Mining Projects Research Articles

Application of Monte Carlo Analytic Hierarchy Process (MAHP) in Underground Mining Access Selection

This paper presents the application of risk analysis associated with the multicriteria decision method, through the MAHP (Monte Carlo analytic hierarchy process) technique for mining. As an example of application, the problem of choosing an access and transportation route for an underground mine is addressed. A decision can be made based on a technical, economic, and social-environmental approach. As a topic of interest for the modeling of mining projects, this work presents how the technique can qualify the decision-making process, reducing its subjectivity. It is verified that in comparison with the traditional AHP (analytic hierarchy process) method, the risk analysis allows considering the variability of weights and preferences assigned to criteria and options. In the example case, the following options are evaluated: shaft, ramp by diesel or electric truck, and conveyor belt.

Resourceful futures: Integrating responsible mining and green education for sustainable development in developing and emerging economies

This paper examines the impact of coal mining efficiency, metal ore mining efficiency, and education spending on the sustainable development of ten Asian emerging and developing economies from 1995 to 2020. Results from CS-ARDL (Cross-sectional Augmented Autoregressive Distributed Lag) and ARDL models reveal that public education spending has no significant impact, while both coal mining efficiency and metal ore mining efficiency promote sustainability, with coal mining efficiency being the more influential factor due to its crucial role in manufacturing and power generation. Additionally, the challenges of larger populations and the variable alignment of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) with sustainability practices are noted. Key policy implications include the need to foster a digital green finance market, liberalize trade flows, develop a circular economy in the mining industry, and encourage green FDI in sustainable mining projects.

Фосфатное минеральное сырьё: запасы, производство и горнорудные проекты

The paper presents the results of analyzing the reserves of phosphate mineral raw materials, their involvement in mining and processing activities both globally and in the Russian Federation. It is demonstrated that the reserves available for high-margin development have currently declined, the volumes of mining and processing of phosphate minerals have decreased, and the mining conditions have become more complicated with a corresponding deterioration in extracted ore grades. The issues with fertilizer production predefined the transformation of geopolitical conditions and manifestations of the pre-crisis food situation in the world. We have made forecast calculations of the countries' supply of phosphate mineral reserves based on the current mining and processing volumes. We reviewed the global experience of implementing large-scale mining projects to draw new phosphate mineral deposits into economic activities. It is already required to identify potentially investment-attractive phosphate deposits using various methods of their investment assessment in order to meet the needs of rural households both in the world and in the Russian Federation. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to develop methodological approaches to investment analysis of prospective phosphate mineral reserves in the Russian Federation based on the identified specific features of phosphate mining and production in the context of pre-crisis global food situation. A methodological approach to expert scoring of phosphate mineral deposits is proposed. An investment analysis of the prospective apatite ore deposits has been made, the results of which were used as the basis for selecting the most investment-attractive ones.

Pursuing Alignment: A Comparison of Public Officials and Citizen Perception of Mine Development

Maintaining legitimacy is a crucial objective for public officials to ensure effectiveness. Without legitimacy, political costs rise as the trust in government decreases and policy implementation is delayed; thus, officials handling resource development are encouraged to improve the acceptability of their processes. Therefore, it is essential for the government to understand the values and expectations of the citizens affected by resource development. Such an understanding assists the government in accomplishing its goals. This paper examines two cases, Norrbotten, Sweden, and Saskatchewan, Canada, both of which have established mining operations and similar regulatory frameworks and, during the commodities boom, experienced increased foreign investment and applications for new mines. While most mining projects in Saskatchewan faced little public opposition, some Norrbotten mines met contestation and protest. This paper utilizes survey data that focus on the perspectives of the residents close to the proposed mining operations, as well as interview data from public officials responsible for mine permitting, to examine the relationship between stakeholder influence and trust in government on the acceptability of mining.

