Multi-Criteria Analysis of Potential Applications of Waste from Rock Minerals Mining

Abstract

Featured Application: The paper presents a two stage, multicriteria-based methodology for evaluation of mining waste potential use that can be applied to any type of mining waste site. Abstract:The article describes the research on the analysis of the economic use of mining and processing waste produced and stored on the premises of active mining plants exploiting rock raw materials in the context of the reduce-recycle-reuse (3R) concept. To assess the potential economic applications of the investigated wastes, a two-stage methodology based on a multicriteria analysis using the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) algorithm was proposed. Preliminary research produced an inventory of active mining plants storing mining and processing waste on their premises (62 locations). Then, preliminary qualitative analysis was carried out to assess mining waste locations at the environmental and social level consistent with the idea of circular economy-CE (20 locations). Next, in the first stage of the multi-criteria analysis, six directions of economic use of the investigated waste were analyzed and their significance was determined. These directions are use in road and railroad construction, construction, agriculture, reclamation and development of post-mining areas, food industry, and storage at landfills of mining and processing waste on the premises of a mining plant. In the result of the assessment of potential economic applications of mining waste, recommendations for directions of economic use were obtained for the six highest classified mining waste sites. The recommendations were determined in the second stage of multi-criteria analysis by deriving the local preferences (waste sites) for the alternatives (waste uses).concept is the optimization of the use of resources in accordance with the so-called 3R principle (reduce-recycle-reuse) [2,3].Territorial scope of the research carried out in the publication concerned the area of Lower Silesia, which is located in the southwest part of Poland (Figure 1). This region is the most interesting in Poland in terms of rich accumulation of rocks with diverse genesis and age. Additionally, over 90% of minerals extracted in Poland for the production of construction and road elements originate from deposits located in the Lower Silesia region [4]. The subject of the research are active mining plants, which extract and process rock raw materials, such as bentonites, dolomites, ceramic and refractory clays, crushed and dimension stones, vein quartz, phylite and mica schists, magnesites, sands, and gravels. The period covered by the study concerned the years 2010-2016. The research method used for the purpose of collecting and analysing the source data was the method of examining documents, consisting of collecting, selecting, describing and interpreting the facts contained in it. The research was limited to establishing the actual state of affairs, which the sources consisted of data archived in the period 2010-2016 from databases of the Marshal's Office, District Mining Office, Poli...

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Spatial and Multicriteria Analysis of Dimension Stones and Crushed Rocks Quarrying in the Context of Sustainable Regional Development: Case Study of Lower Silesia (Poland)

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