中国有色金属学报(英文版)
Transactions of Nonferrous Metals Society of China
| Vol. 24 No. 5 May 2014 |
（1. School of Resource and Civil Engineering, Northeastern University, Shenyang 110819, China;
2. Dongmei Foundation Company of Shenyang, Shenyang 110016, China;
3. School of Economics and Management, Henan Polytechnic University, Jiaozuo 454000, China）
Abstract:The ecological costs of open pit metal mining are quantified, which include lost value of direct eco-services, lost value of indirect eco-services, prevention and restoration costs, and cost of carbon emission from energy consumption. These ecological costs are incorporated in an iterative ultimate pit optimization algorithm. A case study is presented to demonstrate the influence of ecological costs on pit design outcome. The results show that it is possible to internalize ecological costs in mine designs. The pit optimization outcome shifts considerably to the conservative side and the profitability decreases substantially when ecological costs are accounted for.
Key words: ultimate pit; optimization; ecological cost; open pit metal mine
