section and identify unstable slopes from 2021 to 2023. Combining these data with data on sites of historical landslide hazards in this section from 1970 to 2020, we constructed 13 disaster-inducing factors affecting the occurrence of landslides as evaluation indices of susceptibility, carried out an evaluation of regional landslide susceptibility, and identified high-susceptibility unstable slopes (i.e., potential landslides). The results show that DS-InSAR and SBAS-InSAR have good agreement in terms of deformation distribution and deformation magnitude and that compared with single-orbit data, double-track SAR data can better identify unstable slopes in steep mountainous areas, providing a spatial advantage. The landslide susceptibility results show that the area under the curve (AUC) value of the artificial neural network (ANN) model (0.987) is larger than that of the logistic regression (LR) model (0.883) and that the ANN model has a higher classification accuracy than the LR model. A total of 116 unstable slopes were identified in the study, 14 of which were determined to be potential landslides after the landslide susceptibility results were combined with optical images and field surveys. These 14 potential landslides were mapped in detail, and the effects of regional natural disturbances (e.g., snowmelt) and anthropogenic disturbances (e.g., mining projects) on the identification of potential landslides using only SAR data were assessed. The results of this research can be directly applied to landslide hazard mitigation and prevention in the Gaizi Valley section of the Karakorum Highway. In addition, our proposed method can also be used to map potential landslides in other areas with the same complex topography and harsh environment.