OPEN-PIT MINING method has severe environmental impacts which should be prevented, monitored, controlled, and reduced by mined-land reclamation process. After mine closure, a permanent post-MINING land use should be implemented as an appropriate choice for using different sections of mined land. The most appropriate alternative of post-MINING land use for each section of mined land is presented as the optimum post-MINING land use. PIT area among different sections of mined land has more significant effects on the environment and also on defining the optimum post-MINING land use for other sections of mined land. Though there are several alternatives and criteria for defining the optimum post-MINING land use, the multi-attribute decision-making methods can be efficient techniques in this regard. The nature of the effective parameters used for defining the optimum post-MINING land use is the same as Fuzzy numbers including incremental changes without definite limits. Thus, application of the Fuzzy multi-attribute decision-making modeling can produce more reliable results than that of other techniques. As well, pair-wise comparisons and judgments through Fuzzy numbers have proper consistency with the nature of the effective parameters; therefore, a model is developed to attain the optimum post-MINING land use for PIT area through Fuzzy analytical hierarchy processing. As a case study, the model was implemented in Sungun copper mine in the Northwest of Iran. Forestry–lumber production was defined as the optimum post-MINING land use containing the greatest relative importance coefficient 3.019 for the PIT area in this mine.

There are some large scale orebodies that extend from surface to the extreme depths of the ground. Such orebodies should be extracted by a combination of surface and underground MINING methods. Economically, it is highly important to know the limit of upper and lower MINING activities. This concern leads the mine designers to the transition problem, which is one of the most complicated problems in MINING industry. The transition problem is categorized as a strategic one and is formulated in the form of long-term production scheduling problems. This implies that the transition problem is highly affected by the uncertainties that are rooted in the quantity and quality of an explored orebody. The current study aims to evaluate the effects of geological uncertainty on transition depth. To this aim, an integer programming (IP) model was executed on different simulations of an orebody. The results indicate that the net present value (NPV) of the deterministic solution is greater than that of the basic alternative. However, the uncertainty-based solutions show that the NPV of the whole MINING operation is lower than the basic and deterministic solutions mostly (more than 72% of the simulations). Nevertheless, there are some rare cases in which the NPV of the operation may increase ideally up to 2. 5 % due to development of the PIT bottom downward. Finally, because of a negligible difference between the average NPV of the simulations and that of basic alternative, it is expected that the primitive PIT bottom would play the role of transition depth.

New technologies and higher prices of raw materials have promoted the expansion of MINING activity throughout the world; if not properly regulated, this activity can lead to contamination of the local and regional environment. The city of Cerro de Pasco is located close to a large OPEN-PIT mine and in recent years, several reports have provided evidence of environmental contamination and related health problems. The aim of this paper is to evaluate the contamination in fluvial water, sediments and biological fluids from this area. The collective results show elevated metal and metalloid concentrations in rivers and sediments, especially in the areas downstream of the mine. For instance, Pb concentration in rivers downstream of the mine was 4.451 mg/L, while it was 0.037 mg/L upstream of the mine. Sediments also show higher concentration of metals and metalloids in the areas under the influence of the mine. Concentrations of elements in human blood were measured in the population of Paragsha, a village close to the mine. Analysis of the blood samples revealed elevated levels of metals and metalloids, particularly Pb, Cr, Al, Ni and Mn. All of the studied population showed blood concentrations of Al, Cr and Ni higher than those recommended by the WHO. The high concentration of elements found in the blood of the population could be related to the high concentration in the surrounding water sources, but further studies are required to determine the exact sources of exposure to these metals and metalloids.

This study attempted to use the image processing techniques for estimating the discontinuity network detection in dimension stones from OPEN-PIT MINING work front. The mentioned processing techniques are utilized to determine the discontinuities distribution of the rock mass as geometrical properties charging instability condition in excavation process in quarry. To evaluate the discontinuity network detection from quarry work front used image processing-based algorithm were run in Python programming languages. The algorithm, first of all, identifies the discontinuities and generates the network of discontinuities emplacements to model the rock body in quarry work front. To this end, the triple processing steps included pre-processing, main processing and post-processing are conducted to model. According to the results of computer-based simulation of discontinuity network, the used algorithm is capable to detect the discontinuities emplacements in rock mass and recognize the main rock block spatial distribution in quarry work front.

Expansion of MINING PIT is associated with an increased risk of slope instability and high costs. This is because changes in geometry of the mine slope significantly affect slope stability, alter the stripping ratio, and potentially threaten the continuity of MINING operations. Therefore, this research work aimed to investigate the impact of changes in geometry of MINING PIT on slope stability to provide insight into safety, economic assurances, and ensure the sustainability of MINING operations. This research work was applied by the 2D numerical modeling method using the Slide Software V. 6.0 Rocscience to analyze geometry of MINING PIT and impact on slope safety factors. The investigation was conducted at PIT Block A of Pt. Hikari Jeindo, managing nickel MINING activities in the Langgikima District, North Konawe, Regency, Southeast Sulawesi Province, Indonesia. The results showed that the modeling method successfully showed changes in slope geometry, ensuring safe and economically viable slope safety factors. However, to obtain a more comprehensive understanding of slope stability conditions, a 3D numerical modeling method is required to capture the area affected by expansion of MINING PIT.