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<p>Transitioning from open pit to underground mining is a complex yet essential decision that impacts the long-term economic viability, environmental sustainability, and technical feasibility of a mining operation. It’s a choice that affects not just costs and production, but also the long-term environmental and social footprint of the operation. This study introduces a practical, multi-criteria framework to identify the optimal transition depth by combining key indicators such as the Composite Sustainability Index (CSI), stripping ratio, environmental performance, and geomechanical conditions. The CSI is calculated based on economic, environmental and social factors. We applied this framework to a Copper Project in India, where analysis revealed that underground mining becomes the better option below 250&#xa0;m. At that depth, the CSI improved by 30.91%, the stripping ratio reached 7.4, and the environmental score was 0.16 higher than that of open-pit mining. Using block modeling and Kriging interpolation allowed for accurate ore distribution estimates, while copper-specific factors like sulfide content and valuable byproducts fine-tuned the sustainability assessment. The findings show that putting sustainability at the center of mine planning leads to smarter, more responsible decisions. Looking ahead, the integration of real-time data and adaptive technologies could make this kind of decision-making even more effective and the future ready.</p>

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A Sustainable Multi-Criteria Decision Framework for Optimizing Open-Pit to Underground Transition Depth in Copper Mines

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2025年7月1日

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  • Soumyadeep Paty,
  • Biswajit Samanta

摘要

Transitioning from open pit to underground mining is a complex yet essential decision that impacts the long-term economic viability, environmental sustainability, and technical feasibility of a mining operation. It’s a choice that affects not just costs and production, but also the long-term environmental and social footprint of the operation. This study introduces a practical, multi-criteria framework to identify the optimal transition depth by combining key indicators such as the Composite Sustainability Index (CSI), stripping ratio, environmental performance, and geomechanical conditions. The CSI is calculated based on economic, environmental and social factors. We applied this framework to a Copper Project in India, where analysis revealed that underground mining becomes the better option below 250 m. At that depth, the CSI improved by 30.91%, the stripping ratio reached 7.4, and the environmental score was 0.16 higher than that of open-pit mining. Using block modeling and Kriging interpolation allowed for accurate ore distribution estimates, while copper-specific factors like sulfide content and valuable byproducts fine-tuned the sustainability assessment. The findings show that putting sustainability at the center of mine planning leads to smarter, more responsible decisions. Looking ahead, the integration of real-time data and adaptive technologies could make this kind of decision-making even more effective and the future ready.