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Francis Pavloudakis, Ph.D., holds an MSc Diploma in Mineral Resources Engineering (Technical University of Crete), MSc in Environmental Engineering (University of Newcastle upon Tyne), and PhD in Mineral Resources Engineering. Since 2000, he has been working for the Public Power Corporation of Greece mainly in the fields of environmental protection, land reclamation, mining engineering, and mineral and energy economics. He has taught surface mining, environmental reclamation planning and economics, mine planning and design, project management, mineral economics, and mine investment analysis at University of West Macedonia and Technical University of Crete (visiting professor).
Surface mining projects are vulnerable to natural hazards (earthquakes, floods, soil instabilities, and epidemic crises) which constitute the primary source of risks which affect the mining operations. In the framework of sustainable planning and development of such projects, the investigation of risk impacts is essential for taking the appropriate preventive measures before disastrous events appear in a mine. This paper proposes a methodology for the risk assessment of natural hazards in surface mining projects using the triangular Fuzzy Analytical Hierarchy Process (FAHP) for the determination of the probability of risk occurrence, combined with the Expected Value (EV) function, the Monte Carlo simulation, and the Program Evaluation Review Technique PERT method for making predictions of cost and time overruns. A case study of a hazardous event with impacts in the operations of a surface mine demonstrates the methodology as a flexible and low-cost tool for mining executives. This tool is useful in the planning stage of pre-disaster management projects in the mineral industry, considering mine sustainability views. The research work also investigates critical technical and economic aspects.
Philip-Mark Spanidis; Christos Roumpos; Francis Pavloudakis. A Fuzzy-AHP Methodology for Planning the Risk Management of Natural Hazards in Surface Mining Projects. Sustainability 2021, 13, 2369 .
AMA StylePhilip-Mark Spanidis, Christos Roumpos, Francis Pavloudakis. A Fuzzy-AHP Methodology for Planning the Risk Management of Natural Hazards in Surface Mining Projects. Sustainability. 2021; 13 (4):2369.
Chicago/Turabian StylePhilip-Mark Spanidis; Christos Roumpos; Francis Pavloudakis. 2021. "A Fuzzy-AHP Methodology for Planning the Risk Management of Natural Hazards in Surface Mining Projects." Sustainability 13, no. 4: 2369.
The estimation of fuel characteristics and spatial variability in multi-seam coal deposits is of great significance for the optimal mine planning and exploitation, as well as for the optimization of the corresponding power plants operation. It is mainly based on the quality properties of the coal (i.e., Lower Calorific Value (LCV), ash content, CO2, and moisture). Even though critical, these properties are not always measured in practice for all available borehole samples, or, they are generally estimated by using non-parametric statistics. Therefore, spatial modeling of LCV can become problematic due to the limited number of data. Thus, the use of other available correlated attributes might be helpful. In this research, techniques of multivariate geostatistics were used to estimate and evaluate the spatial distribution of quality properties in a multi-seam coal deposit, with special reference to the LCV. More specifically, kriging, cokriging, and Principal Component Analysis (PCA) techniques were tested in a case study as estimators of the LCV, using an extensive set of borehole data from the South Field lignite mine in Ptolemais, Greece. The research outcomes show that the application of kriging with two PCA factors and the use of inverse transform result in the best LCV estimates. Moreover, cokriging with two auxiliary variables gives more accurate values for a LCV estimate, in relation to the kriging technique. The research outcomes could be considered significant for the coal mining industry, since the use of correlated quality attributes for the estimation of LCV may contribute to a reduction of the estimation uncertainty at no additional drilling cost.
Daphne Sideri; Christos Roumpos; Francis Pavloudakis; Nikolaos Paraskevis; Konstantinos Modis. Multivariate Geostatistical Modeling of Lower Calorific Value in Multi-Seam Coal Deposits. Applied Sciences 2020, 10, 6208 .
AMA StyleDaphne Sideri, Christos Roumpos, Francis Pavloudakis, Nikolaos Paraskevis, Konstantinos Modis. Multivariate Geostatistical Modeling of Lower Calorific Value in Multi-Seam Coal Deposits. Applied Sciences. 2020; 10 (18):6208.
Chicago/Turabian StyleDaphne Sideri; Christos Roumpos; Francis Pavloudakis; Nikolaos Paraskevis; Konstantinos Modis. 2020. "Multivariate Geostatistical Modeling of Lower Calorific Value in Multi-Seam Coal Deposits." Applied Sciences 10, no. 18: 6208.
Surface lignite mines of the Balkan Peninsula face growing pressure due to the CO2 emissions reduction initiatives, rapidly increasing renewable-power capacity, and cheap natural gas. In this frame, the development of a modern mine land rehabilitation strategy is considered as a prerequisite for mitigating the social and economic impacts for the local communities. In the case of western Macedonia lignite mines, these prospects are investigated based on a PEST (political, economic, social, technological) analysis of seven alternative land uses. Urban (industrial) development, green houses, and industrial heritage parks are considered as the most appropriate land uses for mitigating the socioeconomic impacts due to the loss of employments. For the land uses occupying large areas (i.e., agriculture, forestry, livestock farming, and photovoltaic parks), an optimisation algorithm is proposed for determining the mix of land uses that maximise revenue, equity, and natural conservation and minimise investment. The algorithm was applied using the opinions of 10 experts, who were involved in mine land reclamation projects carried out in the western Macedonia region in the recent past. According to the results obtained, photovoltaic parks are rated as a more attractive investment than extensive agriculture, as regards the anticipation of revenues, while livestock farming and forests are necessary to safeguard the ecosystem’s functions.
