Oil Shale, 2008, Vol. 25, No. 2 Special, pp. 163–173 ISSN 0208-189X doi: 10.3176/oil.2008.2S.08 © 2008 Estonian Academy Publishers TECHNOLOGICAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ASPECTS OF ASSESSMENT OF A COMBINATION OF DIFFERENT MINING METHODS USED IN ESTONIAN OIL SHALE INDUSTRY S. SABANOV * , K. SOKMAN Department of Mining, Tallinn University of Technology 5 Ehitajate Rd., 19086, Tallinn Oil shales used in Estonian power plants to generate electricity and in oil production are of different quality. Different excavation methods in use and accompanying development processes are accompanied by various emissions that can pollute water and air. However, generation of waste as well as impact on land use are of greater concern than emissions into the water and atmosphere. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) has proved to be one of the most attractive approaches to characterize sustainability of mining industry, as several environmental and economic indicators are used to assess its performance. The methodology enables to choose the best available environmentally friendly technology. As shown by investigations, the mining processes exerts smaller effect on acidification, terrestrial eutrophication and ecotoxicity than production of auxiliary materials and transportation of oil shale to customers. Other impacts considered and discussed are ground surface subsidence, land use for deposited wastes and mine water pollution. Assessment of the impact caused by a combination of different mining pro- cesses gives the opportunity to find a better way for planning new mines in accordance with environment protection measures in the area of the Estonia oil shale deposit. Introduction Environmental impacts associated with oil shale preparation and production are variable, as environmental impacts of mining methods used to extract oil shale using opencast or underground techniques are different [1]. The objective of this research was to consider all activities that usually take place around a mining site. * Corresponding author sergei.sabanov@ttu.ee