IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jrpoli/v85y2023ipbs0301420723005962.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Mathematical modelling of waste rock management through incorporating open-pit waste rocks in underground stope filling: An environmental approach

Author

Listed:
  • Esmailzadeh, Saghar
  • Bakhtavar, Ezzeddin
  • Mokhtarian-Asl, Mojtaba
  • Sadiq, Rehan
  • Hewage, Kasun

Abstract

Reducing the footprint of waste rock dumping would result in cost savings and mitigate the environmental impacts of mining. This study develops a mixed integer programming model for waste rock management, aimed at identifying the optimal dump location among surface waste dumps and underground stopes. The model generates an optimal waste rock dumping schedule and proposes the best destination, with the objectives of minimizing the total cost of waste rock hauling and maximizing the supply of filling materials for backfilling underground stopes from the waste rocks. By applying the model to a real metal mine, a total cost reduction of approximately 14% was accomplished by utilizing open-pit waste rocks as underground filling materials, replacing alternative sources. Sensitivity analysis approved that supplying the filling materials from waste rocks was a priority, which resulted in a reduction of 3,750,000 tonnes of dumping waste rocks on the surface and a significant reduction of the waste dump environmental footprint. The model not only improves the economics of mining operations but also mitigates the environmental impacts of open-pit waste rock dumping by using waste rocks for backfilling underground stopes instead of supplying materials from outside the mine.

Suggested Citation

  • Esmailzadeh, Saghar & Bakhtavar, Ezzeddin & Mokhtarian-Asl, Mojtaba & Sadiq, Rehan & Hewage, Kasun, 2023. "Mathematical modelling of waste rock management through incorporating open-pit waste rocks in underground stope filling: An environmental approach," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 85(PB).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jrpoli:v:85:y:2023:i:pb:s0301420723005962
    DOI: 10.1016/j.resourpol.2023.103885
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301420723005962
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.resourpol.2023.103885?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jakub Kronenberg, 2014. "Viable Alternatives for Large‐Scale Unsustainable Projects in Developing Countries: The case of the Kumtor gold mine in Kyrgyzstan," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 22(4), pages 253-264, July.
    2. Samadi, Mahdi & Bakhtavar, Ezzeddin & Hu, Guangji & Hewage, Kasun & Sadiq, Rehan, 2023. "Assessment of mine post-closure strategies by integrating evidential reasoning and fuzzy cognitive maps: Toward sustainable mining policy," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    3. Adrien Rimélé, M. & Dimitrakopoulos, Roussos & Gamache, Michel, 2018. "A stochastic optimization method with in-pit waste and tailings disposal for open pit life-of-mine production planning," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 112-121.
    4. Badakhshan, Naser & Shahriar, Kourosh & Afraei, Sajjad & Bakhtavar, Ezzeddin, 2023. "Determining the environmental costs of mining projects: A comprehensive quantitative assessment," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Dimitrios Zikos, 2020. "Revisiting the Role of Institutions in Transformative Contexts: Institutional Change and Conflicts," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(21), pages 1-20, October.
    2. Das, Ranajit & Topal, Erkan & Mardaneh, Elham, 2023. "A review of open pit mine and waste dump schedule planning," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 85(PA).
    3. Noriega, Roberto & Pourrahimian, Yashar & Ben-Awuah, Eugene, 2020. "A two-step mathematical programming framework for undercut horizon optimization in block caving mines," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    4. Bryan Salgado-Almeida & Daniel A. Falquez-Torres & Paola L. Romero-Crespo & Priscila E. Valverde-Armas & Fredy Guzmán-Martínez & Samantha Jiménez-Oyola, 2022. "Risk Assessment of Mining Environmental Liabilities for Their Categorization and Prioritization in Gold-Mining Areas of Ecuador," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(10), pages 1-17, May.
    5. Del Castillo, M. Fernanda & Dimitrakopoulos, Roussos, 2019. "Dynamically optimizing the strategic plan of mining complexes under supply uncertainty," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 83-93.
    6. Guo, Hongquan & Nguyen, Hoang & Vu, Diep-Anh & Bui, Xuan-Nam, 2021. "Forecasting mining capital cost for open-pit mining projects based on artificial neural network approach," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    7. Yuldashev, Farhod & Sahin, Bahadir, 2016. "The political economy of mineral resource use: The case of Kyrgyzstan," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 266-272.
    8. Aldin Ardian & Mustafa Kumral, 2021. "Enhancing mine risk assessment through more accurate reproduction of correlations and interactions between uncertain variables," Mineral Economics, Springer;Raw Materials Group (RMG);Luleå University of Technology, vol. 34(3), pages 411-425, October.
    9. Prema-chandra Athukorala, 2018. "Export structure and performance in a landlocked transitional economy: The case of Kyrgyz Republic," Departmental Working Papers 2018-24, The Australian National University, Arndt-Corden Department of Economics.
    10. Devendra Joshi & Marwan Ali Albahar & Premkumar Chithaluru & Aman Singh & Arvind Yadav & Yini Miro, 2022. "A Novel Approach to Integrating Uncertainty into a Push Re-Label Network Flow Algorithm for Pit Optimization," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 10(24), pages 1-20, December.
    11. Rimélé, Adrien & Dimitrakopoulos, Roussos & Gamache, Michel, 2020. "A dynamic stochastic programming approach for open-pit mine planning with geological and commodity price uncertainty," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    12. Armstrong, Margaret & Lagos, Tomas & Emery, Xavier & Homem-de-Mello, Tito & Lagos, Guido & Sauré, Denis, 2021. "Adaptive open-pit mining planning under geological uncertainty," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    13. Jin-Biao Lu & Zhi-Jiang Liu & Dmitry Tulenty & Liudmila Tsvetkova & Sebastian Kot, 2021. "Implementation of Stochastic Analysis in Corporate Decision-Making Models," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 9(9), pages 1-16, May.
    14. Parviz Sohrabi & Hesam Dehghani & Behshad Jodeiri Shokri, 2022. "Determination of optimal production rate under price uncertainty—Sari Gunay gold mine, Iran," Mineral Economics, Springer;Raw Materials Group (RMG);Luleå University of Technology, vol. 35(2), pages 187-201, June.
    15. Carlos Cacciuttolo & Edison Atencio, 2023. "In-Pit Disposal of Mine Tailings for a Sustainable Mine Closure: A Responsible Alternative to Develop Long-Term Green Mining Solutions," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(8), pages 1-24, April.
    16. Samadi, Mahdi & Bakhtavar, Ezzeddin & Hu, Guangji & Hewage, Kasun & Sadiq, Rehan, 2023. "Assessment of mine post-closure strategies by integrating evidential reasoning and fuzzy cognitive maps: Toward sustainable mining policy," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:jrpoli:v:85:y:2023:i:pb:s0301420723005962. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/inca/30467 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.