Method for assessment of the accessibility of dimension and crushed stone undeveloped deposits in Poland from the environmental and social perspective

Abstract

The demand for resources from dimension and crushed stone deposits causes the intensification of mining activities which involve conflicts of an environmental and social nature. Therefore, it is essential to recognise potential conflict locations and assess the accessibility of deposits explored provisionally or in detail from an environmental and social perspective. This information can be obtained thanks to the method for deposit assessment proposed in this article which uses tools available in geographical information systems and the multicriteria analysis in a form of the weighted sum method. Here, the deposits of dimension and crushed stones located within the area of Lower Silesia in Poland have been analysed.

Keywords:

• Open-pit mining
• geospatial data
• multicriteria analysis
• spatial development
• environmental protection