Reframing the social acceptance of mining projects: The contribution of social impact assessment in the Brazilian Amazon

The popularisation of the Social Licence to Operate in measuring the acceptance of mining projects has stimulated the development of critical studies that question how the practical use of this management model has favoured the reduction of risks for the business without generating gains for the community. We propose in this article that the integration of Social Impact Assessment in Social Licence to Operate contributes to deepening the understanding of the social acceptance of mineral projects, especially in contexts of vulnerability. The objective of this research is to discuss the social acceptance of mining projects integrating the results of Social Licence to Operate and Social Impact Assessment approaches applied in a mineral project in the Brazilian Amazon. The methodological procedures of this research included document analysis, survey application, and interviews. The results show that Social Impact Assessment, by enabling the understanding of the local context and social impacts, serves as a complementary instrument to Social Licence to Operate measurement models. By giving voice to the local community, the use of Social Impact Assessment shows means that could effectively contribute to local development, based on actions involving the company and local government in order to act in the most sensitive areas that impact the community, such as its economic, social, environmental, and cultural challenges.

A coupled thermo-mechanical peridynamic model for fracture behavior of granite subjected to heating and water-cooling processes

Thermal damage and thermal fracture of rocks are two important indicators in geothermal mining projects. This paper investigates the effects of heating and water-cooling on granite specimens at various temperatures. The laboratory uniaxial compression experiments were also conducted. Then, a coupled thermo-mechanical ordinary state-based peridynamic (OSB-PD) model and corresponding numerical scheme were developed to simulate the damage of rocks after the heating and cooling processes, and the change of crack evolution process was predicted. The results demonstrate that elevated heating temperatures exacerbate the thermal damage to the specimens, resulting in a decrease in peak strength and an increase in ductility of granite. The escalating occurrence of thermal-induced cracks significantly affects the crack evolution process during the loading phase. The numerical results accurately reproduce the damage and fracture characteristics of the granite under different final heating temperatures (FHTs), which are consistent with the test results in terms of strength, crack evolution process, and failure mode.

Punctuated, episodic magmatism and mineralization of the Rogozna skarn-hosted Au-Zn-Pb-Cu deposits revealed through high-precision U-Pb zircon geochronology

The subvolcanic regions of magmatic centers are commonly associated with alteration, mineralization, and economic ore deposits, however the duration and frequency of mineralizing pulses within the overall lifespan of these centers can be poorly defined. Therefore, models for the formation of mineral systems require more high-precision geochronology data to refine their evolutionary models. Rogozna Mountain and its eponymous magmatic complex, located in SW Serbia, hosts multiple base metal deposits associated with variable rock types and structural expressions and serves as a natural laboratory to test the span and periodicity of mineralizing events. Unlike many deposits within the Rogozna magmatic complex (RMC) and elsewhere within the broader Serbo-Macedonian magmatic and metallogenic belt represented by Pb-dominated base metal sulfides, the Rogozna mining project (composed of the Gradina, Medenovac, Copper Canyon and Šanac deposits) also hosts Au-Cu mineralization. Based on previous isotope geochemistry, a single magmatic source was responsible for the sulfide crystallization associated with Au-Cu mineralization at the Copper Canyon deposit. Therefore, a detailed determination of igneous events and their temporal relationship remains crucial for understanding the formation of the Rogozna mineralized system and its multiple deposits.High-precision chemical abrasion-isotope dilution-thermal ionization mass spectrometry (CA-ID-TIMS) U-Pb zircon geochronology of six representative samples revealed the first phase of oxidized Au-Zn mineralization at the Medenovac deposit occurred prior to 28.833 ± 0.154 Ma, based on the inclusion of mineralized skarn clasts in breccia supported by an igneous-matrix. This age indicates that mineralization and skarn formation began over 1 Myr prior to reduced Au-Cu mineralization at the Copper Canyon deposit, which occurred over a period from approximately 27.76–27.61 Ma associated with a series of texturally diverse but compositionally similar quartz latite intrusions. Trachyandesitic dykes emplaced at 25.384 ± 0.068 Ma represent the youngest igneous event in the RMC. Previous models of the formation of the Rogozna mineralized system are likely flawed by inaccurate unit classification and incomplete sampling of intrusions associated with the deposits, resulting in an unrealistically simplistic evolutionary model for mineralization, rather than a protracted history of episodic alteration and mineralization. Therefore, a reinterpreted temporal hierarchy of the RMC is proposed based on new compositional and geochronological data, defining multiple mineralization events. This work highlights the necessity of combining a robust suite of textural analyses, field relationships, and high-precision geochronology to make accurate interpretations of deposit formation.

