Environmental and mine closure costs in the block sequencing of a coal deposit

Abstract

At present, extractive industries face significant sustainability challenges in the territories where they operate. Traditionally, environmental and social variables have not been integrated into the processes of optimization and sequencing in mining plans, leading to outcomes that are not holistic and are accompanied by higher risks. Efforts to reduce geological, economic, and operational uncertainty have seen considerable progress in recent years. However, limited research addresses the environmental and social uncertainties that mining projects may face. This research proposes the internalization of the costs associated with the closure of the mine, environmental costs and costs of conflict resolution, calculated based on equations suggested by various authors in the state of the art. The base case of an open pit coal mine located in Colombia with previously established initial conditions and associated costs, calculated after the optimization process, is addressed. Subsequently, a new case is generated in which these costs are charged to the economic valuation of the mineral, punishing its calorific value. At the end, a sensitivity analysis is carried out with the future projections of the price of coal. The results obtained indicate that, by internalizing these costs, it is possible to reduce the investment risk and there is an improvement in the operational, social and environmental performance of the case study. Results that could benefit the company, the State and the communities.