Nor Sidki-Rius’s research while affiliated with Polytechnic University of Catalonia and other places

Subsidence is one of the main environmental impacts of underground mining worldwide. Besides, the increasing complexity of underground mining due to greater depths and interaction with inhabited and environmentally sensitive areas can lead to challenges that may threaten the viability of mining due to phenomena such as subsidence. This research aims to increase the knowledge about surface subsidence due to underground mining, characterising the main factors that rule mining subsidence utilising an actual mine that extracts potash. The calculation methodology was based on 74 sections of the subsidence basin, using GPS measurements and the InSAR technique, with data collected over twelve nonconsecutive years from 1995 to 2021. Thus, three different active areas and one residual area were determined. Average boundary angles and their average distances of influence for the active regions have also been determined. Furthermore, using the least squares method, the subsidence basin curve was defined using a Gaussian function. The algorithm that governs the subsidence process has been successfully calculated, allowing the approximation of the deformation of any point within an area of interest. The novelty of this paper is twofold: the results obtained provide a detailed subsidence behaviour and a prediction model of the case study. Furthermore, the methodology implemented can be applied to other subsidence basins with mines in their area of influence. Hence improving the surface mining area’s safety levels and managing the environmental impacts.

The aim of this research is to investigate the effect of corporate social responsibility (CSR) on total factor productivity (TFP) in the European mining industry, considering micro- and macroeconomic indicators of the relationship between CSR and TFP. Employing data from 40 European mining companies from content analysis, CSR Hub, and the World Bank between 2018 and 2021, this paper utilizes a combination of Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) and panel regression techniques to test the research hypotheses. The findings suggest that the TFP of European mining firms is positively affected by CSR initiatives implemented by the companies. Also, the empirical results depict that the CSR-TFP relationship is mainly established on institutional criteria. The results also indicate that CSR-related factors, namely, transparency and reporting, training, health and safety, and resource management, are the impacting indicators. The study broadens the horizons of this line of research and can be beneficial to CEOs, managers, experts, policymakers, decision-makers, and economists in the field of mining who are willing to promote responsible and sustainable mining.

A mineralogical and mineral chemistry study was carried out in the San Luis Alta telluride-rich gold deposit, mid-south Peru, to contribute towards determining its formation and improving the ore processing. The San Luis mineralization is considered an intrusion-related gold deposit located in the Arequipa segment of the Coastal Batholith. The mineralization occurs in quartz veins hosted in diorites and granodiorites from the Tiabaya Super-Unit. These veins are sulfide-rich in the deep areas and contain abundant iron oxides. Sulfides are mainly pyrite with minor chalcopyrite and galena. Native gold and telluride minerals are abundant. Mineral chemistry was determined using an electron microprobe. The mineralogy of veins was classified into four stages. Gold occurs in the three last stages either in large grains, visible to the naked eye, or, more frequently, in grains of less than 10 µm. Gold appears as grains encapsulated in pyrite, Fe oxides, quartz and filling fractures. The first stage is characterized by the deposition of quartz and massive pyrite, which does not contain gold. During the second stage, hessite, calaverite, petzite and altaite are formed. Additionally, Bi-tellurides, mainly volynskite, rucklidgeite, kochkarite and tellurobusmuthine, are formed. Some of these minerals occur as blebs encapsulated in pyrite, suggesting that a Bi-Te-rich melt was formed from the ore-forming hydrothermal fluid and transported the Au and Ag elements. This stage was followed by a fracturing event and tellurobismuthite, tetradymite and montbrayite precipitated. In the last stage, a supergene replacement formed covellite, bornite and goethite. Te-Bi minerals do not appear in this stage, but selenium minerals occur in minor amounts. Chlorargyrite and iodargyrite occur and are associated with gold.

Subsidence is an important environmental and safety issue in the mining sector, yet there remain voids in knowledge in terms of management and prediction. This study aims to improve knowledge on the impact of mining operations on the surface, reducing their effect on the environment, increasing the safety of mining operations, monitoring stress behavior and predicting rock mass. Therefore, an analysis was carried out to process and analyze the measured subsidence data and, subsequently, create a numerical model to predict the surface subsidence of a case study mine. The model was developed based on a finite element method (FEM). It was achieved by considering the geological characteristics of the area, the design features of the mine, the surface subsidence measured over twelve years and the time-dependent behavior of the geological layers. The correlation obtained between the measured subsidence and the modelling results was very satisfactory, with a 90% confidence level, over the years analyzed. Hence, the efficiency of the system was confirmed, enabling the evaluation and the prediction of potential surface effects, and therefore improving the safety and environmental levels of the mining area.

Future engineers, in addition to technical knowledge, should incorporate in their academic curricula aspects that contribute to make mining a sustainable activity. This will contribute to changing the concept that society has about mining and to be a socially accepted activity. In the mining engineering studies at the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC), students have the opportunity to develop cooperation projects together with professors and other staff members. They all collaborate with artisanal miners from different underdeveloped countries, mainly from Latin America, and contribute to making mining more environmentally friendly. Moreover, they have the opportunity to acquire a social sensitivity that can be of great importance during the development of their professional career. This study presents some experiences of undergraduate, master, and doctoral students in cooperation activities in mining. The projects were developed as a collaboration between UPC and universities or NOGs in Latin America. The activities have been carried out in underdeveloped areas where mining is practiced with a high environmental impact and poor use of resources. A survey among the participants in the projects shows the students' favourable perception of this activity.

The production of mineral resources from quarrying is vital and irreplaceable for providing raw materials for a wide range of economic sectors. Additionally, today's society demands a supply of mineral resources that is as sustainable as possible. This paper presents a comprehensive LCA study comparing two commonly used techniques to extract mineral resources for quarrying, using the cradle-to-gate approach. The global warming potential (GWP) is used as the main indicator, although all the other potential emissions from the extraction process are also calculated. The results obtained reveal that blasting techniques have a lower impact on global warming (−28%) and generate less fuel metal emissions (−75%) than mechanical extraction. However, the emissions of PM2.5, PM10 and TSP are 2–3 times higher. Hence, the most optimal type of quarrying, regarding the environmental constraints, depends on the impacts in each specific case. In all of the scenarios analysed, the ore loading and handling stage is one of the main GWP contributors, while the contributions of the extraction system (e.g., mechanical or drill and blast) and mineral processing vary depending on the extraction technique used and the product analysed (e.g., aggregates or natural stone). The suggested approach can be used as a powerful tool to assess each case and determine the best choice regarding the environmental impacts of the mineral extraction process, as well as to reduce its emissions.