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. 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).
    2. 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.
    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)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Bakhtavar, Ezzeddin & Saberi, Sahra & Hu, Guangji & Sadiq, Rehan & Hewage, Kasun, 2023. "Fuzzy cognitive-based goal programming for waste rock management with in-pit dumping priority: Towards sustainable mining," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 86(PB).
    2. Yıldız, Taşkın Deniz & Güner, Mehmet Oğuz & Kural, Orhan, 2024. "Effects of EU-Compliant mining waste regulation on Turkish mining sector: A review of characterization, classification, storage, management, recovery of mineral wastes," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    3. Yıldız, Taşkın Deniz, 2024. "Considering the development levels of countries, contributions of mineral recovery from mining tailings and urban mining wastes to sustainability criteria – A review," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).

    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. Yıldız, Taşkın Deniz & Güner, Mehmet Oğuz & Kural, Orhan, 2024. "Effects of EU-Compliant mining waste regulation on Turkish mining sector: A review of characterization, classification, storage, management, recovery of mineral wastes," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    2. Yıldız, Taşkın Deniz, 2024. "Considering the development levels of countries, contributions of mineral recovery from mining tailings and urban mining wastes to sustainability criteria – A review," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    3. Bakhtavar, Ezzeddin & Saberi, Sahra & Hu, Guangji & Sadiq, Rehan & Hewage, Kasun, 2023. "Fuzzy cognitive-based goal programming for waste rock management with in-pit dumping priority: Towards sustainable mining," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 86(PB).
    4. Badakhshan, Naser & Shahriar, Kourosh & Afraei, Sajjad & Bakhtavar, Ezzeddin, 2024. "Optimization of transition from open-pit to underground mining considering environmental costs," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 95(C).
    5. Jonek-Kowalska, Izabela, 2024. "Demonstrating the need for a just transition: Socioeconomic diagnosis of polish cities living on hard coal mining," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    6. Dimitrios Zikos, 2020. "Revisiting the Role of Institutions in Transformative Contexts: Institutional Change and Conflicts," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(21), pages 1-20, October.
    7. Gholami, Alireza & Tokac, Batur & Zhang, Qian, 2024. "Knowledge synthesis on the mine life cycle and the mining value chain to address climate change," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 95(C).
    8. Feng, Ye & Chen, Jinglong & Luo, Ji, 2024. "Life cycle cost analysis of power generation from underground coal gasification with carbon capture and storage (CCS) to measure the economic feasibility," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).
    9. Xiaochuan Xu & Zhenguo Zhu & Luqing Ye & Xiaowei Gu & Qing Wang & Yunqi Zhao & Siyi Liu & Yuqi Zhao, 2024. "Ultimate Pit Limit Optimization Method with Integrated Consideration of Ecological Cost, Slope Safety and Benefits: A Case Study of Heishan Open Pit Coal Mine," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(13), pages 1-29, June.
    10. Fang, Dong & Wang, Shijun & Hao, Feilong & Li, Zhuowei & Wang, Qianrong, 2024. "Exploring the influence of sustainable regional planning on green economic growth: Evidence from Guangdong-Hong Kong- Macao Greater Bay Area and ASEAN+6," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    11. Das, Ranajit & Topal, Erkan & Mardaneh, Elham, 2023. "A review of open pit mine and waste dump schedule planning," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 85(PA).
    12. 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).
    13. 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.
    14. Bastianin, Andrea & Del Bo, Chiara F. & Shamsudin, Luqman, 2025. "The geography of mining and its environmental impact in Europe," FEEM Working Papers 352147, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei (FEEM).
    15. 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.
    16. Mehri Aghdamigargari & Sylvester Avane & Angelina Anani & Sefiu O. Adewuyi, 2024. "Sustainability in Long-Term Surface Mine Planning: A Systematic Review of Operations Research Applications," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(22), pages 1-24, November.
    17. 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).
    18. 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.
    19. Andrea Bastianin & Chiara F. Del Bo & Luqman Shamsudin, 2025. "The geography of mining and its environmental impact in Europe," Working Papers 2025.08, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei.
    20. Berberoglu, Yalcin & Mangla, Sachin Kumar & Kazancoglu, Yigit, 2024. "Towards sustainable mining in an emerging economy: Assessment of sustainability challenges," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 97(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.