2nd International Conference on: “Advances in Mineral Resources 177 Management and Environmental Geotechnology”, Hania 2006, Greece Critical environmental and social parameters affecting the development of new surface mines F. Pavloudakis and Ch. Roumpos Public Power Corporation SA, Greece M. Galetakis Department of Mineral Resources Engineering, Technical University of Crete, Hania, Greece ABSTRACT The feasibility of exploiting a mineral deposit by developing a surface mine is closely related to the environmental protection and land recla- mation costs. This issue has utmost importance for West Macedonia Lignite Centre (WMLC) of Greece, where there is still a lot of interest for opening of new mines and for further develop- ment of the existing open-pits. The decision- making process in these cases can be based on a decision tree that takes into consideration the various cost components of environmental man- agement, the alternative solutions, the environ- mental permits and the cost reports of environ- mental management actions carried out so far. Moreover, the mine planning procedure is af- fected indirectly by numerous uncertain envi- ronmental and socioeconomic parameters, such as the delays caused by the bureaucratic proce- dures and the settlement of arguments in the Court. 1. INTRODUCTION A major issue that is always investigated during decision-making procedures regarding the de- velopment of new surface mines is public pro- test. For numerous groups of interest, including local authorities, chambers, ecological organiza- tions, a mine is a potential threat for the envi- ronment, public health and socioeconomic ac- tivities that interfere with it. For this reason, any proposal for developing new mining sites is ei- ther rejected or it is accepted after setting a se- ries of terms and conditions that affect the eco- nomic feasibility of the relevant investments. Surface mining operations usually are long- term projects that require extremely high levels of investment. Thus, any decision concerning the development of a new surface mine should be based on a thorough techno-economical study, which will take into account any risks and uncertainties related to various geological, technical, technological, geotechnical, financial, environmental and political factors. Considering in particular environmental risks, these play a significant role in mine plan- ning procedures. Direct factors, such as the ex- penditures related to environmental manage- ment during the entire mine lifetime and the fi- nancial liabilities of the legislation, as well as indirect factors, namely the reactions of local authorities, increase the uncertainties of an in- vestment when this is at the planning stage. Before any decision-making, the environ- mental risks must be quantified using a set of measurable variables. For this purpose, a prob- abilistic approach, based on a combination of experts opinion and quantitative measures, can be applied (Galevan and Dessureault, 2006). An important goal for such mining ventures is to maximize an objective (usually economic) function by maximizing revenues and minimiz- ing costs under technical, economic, environ- mental and safety constraints. The elements of this strategic goal are in most cases the main objective in open pit design and optimisation algorithms. In the optimisation process a wide variety of aspects inherent in any mining devel- opment decision-making problem should be considered in an interdisciplinary approach. Bellmann (2000) has shown the advantages of multidimensional modelling for integration of ecological, hydrological, economical and social components of regions disturbed due to ex-