Physicochemical properties and heavy metals distribution of waste fine particles and soil around urban and peri-urban dumpsites

In developing countries like Ghana, the use of open dumpsites and landfills without proper waste management technique has resulted in environmental pollution with long-term adverse effects on soil, groundwater, human health and environmental sustainability. This study assessed the contaminants in fine particles of dumpsite waste and soil around urban and peri‑urban dumpsites at different depths of excavation and different age of deposited waste. Specifically, the study: (i) assessed physiochemical properties of fine particles of dumpsite waste and the surrounding soil, (ii) assessed heavy metals distribution from waste fine particles and surrounding soil at different depths and different ages of deposition, (iii) also determined soil quality indices (pollution index, geo-accumulation, and the potential ecological risk), and the hazards associated with the dumpsites on the residents living near the dumpsites. About 50 kg of waste was taken from surface, 0.5, 1.0 and 1.5 m depths. The samples were dried, segregated and sieved to obtain fine particles. Again, 1 kg soil was excavated form 0.5, 1.0 and 1.5 m depths at different age zones around each dumpsite. The fine particles and soil were analysed for physiochemical parameters using standard methods, and heavy metals using microwave plasma spectroscopy. The results showed that, the concentrations (electrical conductivity, potassium, cadmium, iron, copper and zinc) of waste fine particles and soil samples observed statistically significant different between them (p < 0.05). Waste particles recorded high cadmium and iron concentrations (41.7 mg/kg) and (4355 mg/kg) respectively at urban dumpsite. Similarly, there is statistically significant difference between calcium concentrations (p = 0.0221), potassium concentrations (p = 0.0227) and cadmium concentrations (p = 0.019) in the three age zones of urban dumpsite. The fine particles were heavily polluted with cadmium (PI > 6). High potential ecological risk of Hg (RI = 514.29), and (RI = 571.43) was observed at (SMZC1) and (NZA1) respectively; and high potential ecological risk of Cd (1000 ≤ RI ≤ 320), at (SMZA1-SMCA4. The study shows that both dumpsites have caused environmental hazards and this can cause surface and groundwater pollution and adverse effect on public health. But the study could not assess the impacts of dumpsite on leachate and water quality. The findings can be used as benchmark for developing appropriate technology for dumpsite mining, reclamation or decommission project; and exploit valorization potentials of the fine particles of the waste as composite and construction materials.

Evaluation of non-destructive tools for preliminary environmental risk assessment during mining exploration

Environmental assessment is generally performed when a mining project is at an advanced development stage, such as the prefeasibility study. It involves several laboratory tests such as detailed characterisation and geochemical mobility prediction tests, which require many samples considered representative of the deposit. Having early characterisation information could be useful to select the most relevant samples for the overall environmental assessment. The present study proposes a selection of non destructive and portable tools for improving the early environmental assessment of a mineral deposit. Three tools (x-ray fluorescence (XRF), mineral spectrometer, carbonate staining) were identified to form a preliminary environmental assessment methodology that can be performed directly on the exploration site. This methodology was applied to two different mining projects: i) a well developed mine, LaRonde zone 5, with available geochemical data in a volcanic-associated massive sulfide (VMS) context, and ii) an exploration project, O’Brien, with ongoing geochemical acquisition in an Au-quartz vein context. Both mine sites are in the south of the Blake River Group within the Abitibi greenstone belt, Quebec, Canada. The first site was used to validate the developed methodology, whereas the second acted as a test site to apply the methodology as a preliminary environmental assessment. The results on the first site confirmed that the selected tools provide geochemical and mineralogical data sets comparable to those of traditional testing methods. The developed methodology then enabled the classification of preliminary geo-environmental domains for the second site. Standard static and kinetic tests were performed on the second site samples to confront the preliminary assessment protocol. The proposed preliminary protocol made it possible to discriminate low-risk samples versus those with a potentially higher risk for the selection of subsequent environmental assessments.

