This study explores the evolution of mine planning, with particular emphasis on the integration of environmental and social factors in alignment with the sustainable development. Traditionally, mine planning emphasized technical and economic variables, often overlooking environmental and social impacts. However, the increasing need to align with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) has prompted a shift toward broader definitions that incorporate these factors into resource planning. This paradigm change is crucial for managing risks related to project profitability, which now include environmental considerations. The article also examines how government policies and corporate strategies, including Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) frameworks have evolved to address these impacts. A review of the literature published over the last 25 years identifies four main thematic areas: (1) inclusion of environmental costs in mine planning, (2) quantitative models for calculating environmental and closure costs, (3) legal frameworks in mining, and (4) innovations in public policies. This study underscores the need for a comprehensive approach in mine planning that balances economic, social, and environmental considerations to ensure sustainability and mitigate risks associated with mine closure and environmental remediation.

This paper proposes a phase-based evaluation workflow for strategic mine planning in which environmental and closure costs associated with each project phase are quantified after a base-case block sequencing and then compared with the economic performance of the resulting pushbacks through an integrated indicator. The method is therefore applied ex post to a fixed mine schedule and is intended as a diagnostic and decision-support tool for identifying and comparing critical phases from an economic-environmental perspective. The method was applied to a hypothetical sedimentary uranium deposit, chosen as a first case study because it allows consistent phase-by-phase comparison of environmental disturbance, closure obligations, and economic value under an annual pushback framework. In a second stage, the same methodological structure was applied to a hypothetical porphyry copper–molybdenum deposit as a complementary case to test the transferability of the approach under different geometric and economic conditions. The entire process was structured in five main steps: construction of the block model and project database; block sequencing; estimation of environmental and closure costs per phase; discounting of these costs; and calculation and interpretation of the Sustainability Index.

The mining activity developed in California, Santander municipality, has been mainly subsistence or small-scale, rooted in its ancestral heritage. According to the current regulations in the country, conducting mining activities requires obtaining a concession contract, a mining title, and the necessary licenses, such as the environmental license. The last one has caused setbacks in the mineral extraction process due to outgoing regulations, such as the delimitation of the Santurbán moorland and the prohibition of mercury use. This document aims to analyze the current state of certain mining operations in the area, provide recommendations, and establish a technical baseline for the addressed titles for future work. La actividad minera que se realiza en el municipio de California, Santander, ha sido en mayor medida de subsistencia o a pequeña escala, partiendo de la ancestralidad de la misma. Con la normativa presente en el país, para llevar a cabo la actividad minera, es necesario contar con la obtención de un contrato de concesión, título minero y con ello, los debidos licenciamientos, como lo es la licencia ambiental. Esta última, ha generado contratiempos en el desarrollo de la extracción mineral debido a las normas salientes como la delimitación del páramo de Santurbán y la prohibición del uso del mercurio. El presente documento plantea analizar el estado en el que se encuentran algunas operaciones mineras de la zona, realizar recomendaciones y dejar una línea base técnica de los títulos abordados para futuros trabajos.