PrintLesson 4.1: So, You Think That You Want to Build a Mine?
The initial stage of development focuses on the merits of the potential mining project. The question of whether or not can we make a decent return on our investment will be of concern to everyone. And the answer is generally complicated by factors that we cannot control, as well as factors that may not be easily known at this early stage of the project.
We'll look at the set of factors that will enter into the decision, but before doing so, I'd mention that already some thought has gone into the merits of the potential project. The investment in prospecting and exploration would not have been made unless there was a belief that a mine could be a good investment. Thus, we see that the continuum of decision making once again blurs the crisp lines that we've established with our five stages in the life of a mine. Regardless of the exact point in time that these factors are considered, they will be addressed early on.
Different authors organize the factors differently, and in more or less detail to suit the purpose of their discussion. Personally, I like the way Hartman and Mutmansky do it in the textbook for this course, and I'll follow, more or less, their categorization here. There are three broad categories of factors to consider: locational, natural and geologic, and socioeconomic. We'll discuss each of these in this lesson.