An effective approach for identifying keywords as high-quality filters to get emergency-implicated Twitter Spanish data

Twitter has become a powerful knowledge source for data extraction for data mining projects due to the amount of data generated by its users, which allows researchers to find content of almost any topic in real time, but this depends on the quality of the keywords used, otherwise the extracted data will have a high percentage of irrelevant content. In this paper, we introduce a time-aware machine-learning-based approach to identify meaningful keywords to maximize the extraction of relevant emergency-related tweets when the Twitter API is used. We follow the CRISP-DM methodology. The first stage relies on problem understanding, where we detected the necessity of using meaningful keywords to filter content and extract data with more quality and reduce the percentage of irrelevant tweets. In the second stage, data collection, we used the official Twitter API to extract and label tweets as “emergencia” and “no emergencia”. After that, we analyzed the collected data (data understanding) to determine preprocessing techniques and to prepare the data for the model. Finally, in the modeling and testing stages, we trained a restricted Boltzmann machine and four variations of autoencoders, including an architecture proposed by a genetic algorithm, to use them as keyword identifiers and to determine which of them has the best performance to deploy it to production (deployment stage). The results show a slightly better performance of the autoencoder proposed by the genetic algorithm (GADAE), achieving a R2score of 0.97, a MAE of 14×10−3, and a MSE of 4×10−4. GADAE, the best model, managed to extract 110% more relevant tweets than manual filtering in the context of emergency-implicated tweets in Ecuador.

Utilization of Learning Management Systems (LMS) Salam Al Azhar as the Learning Process in Al Azhar 35 Islamic International Primary School

This paper explores the use of Learning Management Systems (LMS) in a primary school setting, focusing on Al Azhar 35 Islamic Primary School. LMS offers numerous advantages over traditional learning systems, and its application in primary schools is relatively rare in Indonesia. The study employs the Process Mining Project Methodology (PM2) to analyze LMS data, assess its readiness, and examine its suitability for process mining. The study identifies structured data with relevant Case ID, Activity, and Timestamp fields, indicating the data's suitability for process mining. The frequently observed LMS activities include Dashboard, Course Overview, and My Course. These activities are analyzed to assess the LMS's practicality, efficiency, and advantages. The findings reveal that LMS is beneficial for both teachers and students. The study concludes that PM2 methodology is a suitable approach for process mining in education, and the data from Al Azhar 35's LMS is ready for analysis. Future research opportunities include analyzing the learning processes in more diverse case studies, improving data quality, and exploring learning patterns in various classes, semesters, and courses.

The clean energy development path and sustainable development of the ecological environment driven by big data for mining projects

Clean energy is urgently needed to realize mining projects’ sustainable development (SD). This study aims to discuss the clean energy development path and the related issues of SD in the ecological environment driven by big data for mining projects. This study adopts a comprehensive research approach, including a literature review, case analysis, and model construction. Firstly, an in-depth literature review of the development status of clean energy is carried out, and the existing research results and technology applications are explored. Secondly, some typical mining projects are selected as cases to discuss the practice and effect of their clean energy application. Finally, the corresponding clean energy development path and the SD analysis model of the ecological environment are constructed based on big data technology to evaluate the feasibility and potential benefits of promoting and applying clean energy in mining projects. (1) It is observed that under different Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rates, the new and cumulative installed capacities of wind energy show an increasing trend. In 2022, under the low GDP growth rate, the cumulative installed capacity of global wind energy was 370.60 Gigawatt (GW), and the new installed capacity was 45 GW. With the high GDP growth rate, the cumulative and new installed capacities were 367.83 GW and 46 GW. As the economy grows, new wind energy capacity is expected to increase significantly by 2030. In 2046, 2047, and 2050, carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions reductions are projected to be 8183.35, 8539.22, and 9842.73 Million tons (Mt) (low scenario), 8750.68, 9087.16, and 10,468.75 Mt (medium scenario), and 9083.03, 9458.86, and 10,879.58 Mt (high scenario). By 2060, it is expected that CO2 emissions reduction will continue to increase. (2) The proposed clean energy development path model has achieved a good effect. Through this study, it is hoped to provide empirical support and decision-making reference for the development of mining projects in clean energy, and promote the SD of the mining industry, thus achieving a win-win situation of economic and ecological benefits. This is of great significance for protecting the ecological environment and realizing the sustainable utilization of resources.

