Cost–Benefit Analysis and Risk Assessment for Mining Activities in Terms of Circular Economy and Their Environmental Impact

Abstract

Mining activities are prolific worldwide in light of the perpetual production of metal. The high need for metal materials in human life necessitates the development of mining operations, especially in places characterized as being highly enriched in metal ions. After the separation of beneficial and non-beneficial materials, industrial enrichment mechanisms take place to increase metal output. These mechanisms, known as metallurgical procedures, produce a vast volume of mining/metallurgical waste (MMW) at final disposal sites. MMW’s composition usually includes metal filings in low-pH site conditions. Thus, the environmental pollution hazard is high unless sustainable methods are implemented to reduce both heavy and toxic metals’ concentration in MMW at every disposal site. The scope of this review is to determine how cost–benefit analysis (CBA) and risk assessment (RA) could contribute positively to (a) the environmental effect of MMW reduction, (b) decreasing the environmental rehabilitation cost, and (c) research into economically sustainable methods of recovering metal from MMW.