Determining the Appropriate Rehabilitation Method in Open-Pit mines using Decision-Making Methods: A Case Study of the Zarshuran Gold Mine

Monjezi, Masoud; Moezinia, Safa; Hamidi, Jafar Khademi; Rezakhah, Mojtaba; Amini, Vahid; Batarbiat, Amir

doi:10.22044/jme.2025.15644.3004

Document Type : Original Research Paper

Authors

¹ Department of Mining Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran

² 5. Department of Mining Engineering, Amirkabir University of Technology, Tehran, Iran

10.22044/jme.2025.15644.3004

Abstract

Open-pit mine rehabilitation is essential for managing environmental impacts and achieving sustainable development after mining operations cease. The goal of this study is to find the best way to fix up the Zarshuran Gold Mine by ranking eight different ways to fix it up using the Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process (FAHP). These options are restoring the mine to its original state, planting trees, building a wind farm, creating a recreational area, setting up pastures, farming, building a solar power plant, and creating a tourist attraction. A panel of twelve experts evaluated these alternatives according to ten key criteria: air temperature intensity, number of sunny days, soil conditions, distance from residential areas, topographic irregularity, vegetation density, average wind speed, local animal species, site access, and the size and shape of the mined area. The results indicate that the construction of a solar power plant is identified as the most suitable rehabilitation option for the Zarshuran Gold Mine, considering the region’s climatic conditions (particularly the high number of sunny days per year) and its potential for clean energy generation and revenue creation. This study emphasizes the importance of considering environmental, social, and technical criteria in the decision-making process for mine rehabilitation and provides a framework for selecting sustainable rehabilitation methods in similar mining contexts.

Keywords

Main Subjects

Mine Reclamation

References

[1]. Pouresmaieli, M., Qarahasanlou, A. N., & Ataei, M. (2024). An evolution in sustainable development: Integrating new semi-quantitative assessment model with strategic management (Insights from the mineral sector). Case Studies in Chemical and Environmental Engineering, 10, 100983.

[2]. Pouresmaieli, M., Ataei, M., & Qarahasanlou, A. N. (2023). A scientometrics view on sustainable development in surface mining: Everything from the beginning. Resources Policy, 82, 103410.

[3]. Mirzehi, M., Rezakhah, M., Mousavi, A., & Nabavi, Z. (2023). New MIP model for short-term planning in open-pit mines considering loading machine performance: A case study in Iran. International Journal of Mining and Mineral Engineering, 14(4), 341–364.

[4]. Mirzehi Kalateh Kazemi, M., Nabavi, Z., Rezakhah, M., & Masoudi, A. (2023). Application of XGB-based metaheuristic techniques for prediction time-to-failure of mining machinery. Systems and Soft Computing, 5, 200061.

[5]. Pouresmaieli, M., Ataei, M., Forouzandeh, P., Azizollahi, P., & Mahmoudifard, M. (2022). Recent progress on sustainable phytoremediation of heavy metals from soil. Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering, 10(5), 108482.

[6]. Salehi, S., Pouresmaieli, M., & Qarahasanlou, A. N. (2025). A sustainable way to prevent oral diseases caused by heavy metals with phytoremediation. Case Studies in Chemical and Environmental Engineering, 101106.

[7]. Zheng, Y., Guan, W., Li, J., Hu, Z., Li, G., Xie, M., & Zhang, X. (2025). Innovative Fly-Ash-Based Soil Crust Rehabilitation: Enhancing Wind Erosion Resistance in Gravel-Layered Desert Mining Areas. Land, 14(1), 36.

[8]. Jetter, A., & Schweinfort, W. (2011). Building scenarios with Fuzzy Cognitive Maps: An exploratory study of solar energy. Futures.

[9]. Khusaini, M., Parmawati, R., Sianipar, C. P. M., Ciptadi, G., & Hoshino, S. (2024). Natural Water Sources and Small-Scale Non-Artisanal Andesite Mining: Scenario Analysis of Post-Mining Land Interventions Using System Dynamics. Water, 16(17), 2536.

[10]. Blachowski, J., Dynowski, A., Buczyńska, A., Ellefmo, S. L., & Walerysiak, N. (2023). Integrated Spatiotemporal Analysis of Vegetation Condition in a Complex Post-Mining Area: Lignite Mine Case Study. Remote Sensing, 15(12), 3067.

[11]. Pouresmaieli, M., Ataei, M., Nouri Qarahasanlou, A., & Barabadi, A. (2024). Multi-criteria Decision-making Methods for Sustainable Decision-making in the Mining Industry (A Comprehensive Study). Journal of Mining and Environment, 15(2), 683-706.

[12]. Gholinejad, A. R., Sarghini, J., & Amir-Afshari, M. (2009). Choosing the post-mining for open pit mine using multi-attributes decision making techniques.

[13]. Singh, B. (2016). Analytical hierarchical process (AHP) and fuzzy AHP applications-A review paper. International Journal of Pharmaceutical Technology, 8(4), 4925–4946.