Comprehensive quantitative evaluation of the future mining: A comparison of socio-economic benefits and eco-environmental impacts

Mineral resources are fundamental to national economic growth, while the mining activities associated with them inevitably generate some eco-environmental impacts (EEI). However, a quantitative comparison of socio-economic benefits (SEB) and EEI in the context of future mining projects has not yet been sufficiently addressed. To rectify this, we have innovatively developed a comprehensive quantitative evaluation (CQE) model in this study. This model takes into account the positive benefits of national strategic significance, societal and economic aspects, and calculates the negative environmental impact (EI) and ecosystem service loss (ESL), all based on the characteristics of the regional eco-environment. We applied our CQE model to four representative gold deposits located in the Western Guangdong Gold Deposit Belt (WGGDB), South China, for a comprehensive quantitative evaluation. Our findings reveal that since it began operations, the Hetai mine has generated substantial socio-economic wealth (12565.45 million yuan). However, considering the Huangnikeng gold deposit's vast gold resource reserve (20.21 t), significant socio-economic benefits, and minimal eco-environmental impacts per ton, it emerges as the most promising candidate for development. This new model can enhance our understanding of sustainable development by providing a novel perspective that quantitatively evaluates the balance between socio-economic benefits and eco-environmental impacts. This comprehensive approach allows for more informed decision-making and responsible resource management.

‘Know when to fold 'em’: Policy uncertainty and acquisition abandonment

AbstractThis study investigates how policy uncertainty affects the acquisition process during the post‐announcement period. Utilising a sample of Australian mining project acquisitions over 1998–2017, we find that rising policy uncertainty after initial acquisition announcements is associated with delays in deal completion. In addition, prolonged high policy uncertainty plays an important role in triggering acquisition abandonment. Further, the stock market reacts less negatively to deal abandonment decisions made amid protracted policy uncertainty, and such reactions are associated with managers' explanations for terminating the deals. Overall, our findings highlight the importance of policy uncertainty as a ‘deal‐breaker’ in acquisitions.

Flowsheet design and environmental impacts of cobalt co-product recovery from complex Au-Co ores

The increasing demand for battery metals, such as cobalt, increases the attractiveness of conventionally overlooked raw materials, such as small multi-metal deposits. With the length of mining and extractive metallurgy projects, it is advantageous to evaluate possible processing routes well in advance with a variety of tools, such as experimental, piloting, simulation, and life cycle assessment. In this study, simulation-based life cycle assessment was used to compare the baseline of only recovering gold from sulfidic Au-Co-(Cu-As) ores to five scenarios where both gold and cobalt were recovered, the latter as battery grade cobalt sulfate heptahydrate. Technical performance and several impact categories affecting climate change, ecosystems, and human health, were investigated to assess the advantages and drawbacks of each option.The environmental competitiveness varied between different studied scenarios vs. observed impact categories. The baseline process - with no cobalt recovery - had the lowest energy and global warming impacts but fared worse in toxicity categories. Pressure leaching scenario achieved low toxicities but was shown to be environmentally highly intensive in all other categories. The pyrometallurgical-hydrometallurgical roasting-leaching process resulted in the lowest environmental impacts in most of the studied categories. However, in terms of acidification and photochemical oxidant creation, the fine grinding-leaching process was the best option. In all studied scenarios the major technical challenge was found to be the stabilization of arsenic, yet the technical issues can effectively be resolved by treating the arsenical and non-arsenical concentrates in separate processes. In the current results, the temporal boundary, allocation choice, and current lack of experimental work remain major sources of uncertainty.

