Strategic Planning for Permitting at Abandoned Mine Tailings

Peter Bell

MPRA Paper from University Library of Munich, Germany

Abstract: This article presents a framework for evaluating the economic implications of different permitting decisions for mining exploration projects based on the legal framework for British Columbia. The article builds models for different types of exploration permits, together with budgets and types of geological information that each proposed exploration strategy would generate. One example is a mechanical trenching permit that allows 1,000 tonnes to be removed per year. If the trenching focuses on ultra-high-grade ore, then it may have a gross metal value greater than $1 million per year. The article describes how this gross metal value may be split between costs and revenues, depending on whether the material is sold as raw ore, concentrates, or refined metal. The second example is based on a mineral claim that covers 60 hectares and includes two abandoned mine tailings sites 1 kilometre apart with a mineralized fault running between them. The article describes two strategies to clean up these abandoned tailings based on an unlimited budget and a near-zero budget.

Keywords: Mining; Tailings; Abandoned Mine; Environmental; Copper; Zinc; BC; Canada (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: B5 C6 C8 C81 D2 D7 E0 E01 F3 G1 G17 H1 H5 H54 H57 K2 K23 L32 L5 L7 L72 N5 O1 O13 O2 P1 Q3 Q33 Q5 Y1 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025-12-24
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