Alluvial Mining Operations: A Sustainable Guideline and Cash Flow Evaluation Model

Alluvial Mining Operations: A Sustainable Guideline and Cash Flow Evaluation Model

Harskamp, R.G.

De Ruiter, J.J. (mentor)

Civil Engineering and Geosciences

Geotechnology

2010-04-12

The past five decades an unparalleled growth in societal demand for raw materials occurred which led to sometimes-irreversible negative impacts on the earth’s ecological system. Consequently sustainable issues are of growing importance in the world and this awareness is present among customers of IHC Merwede B.V. (IHC), their customers start to demand sustainability to be incorporated in products and services. IHC intends to anticipate to this growing future demand and to invest in building up knowledge and implementing sustainability in their products and services. An Alluvial Mining Operation (AMO) has an inevitable impact on the complex ecological (environment, landscape) and social (local communities) systems. To understand such systems and implement sustainability into practice, more knowledge is required. An extensive review of literature on sustainability currently in use by the mining industry, specific characteristics in the alluvial mining industry, and improvement opportunities for a more sustainable approach have led to a sustainable guideline for AMOs. The following main conclusions concerning the sustainable guideline were identified: Sustainable issues in the mining industry can be applied very well in AMOs. During the operation phase material handling and water management are key parameters for a sustainable AMO. The International Finance Corporation stakeholder engagement process and performance standards are very functional tools during the exploration and feasibility study phases. The framework of the International Council on Mining & Metals is globally most utilized and can be applied during all mining phases. Improvement opportunities are: A better understanding of the ecological and social system is required. Notice that relevant data collection about the system is time consuming. Initiatives such as Building With Nature will help to gain more knowledge and insight in the (eco)system; A corporate mind of sustainability for all related stakeholders, on and off-site, is essential during the whole mine life; Backcasting is a useful method to road-map community projects to maximize societal value; Land-based AMOs alternative, self-generating energy sources are very interesting opportunities; For dredge mining equipment opportunities as essential sustainable parameters are reduction and minimization of emissions, turbidity, material stewardship and improved energy efficiency; and in every country with the potential for placer mining it is recommended to establish specific SD guidelines for each specific ecosystem that occurs. Due to the continuous and concurrent reclamation method only a small amount has to be reclaimed for complete closure. The South African department of minerals and energy developed a useful guideline to estimate closure costs. For further research the Gold Sands project in Peru is chosen to verify the validity of Sustainable Development issues in AMO. The main conclusions concerning the sustainable cash flow model are: Data collection to valuate sustainable indicators that affect the cash flow is difficult. The required social related data is eventually only applicable for Peruvian mining operations. Despite the difficulties for sustainable data collection, a sustainable cash flow model has been developed successfully. The mining systems selection tool serves both integrated investment analysis and production planning. The effect of alterations in the selection tool is clearly visualized in the plotted graphs. Project’s economic viability is positive within the sustainable case and the sensitivity analysis shows that sustainability is not a key parameter that influences the viability of the project.

alluvial mining
SD
guideline
cash flow model

http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:8d1256d1-33da-476a-9e69-f62a5b56fe1e

2012-04-11

Student theses

master thesis

(c) 2010 Harskamp, R.G.