Structure design and service performance of bionic conical pick

Heavy equipment such as continuous mining machines and shearers are widely used in coal mining projects, and conical picks are essential cutting tools. During the cutting process, different conical pick structures can have significant impacts on the cutting performance of the equipment, and the wear resistance of the conical picks will directly affect the efficiency and reliability of the equipment. In this paper, a bionic dimple-structured conical pick is designed, and a mathematical model of the dimple structure is established. The cutting performance, self-rotation performance, and wear resistance of dimple-type picks (DTPs) and ordinary-type picks (OTPs) are studied using the discrete element software EDEM and the dynamic analysis software ADAMS. The results show that during the cutting process, the trend of rotational torque over time for both types of conical picks first increases and then decreases, with the maximum rotational torque of DTP being greater than that of OTP, indicating that the self-rotation performance of DTP is superior to OTP. Compared with OTP, DTP exhibits a smaller total wear amount and better wear resistance performance. When comparing end plates equipped with DTP to those with OTP, the end plates with DTP have a smaller load fluctuation coefficient, lower cutting resistance, lower specific energy consumption for cutting, and greater total coal mass.

A roadmap for sustaining marine minerals as the green economy transitions to the blue economy

This study looks at the impact of green economy activities on marine mineral conservation, emphasizing the critical significance of circular processes in building a sustainable blue economy. The research assesses the long-term viability of European blue economies using six indicators, including the value provided by the extraction of petroleum and natural gas and support activities for mining and quarrying projects. Municipal trash generation per capita and the amount of biowaste in recycling are used to determine circular effectiveness. According to the findings, a robust green economy performance is critical for increasing the sustainability of Europe's blue economy between 2012 and 2019. The link between the green and blue economies is nonlinear, with positive benefits shown when the green economy exceeds a particular threshold. Furthermore, the study validates these findings by investigating the impact of the green economy on ocean energy and marine minerals. These empirical findings have important significances for European authorities and policymakers aiming to effectively implement green programs in order to advance toward a sustainable blue economy and preserve marine mineral levels.

The role of intercultural differences and challenges faced in negotiating active mine sites'rehabilitation objectives from Africa to Europe

Analysing the challenges that govern an active mining project during negotiations, especially its rehabilitation, can give a better insight from a cross-cultural perspective. Despite the cultural variations distinguished by region or country, there can be common strategies in negotiating rehabilitation objectives of mine sites via specific negotiation strategies. This study investigates how intercultural differences influence the rehabilitation of active mine sites from Africa to Europe. The goal is to provide new insights into cultural differences regarding the communication process in negotiations, issue an unprecedented groundwork for research, and contribute to practitioners of cross-cultural business negotiations by better understanding the context. Through semi-structured interviews, primary data was collected from participants representing a multinational mining corporation based in Europe negotiating the rehabilitation of active mine sites in Cameroon and South Africa. The analysis employed a data reduction process, interpreting the collected data, connecting it to existing literature, and analysing the findings. The outcomes showed the significance of cultural dimensions to variables of international business negotiations. They indicated the attention that culturally diverse organisations must pay to them to increase their chances of succeeding in rehabilitating mine sites’ integration. African and European stakeholders demonstrated opposing negotiation styles that affect how they communicate, build their agreements, show their emotions, and are willing to take risks.

Applying Nonnegative Matrix Factorization for Underground Mining Method Selection Based on Mining Projects' Historical Data

Applying Nonnegative Matrix Factorization for Underground Mining Method Selection Based on Mining Projects' Historical Data

Barriers to local community participation in mining projects: The eroding role of power imbalance and information asymmetry

Mining activities produce environmental, economic, and social impacts that may affect the quality of people’s lives in surrounding communities. Community participation in decisions that can affect their safety and wellbeing is essential for reducing the risks and vulnerabilities of the local population. Our research attempts to understand the critical aspects that negatively affect the development of community participation in mining projects. Moreover, since community participation is key to developing trust in company-community relations, we also investigate the impact of these critical aspects on trust, as a prerequisite to an SLO. Employing qualitative methods, this study uses a mining case to investigate the major obstacles to community participation in a local community near the areas where the two largest disasters in the history of the Brazilian mining industry had recently occurred (Brumadinho 2019; Mariana 2015). We performed large document analysis and conducted 209 on-line and in-person interviews with subgroups of local people and related actors. Our results suggest that power imbalance and information asymmetry are critical obstacles to community participation when it comes to developing mining-community relationships. This study suggests that in some cases communities have no power at all to participate in the decisions that affect their safety and wellbeing.