Optimizing coal mine planning and design for sustainable development in the context of mass exploitation of coal deposits

Abstract

Sustainable mining practices is a concept that embeds the principles of sustainable development into the whole mine life-cycle, from exploration, extraction and processing through to mine closure. The optimization of coal mine planning and the developing a standardized design for its sustainable development is very challenging and requires more effort. The present research attempts to address the conditions of sustainability and necessary measures for sustainable development, thereby providing appropriate solutions for each stage of mining operation besides expressing the necessity of sustainable development integration at different stages of mining life cycle (MLC). The approach of systems engineering is essential to assist the sustainability goals which are integrated with the expected results. Hence a method depending more on systems engineering principles and optimization can be incorporated to attain better results. Several socio-environmental factors associated with sustainability depends on the geographic condition and few mining engineering considerations such as mine location, topography, coal seam characteristics and so on. These systems engineering approach can be further enhanced by incorporating tools like Geographic Information System (GIS), which provides more accuracy and precision of the geographic conditions of the site identified for the coal mining plan. In order to begin this way of approach towards the sustainability development and mining planning, the appropriate optimization parameters should be identified. The outcome of these optimization parameters can be also achieved by optimizing coal mining system models.

1. Introduction

The traditional coal mine planning in a developing country like India does rarely considers vital sustainability factors like jobs, societal impact in the region, impact on neighboring communities, dislocation of towns and residences, infrastructure concerns, habitat disruption and reconstruction, post-mining land use, net long term community benefits, and long term economic impacts on the community. Many years ago, a number of metal, non-metal and coal mining multinational companies jointly created policies and operations for integrating principles of sustainable development with design and for functioning their mines. Socio-environmental impacts and economic benefits were the sustainable factors that were considered [1]. In reality, this has also included involvement of the community and embracing of “beyond compliance” ethic, since it corresponds to ecological effects. Nevertheless, in general these efforts are dependent on conventional mining engineering methodology to design and are improved by applying iterative methods to accept environmental and sustainability objectives.

Through implementation of coal mining in India, the expected outcomes are mainly concentrated on increasing the amount of coal recovered and corporate income, at the same time providing welfare to the native community and safeguarding their health and well-being and also of that environment. The Coal Mines Regulation (CMR) of 2017 and Mines Act of 1957 are the prime outline of regulations which conduct coal mining in India. The central government of India has executed this act under delegated priority, and has also applied this act combined with other laws of environment, such as Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974, Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act which was enacted in 1981 and amended in 1987, and The Environment (Protection) Act, 1986. The requirements for actions involving welfare, health and safety of labourers in metalliferous, oil and coal mines is constituted in the Mines Act, 1952. The duties and responsibilities of a management to manage the mines and mining operations, the health and safety in mines is prescribed in the Act. The surface coal mining operation and the underground coal mining operation, and the surface effects due to underground coal mining operations, are the coal mining operations that are applicable to the coal mines all over India under the Mines Act, 1952. Various factors associated with sustainability, specifically those connected to social concerns and community, are not openly addressed through the regulations under these laws. Still chances of these factors being considered has raised due to the involvement of the public in granting permission and the possibilities of litigation. Hence it has become an urgent necessity to present the mass exploitation technology. The mass exploitation of coal deposits is a typical coal mining method with increased safety, conservation and productivity. The current transitional mechanization-based coal excavation may be unsuitable to compete with the global productivity (developing because of exposed economic policy). A fully-automated or mechanized method is necessary for the safe excavation of coal from the underground, thereby improving the capacity and ability of industries to compete with the global productivity [2].

Better and more efficient outcomes can be achieved by incorporating a more cohesive method which is fundamentally based on the principles of systems engineering and engineering optimization. The ESRI's ArcGIS ™ is a useful Geographic Information System (GIS) tool, which can be incorporated for the systems engineering approach. To begin this approach the appropriate parameters to be included has to be identified, and the interrelationship between these parameters should be identified, so as to create the models that establish these relationships. The coal excavation system models can be optimized and the expected outcomes can be determined [3]. The optimized models can be compared to the data availed from particular coal mining sites, thus enabling in refining the models and apply those models in the design of coal mine to establish sustainability. This approach of optimization of the coal mining sites can provide several benefits, such as reducing long-term negative effects on the society and environment, capability to modify or change mine designs to accomplish various objectives and goals, and increase long-term advantages to the community. The shareholders are able to understand the probable threats and advantages of coal mining operations better through this approach, which delivers input regarding the quality of the expected outcomes.

