Estimation of environmental impacts of mining technologies.

A methodology is presented for determining the environmental friendliness which takes into account technical/technological and economic/commercial factors. Six mining techniques, in addition to drilling and blasting, were examined with regard to production costs and environmental effects caused by SO2, CO2, cumulative energy input, noise, vibration and dust using a model of a deposit in a fissured rock formation with a pressure resistance of 20 MPa. The data were scaled and fed into an evaluation matrix and the results assessed for an open-cast mine close to a sensitive area (a town or village) and a remote open-cast mine. Vertical ripping, drilling and blasting and cutting were shown to be the most cost-effective mining techniques and also the most environmentally friendly ones in operations with a production capacity of 300 000 t/a.
A methodology is presented for determining the environmental friendliness which takes into account technical/technological and economic/commercial factors. Six mining techniques, in addition to drilling and blasting, were examined with regard to production costs and environmental effects caused by SO2, CO2, cumulative energy input, noise, vibration and dust using a model of a deposit in a fissured rock formation with a pressure resistance of 20 MPa. The data were scaled and fed into an evaluation matrix and the results assessed for an open-cast mine close to a sensitive area (a town or village) and a remote open-cast mine. Vertical ripping, drilling and blasting and cutting were shown to be the most cost-effective mining techniques and also the most environmentally friendly ones in operations with a production capacity of 300 000 t/a.