Application of a life cycle assessment to compare environmental performance in coal mine tailings management

Adiansyah, Joni Safaat; Haque, Nawshad; John, Michele; Biswas, Wahidul K.

doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2017.05.050

Cited by 46 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 19 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…the mining plant lifetime 1the thickness of seams of the deposit 2the inclination of seams in the deposit 3the calorific value of commercial coal 4ash content in commercial coal (5) sulfur content in commercial coal (6) GEOLOGICAL AND MINING AREA (I)…”

Section: Integrated Development Indicator Of An Underground Hard Coalmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The classic approach to the methods of measuring economic efficiency is often complemented with the use of real options [2,3], which take into account the revenues of the mining enterprise after the forecast period established in the investment account process [4,5]. In the course of functioning of a mining enterprise, the economic and production indicators typical for the finances of enterprises, including primarily financial analysis, regarding economic effectiveness and production capacity, are used to assess the effects of its ongoing activity [6][7][8][9]. However, the listed accident parameters in the case of mining enterprises are affected by a number of diverse conditions that are not dependent on management decisions, and on which mining enterprises have no direct influence.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Method for Assessing the Development of Underground Hard Coal Mines on a Regional Basis: The Concept of Measurement and Research Results

Jonek-Kowalska

2018

Energies

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The functioning and development of the extractive industry depends on many unusual conditions that are not found in other industries, such as the size of deposits, the level of natural and technical hazards, geographic location, or the method of mineral extraction (open pit or underground). Therefore, it is difficult to use universal development assessment methods for such specific production units. As a result, the research undertaken in this article aims to develop an indicator method for evaluating the development potential of underground hard coal mines. This method is based on a theoretical and practical analysis of the conditions of functioning of hard coal mines, expert research, and multiple case studies verifying the operation of the presented development indicator. The first part of the article is devoted to identifying and analyzing the criteria for assessing the functioning of underground hard coal mines. Next, the essence and methodology of creating and interpreting the proposed indicator was presented. The second part of the article is empirical, and contains the results of the assessment carried out using the developed indicators for five Polish hard coal mines for the years 2011-2015. The results of the research indicate that the most important factors in the development of hard coal mines relate to the geological and mining conditions, and those concerning natural hazard levels. However, during the functioning, the financial conditions and related production conditions, which ultimately determine the survival and development of underground mining plants, gain in significance.

show abstract

Section: Integrated Development Indicator Of An Underground Hard Coalmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Method for Assessing the Development of Underground Hard Coal Mines on a Regional Basis: The Concept of Measurement and Research Results

Jonek-Kowalska

2018

Energies

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…In spite of its appeal, however, the application of LCA in the mining industry, especially in tailings management, is still a work in progress. Previous LCA studies in the literature have investigated the environmental impacts of alternative tailings management scenarios (Reid et al 2009;Song et al 2017;Adiansyah et al 2017), and compared the environmental performance of material handling systems in mining (Awuah-Offei et al 2009;Erkayaoğlu & Demirel 2016). However, a detailed analysis of the main inputs and outputs associated with tailings management at a mine site, and a systematic evaluation of the potential environmental impacts associated with them over all the stages of their life cycle have not been observed.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Life cycle assessment of tailings management options: a conceptual case study in Western Australia

Carneiro¹,

Fourie²

2019

Proceedings of the International Conference on Mine Closure

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The vast amount of waste produced by the mining industry, of which a large proportion is tailings, has the potential to cause numerous environmental problems, and represents a possible barrier to sustainability. Although the choice of a strategy for tailings management has historically been dictated primarily by technical and economic factors, the sustainability of the selected tailings disposal method is becoming increasingly important in decision-making. Life cycle assessment (LCA) has been widely adopted as an environmental systems analysis tool and can be used for evaluating the environmental impacts of mining and mineral processing operations from a life cycle perspective. In spite of its appeal, however, the application of LCA in the mining industry, especially in tailings management is still a work in progress. Aimed at addressing this research gap, this paper reports on the results of a cradle-to-grave LCA study carried out to investigate the environmental profile of two different tailings management options. A conceptual case study for the disposal of gold tailings in Western Australia as a slurry, or as filtered tailings, was considered. The environmental impacts of each option were assessed, environmental hotspots were identified, and cleaner production measures were suggested to improve the overall environmental performance of tailings operations in Australia. In the context of mine waste management, this paper ends with a discussion addressing the benefits and challenges of applying LCA as an environmental decision-support tool, providing more information to the decision-making process and facilitating better communication with stakeholders.

show abstract

“…These AMDs can make serious harmful effects on groundwater quality, river flows and ecology of around their deposits (Sengupta 1993;Simate and Ndlovu 2014;Kefeni et al 2017;Peiravi et al 2017). Moreover, coneshaped damps of coal tailing can potentially be a source of self-ignition and possible explosion (Siboni et al 2004;Adiansyah et al 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Recovery of coal particles from a tailing dam for environmental protection and economical beneficiations

Asghari

Noaparast

Shafaie

et al. 2018

Int J Coal Sci Technol

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Considerable amounts of coal particles are accumulated in the tailing dams of washing plants which can make serious environmental problems. Recovery of these particles from tailings has economically and environmentally several advantages. Maintaining natural resources and reducing discharges to the dams are the most important ones. This study was examined the possibility to recover coal particles from a tailing dam with 56.29% ash content by using series of processing techniques. For this purpose, gravity separation (jig, shaking table and spiral) and flotation tests were conducted to upgrade products. Based the optimum value of these processing methods, a flowsheet was designed to increase the rate of recovery for a wide range of coal particles. Results indicated that the designed circuit can recover over 90% of value coal particles and reduce ash content of product to less than 14%. These results can potentially be used for designing an industrial operation as a recycling plant and an appropriate instance for other areas to reduce the environmental issues of coal tailing dams.

show abstract

Application of a life cycle assessment to compare environmental performance in coal mine tailings management

Cited by 46 publications

References 19 publications

Method for Assessing the Development of Underground Hard Coal Mines on a Regional Basis: The Concept of Measurement and Research Results

Method for Assessing the Development of Underground Hard Coal Mines on a Regional Basis: The Concept of Measurement and Research Results

Life cycle assessment of tailings management options: a conceptual case study in Western Australia

Recovery of coal particles from a tailing dam for environmental protection and economical beneficiations

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About