ASSESSING GLOBAL LAND REQUIREMENT FOR SURFACE COPPER MINING

Abstract

Most available LCA-tools and databases still lack reliable information on the extent of land used for processing and supplying raw materials like minerals and metals. The amount of land disturbed by facilitating these resources which are of vital interest for the development of every modern society can be used as a key indicator for a number of sustainable development issues associated with a mining activity. In this work, a new methodical approach for estimating land requirement for surface copper mining operations is introduced. For the reference year 1998; facts and figures concerning global land requirement for surface copper mining operations are presented. The work closes with a short discussion and gives an outlook to forthcoming research.