Title: The simulation of mine solid waste generation in Panzhihua City based on system dynamics

Authors: Wei Xian; Huaiyong Shao; Jinhui Wu; Meng Liu; Xiaofei Sun

Addresses: College of Resources and Environment, Chengdu University of Information Technology, Chengdu 610225, China ' Key Laboratory of Geoscience Spatial Information Technology, Chengdu University of Technology, Chengdu 610059, China ' State Key Laboratory of Remote Sensing Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China ' Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China ' College of Earth Science, Chengdu University of Technology, Chengdu 610059, China

Abstract: In recent years, the scale of steel production in Panzhihua City - an important mining centre for black, non-ferrous metal in China - has rapidly doubled in response to the tremendous demand for industrial development, placing tremendous pressure on the environment. This paper simulates and predicts the discharge, treatment and reutilisation of solid waste in the iron and steel industry by constructing a system dynamics model. The results show that the model can be applied effectively. The solid waste volume has a tendency to rapidly increase and the stripping ratio shows a decreasing trend. The reutilised volume of tailings increases substantially over time and the reutilised ratio in the environment scenario is higher than that in the current scenario.

Keywords: solid waste generation; Panzhihua City; system dynamics; simulation; mine waste; mining industry; China; iron and steel industry; modelling; tailings reuse; materials reuse; waste reuse; recycling; waste treatment.

DOI: 10.1504/IJEP.2016.079901

International Journal of Environment and Pollution, 2016 Vol.59 No.2/3/4, pp.213 - 229

Received: 16 Nov 2015
Accepted: 31 Mar 2016

Published online: 20 Oct 2016 *

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