The island of Cyprus is famous for its rich deposits of volcanic mineralisation that yielded large quantities of copper, gold, and silver. The abandonment of the waste material in several dump sites during exploitation severely impacted the environment. A significant environmental issue is the acid mine drainage from the hydration of large barren piles that cover these old open pit mines. However, abandoned piles are still enriched in precious metals and perhaps even rare earth metals. These dump sites may form a new possible “deposit”, which may attract companies’ economic interest. Removing the stockpiles can be cost-effective, since the secondary extraction process is profitable, in addition to the benefits from the restoration of the natural environment. The case study considered here pertains to the North Mine of Mathiatis, where unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) images were used to create not only a 3D topographic map but also to locate these dump sites and finally to create a 3D model of one of these waste stockpiles. The methodology proposed here to locate dump sites by using point cloud data (x, y, z, RGB) and high-resolution images provided by UAVs will assist in the secondary mining of old open-pit mines by defining the bottom and top stockpile surfaces. The reconstructed 3D waste piles can also be used to calculate the volume they occupy and other parameters, such as the gradient of slopes, that are essential for estimating the cost of possible restoration. The proposed methodology was applied to the stockpile STK1 with the most available drillhole data, and its volume was estimated at 56,000 m³, approximately.

Modifications in European environmental legislation requiring the minimization of the environmental footprint of mining operations have resulted in increased environmental costs and fewer investments in new surface mines. Due to the significant dependence of the global economy on mining, which provides raw materials and energy for most industries, it is essential to develop the necessary technologies for reducing pollutant emissions and exploitation costs. In open pit or underground mining operations, the highest cost comes from loading and hauling the extracted ore. Hence, the optimal combination of loading and hauling equipment has a significant impact on the production rate of the mine/quarry. The primary aim of this research is to improve the production of a surface mining operation by modifying the operational parameters (different dumping positions of materials) of the loading-hauling equipment in such a manner as to reduce fuel consumption and emitted pollutants. This aim is achieved by optimizing the hauling cycle by examining different scenarios utilizing stochastic simulation based on queue theory. The queue theory is a stochastic method commonly used to simulate the shovel-truck haulage system of a mine operation. This method has been implicated to estimate pollutants emitted in the atmosphere and propose alternative scenarios for reducing emissions normalized with the hauled material. The method is validated against actual data from a large open pit. The implementation of queue theory and estimating fuel consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are derived from the $$M/M/1$$ and $$M/M/2$$ queue models. These two scenarios were examined for two different transportation routes and dumping positions. Based on these scenarios, it was found that the case $$M/M/1$$ with one electrical shovel having the nearest dumping position gives the minimum GHG emissions. Regarding the environmental impact, in all examined cases, the optimum truck fleet was the one with five trucks. From the productivity point of view, for the $$M/M/1$$ and $$M/M/2$$ scenarios, the number of trucks was six and eight, respectively. The greatest production was achieved in $$M/M/2$$ scenarios, with the one having the maximum distance to the dumping position being the one closest to actual data from the mine site. Another scenario, considering the implementation of the Trolley Assist haulage (TA) system resulted in a local minimum decrease by 54% for the $$M/M/2$$ TA Route 1 (longest) and for the $$M/M/2$$ TA Route 2 (shortest) by 62% of kg CO ₂ per tons of hauled material for the selected truck fleet size.

This paper uses the displacement discontinuity method, one of the boundary element methods, to solve two major engineering problems. The first one addresses the safe design of underground excavations in fractured rock masses. The implemented method was used to control the slip of discontinuities passing through a circular opening at 45°. Special contact elements were used to simulate a possible slip on the cracks. At the same time, stress intensity factors (SIFs) were calculated using the gradient elasticity theory (special tip elements where numerical integrations are needed were excluded). The crack propagation due to shear slip occurrence was defined using the criterion of maximum tangential stress at an angle of 71° from the initial crack direction. The second one involved in the crack’s propagation was solved by applying pressure to the circular opening, while a part of it was transferred to the cracks, approximating the mechanism of hydraulic fracture. Finally, the implementation of higher elasticity elements in the cracks provided an accurate estimation of SIFs, showing an error of about 4%, as confirmed by comparisons with existing type I loading solutions.

The mining industry is the leading supplier of raw materials in modern society. This sector of human activity has experienced a severe crisis due to the energy transition and has been revived in recent years due to the need for critical metals that are essential in the post-coal era. In underground and open pit mining, processes such as extraction, transportation, safety, underground ventilation, waste management, and rehabilitation are of major importance, and their “design” is critical to the economic survival of the mine. All the above processes required to operate a mine are strongly reminiscent of an example of nature’s workman: the ant. The sympatric insect uses the same processes as the ones aforementioned during the creation of its nest. The ants dig to “extract material from the ground”, and they transport this material from the nest‘s site to the waste deposition location. The ants ensure the safety of the underground opening and the proper ventilation needed for them to live there for a long time. This article attempts to identify the relations between all the above processes and sub-processes, and how human mining and ant colony development correlate with each other. Furthermore, we examine how an ant colony has aided in the development of mining technology, and what more humans can learn and adopt from a “miner” that is 66 million years old, in order to improve their processes.