[14]. Soltanmohammadi, H., Osanloo, M., & Bazzazi, A. A. (2009). Deriving preference order of post-mining land-uses through MLSA framework: application of an outranking technique. Environmental Geology, 58(4), 877–888.

[15]. Bangian, A. H., Ataei, M., Sayadi, A., & Gholinejad, A. (2012). Optimizing post-mining land use for pit area in open-pit mining using fuzzy decision making method. International Journal of Environmental Science & Technology, 9(4), 613–628.

[16]. Safari, M., Aryafar, A., & Alinejad, S. (2020). Selection of the Appropriate Alternative for the Jubon Sand Mine Reclamation by Using FTOPSIS Method for Sustainable Development in the Region. Journal of Environmental Science & Technology, 22(5), 41–49.

[17]. Alavi, I., & Alinejad-Rokny, H. (2011). Comparison of Fuzzy AHP and Fuzzy TOPSIS methods for plant species selection (case study: reclamation plan of Sungun Copper Mine, Iran). Australian Journal of Basic and Applied Sciences, 5(12), 1104–1113.

[18]. Zimmerman, M. (2016). Development of a decision support system for post-mining land use on abandoned surface coal mines in Appalachia.

[19]. Waljee, A. (2010). The meaning of educational change in post-Soviet Tajikistan: educational encounters in Badakhshan: how educators in an in-service institution in rural Badakhshan understand and respond to educational change. Institute of Education, University of London.

[20]. Mozafari, A., Bangian Tabrizi, A. H., Taji, M., & Parhizkar, A. (2019). Use of a mixed integer programming model to achieve an optimum size of blast block in open-pit mining with regard to size of mineable block using fuzzy logic approach. Journal of Mining and Environment, 10(4), 1095–1104.

[21]. Sitorus, F., Cilliers, J. J., & Brito-Parada, P. R. (2019). Multi-criteria decision making for the choice problem in mining and mineral processing: Applications and trends. Expert Systems with Applications, 121, 393–417.

[22]. Pouresmaieli, M., Ataei, M., Qarahasanlou, A. N., & Barabadi, A. (2024). Building ecological literacy in mining communities: A sustainable development perspective. Case Studies in Chemical and Environmental Engineering, 9, 100554.

[23]. Amirshenava, S., & Osanloo, M. (2018). Mine closure risk management: an integration of 3D risk model and MCDM techniques. Journal of Cleaner Production, 184, 389–401.

[24]. Pouresmaieli, M., Ataei, M., Qarahasanlou, A. N., & Barabadi, A. (2024). Corporate social responsibility in complex systems based on sustainable development. Resources Policy, 90, 104818.

[25]. Pouresmaieli, M., & Osanloo, M. (2019, November). Establishing a model to reduce the risk of premature mine closure. In IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science (Vol. 362, No. 1, p. 012005). IOP Publishing.

[26]. Kahraman, C. (2008). Fuzzy multi-criteria decision making: theory and applications with recent developments (Vol. 16). Springer Science & Business Media.

[27]. Chang, D. Y. (1992). Extent analysis and synthetic decision. Optimization Techniques and Applications, 1(1), 352–355.

[28]. Saaty, T. (1980). The analytic hierarchy process (AHP) for decision making. In Kobe, Japan, 1980, pp. 1–69.

[29]. Yavuz, M., & Altay, B. L. (2015). Reclamation project selection using fuzzy decision-making methods. Environmental Earth Sciences, 73(10), 6167–6179.

[30]. Dubey, S., Sarvaiya, J. N., & Seshadri, B. (2013). Temperature dependent photovoltaic (PV) efficiency and its effect on PV production in the world–a review. Energy Procedia, 33, 311–321.

[31]. Hernandez, R. R., Hoffacker, M. K., & Field, C. B. (2015). Efficient use of land to meet sustainable energy needs. Nature Climate Change, 5(4), 353–358.

[32]. Sheoran, V., Sheoran, A. S., & Poonia, P. (2010). Soil reclamation of abandoned mine land by revegetation: a review. International Journal of Soil, Sediment and Water, 3(2), 13.

[33]. Wong, M. H. (2003). Ecological restoration of mine degraded soils, with emphasis on metal contaminated soils. *Chemosphere,

50*(6), 775–780.

[34]. Hancock, G. R., Loch, R. J., & Willgoose, G. R. (2003). The design of post-mining landscapes using geomorphic principles. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms: The Journal of the British Geomorphological Research Group, 28(10), 1097–1110.

[35]. Monjezi, M., Goshtasbi, K., Rezakhah, M., & Singh, T. N. (2007). Design of stable slopes for Songun copper mine. Mining Technology, 116(3), 146–152.

[36]. Lu, X., & McElroy, M. B. (2023). Global potential for wind-generated electricity. In Wind Energy Engineering (pp. 47-61). Academic Press.

Determining the Appropriate Rehabilitation Method in Open-Pit mines using Decision-Making Methods: A Case Study of the Zarshuran Gold Mine

References

References

Volume 17, Issue 3May and June 2026Pages 1015-1033

Volume 17, Issue 3
May and June 2026
Pages 1015-1033