Francis Pavloudakis; Christos Roumpos; Evangelos Karlopoulos; Nikolaos Koukouzas. Sustainable Rehabilitation of Surface Coal Mining Areas: The Case of Greek Lignite Mines. Energies 2020, 13, 3995 .
AMA StyleFrancis Pavloudakis, Christos Roumpos, Evangelos Karlopoulos, Nikolaos Koukouzas. Sustainable Rehabilitation of Surface Coal Mining Areas: The Case of Greek Lignite Mines. Energies. 2020; 13 (15):3995.
Chicago/Turabian StyleFrancis Pavloudakis; Christos Roumpos; Evangelos Karlopoulos; Nikolaos Koukouzas. 2020. "Sustainable Rehabilitation of Surface Coal Mining Areas: The Case of Greek Lignite Mines." Energies 13, no. 15: 3995.
The restoration of continuous surface lignite mines entering the closure phase is a long-term, complex and multidisciplinary project. During the evaluation of alternative restoration technologies, various environmental, technical, economic and social parameters are investigated. In this framework, for the selection of the lower risk restoration alternative, the analysis of the associated risks should be incorporated into the decision-making process. This work provides an overview of practical risk management problems and solutions in mining restoration projects. Moreover, it introduces a multi-criteria methodology for the improvement of the decision-making process in the evaluation of restoration alternatives and the selection of the optimal one, considering a continuous surface mining project. The proposed method is a combination of the analytical hierarchy process (AHP) for the quantification of risk factors and the technique for order of preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS) for the ranking of restoration alternatives based on a low risk approach. The results of the case study indicate that the proposed approach can be utilized as a low cost and easy-to-apply tool, appropriate for coal mining operators, managers and stakeholders involved in the planning and implementation of post-mining land restoration activities. Furthermore, the suggested methodology could be adopted to support the risk management needs in the restoration stage of complex surface mining projects.
Philip-Mark Spanidis; Christos Roumpos; Francis Pavloudakis. A Multi-Criteria Approach for the Evaluation of Low Risk Restoration Projects in Continuous Surface Lignite Mines. Energies 2020, 13, 2179 .
AMA StylePhilip-Mark Spanidis, Christos Roumpos, Francis Pavloudakis. A Multi-Criteria Approach for the Evaluation of Low Risk Restoration Projects in Continuous Surface Lignite Mines. Energies. 2020; 13 (9):2179.
Chicago/Turabian StylePhilip-Mark Spanidis; Christos Roumpos; Francis Pavloudakis. 2020. "A Multi-Criteria Approach for the Evaluation of Low Risk Restoration Projects in Continuous Surface Lignite Mines." Energies 13, no. 9: 2179.
The West Macedonia Lignite Centre (WMLC) is a complex of surface mines that produces annually 45 Mt of lignite and excavates more than 280 Mm3 of earthy materials. After 60 years of operation, WMLC occupies 16,000 ha. Up to now, 4,000 ha of mine spoils have been reclaimed; sloped surfaces have been reforested and horizontal surfaces are rented as farmland. Based on the environmental permits that are in force, WMLC conducts systematically soil sampling and lab analyses for determining quality characteristics of reclaimed soils that concern both soil fertility and contamination control.According to the results of lab analyses carried out so far, reclaimed soils are characterized by an alkaline pH and normal electrical conductivity values. Their particle size distribution classifies them from moderately coarse to fine soils. A large number of samples exhibit high CaCO3 content, while organic matter content is high in samples collected from reclaimed mine spoils where lignite seams of low calorific value have been dumped. Cation exchange capacity is high, mainly due to high concentrations of iron in assimilable form.Regarding the concentrations of nutrients, these exhibit a wide variation depending on the element and sampling depth. Sufficient concentrations of the exchangeable cations K+, Ca2+ and Mg2+ have been determined in the majority of the soil samples. Phosphorus concentrations are below the generally accepted availability level of 20 mg/kg.Heavy metals concentrations are below the screening values determined by the Dutch Soil Pollution Act with the exception of Nickel, which often exhibits concentrations higher than the intervention value of 210 mg/kg. Chromium concentrations are also high but do not exceed the intervention value of 380 mg/kg. Iron is the only metal that exhibits systematically higher concentrations in soil samples collected from the reclaimed mine spoils than in soil samples collected from areas of West Macedonia region that have not been disturbed by lignite mining operations.
C. Papadopoulos; C. Gekaa; F. Pavloudakis; C. Roumpos; S. Andreadou. Evaluation of the Soil Quality on the Reclaimed Lignite Mine Land in West Macedonia, Greece. Procedia Earth and Planetary Science 2015, 15, 928 -932.
AMA StyleC. Papadopoulos, C. Gekaa, F. Pavloudakis, C. Roumpos, S. Andreadou. Evaluation of the Soil Quality on the Reclaimed Lignite Mine Land in West Macedonia, Greece. Procedia Earth and Planetary Science. 2015; 15 ():928-932.
Chicago/Turabian StyleC. Papadopoulos; C. Gekaa; F. Pavloudakis; C. Roumpos; S. Andreadou. 2015. "Evaluation of the Soil Quality on the Reclaimed Lignite Mine Land in West Macedonia, Greece." Procedia Earth and Planetary Science 15, no. : 928-932.