Presently, a sequence of models for safety assessment has been constructed by several research scholars, such as fuzzy comprehensive assessment, neural network method, analytic hierarchy method and grey theory, and implemented these models for safety assessment of the ecological environment in mining. An index system for evaluation of mine sustainability through Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) was established and practiced in the Korba coal mining field; it was concluded by the researchers that the assessment value has adapted to the mine site circumstances [4]. An assessment model of BP-ANN for the safety of coal mine ecology was developed using the BP neural network principle and the technique of random interpolation. A support system for decision-making was constructed based on the AHP to assess the coal mine production [5]. An enhanced decision-making method was developed based on the theory of fuzzy sets and differentiated the risk rating assessment range, thereby recommending an action plan required to support the plan for mining and management of sustainability [6]. In order to perform a quantitative study about the mining environment, a comprehensive fuzzy assessment model of the mining environment was developed by considering four factors for assessment that had an impact on the mining environment, which includes atmospheric environment, ecological environment, geological disaster and water environment.

Each assessment model has some limitations of its own. In order to consider the effect of the factors and deliver the complete assessment outcomes scientifically and precisely, several researchers have merged different models to perform complete assessment consistent with the characteristics of various models. In accordance with the fuzzy theory, the significant factors that impacts on mine environment was collected through the technology of remote sensing, then estimated the impact mass of environment assessment factors using AHP models and eventually developed the AHP-Fuzzy model for mine environment assessment [7]. The complete assessment of the underground source of heat according to the model of AHP and Fuzzy Comprehensive Evaluation (FCE) models was established to develop the assessment model, and few recommendations for control of thermal stress are stated [8]. The complete risk assessment of underground goafs by numerous indexes was established in accordance with the evaluation of uncertainty measurement theory [9].

In this research work, it is discussed that the systems engineering approach is developed based on the fact that the, upon considering all factors at the same time only the systems can be optimized. Theoretically, the optimization of a coal mine design can be performed for environmental protection, sustainability and return on investment. Implementation of this approach will provide several benefits such as, the process to avail permission might become easier and cheap, improved relationship with environmental groups, communities and neighbours, a positive impression on the mining industry may impact for short term and long term, and the profits of mining industry might grow. In this research, the Geographic Information System (GIS) tools are implemented for including the ecological and further sustainability development issues with the sustainability performance model of the coal mine. The GIS data executed to develop mathematical models of cost and equations, by including the production cost of coal and useful information acquired from present and past coal mining processes. The identification of parameters which should be included in the models is done through analysis of corresponding data, and thus the models are developed by quantifying the relationships between those identified data.

This research study proposes that the further phases of the research will be concluded after obtaining the data, adjusting the model design and validation. During the execution of these phases, the data specifically related to the identified site will be provided as input to the models and, the methods for mining a specific property will be assessed and then optimized for financial outcomes and other expected outcomes, such as protection or development of sustainability standards. In conclusion, this research study will investigate the possibility of combining this approach with conventional considerations of mining engineering to design an optimized plan for a particular mining property.

1.1. Problem identification

• •The development of coal mine plan affects the environment and habitat of the selected site [10].
• •The socio-economic background of the geographic location is prone to disasters and vulnerability after carrying out the mining operations [1].
• •Pollution and land wastage is caused, thereby impacting the employability of the surrounding community and their livelihood [9].
• •Sustainability of the mining operation and site is very difficult due these limitations [2].

1.2. Objectives of the study

Based on the previous research reviews and current circumstances of the coal mining fields, the following goals are progressed in this research.

• •To grow replicated models of the environmental locations intended for mining over the Geographic Information System (GIS) apparatuses.
• •To gather suitability information from the simulated environmental sites to define the best possible location for performing mining actions.
• •To augment the composed site information over systems engineering method.

1.3. Paper organization

The paper is organized with Section 1 briefing about the present and past research conducted in the coal mine planning and sustainability development, and the limitations of existing approaches in controlling the sustainability, Section 2 precisely discussing the methodology of present research focused on optimizations of mine planning locations through systems engineering approach, Section 3 discusses the developing of models for coal mine planning operations and outcomes of optimization, thereby identifying the suitable location for conducting mining operation with sustainability development, Section 4 concludes the overall review of the research work.

2. Materials and methods

Requirements management tools are used which help in capturing, organizing, analysing, tracing, and verifying the requirements of system engineering. Necessities are the base for describing the system scope, functions, performance, quality, and constraints. These tools could help us avoid ambiguity, inconsistency, incompleteness, and conflicts in the desires. And could also help to link the requirements to other SE artefacts, like design models, test cases, and verification results. Geographic information systems use dynamic, customizable maps to explore, understand and analyse all sorts of location-based data. Maps can clarify how humans, animals, infrastructure, landforms and weather interact. Creating those maps requires some skills. And not a little technology: remote sensors, GPS, drones, cell phones and other mobile devices, stationary monitors. ArcGIS, produced by Esri, is the flagship product and one of the most widely used in GIS mapping, including ArcGIS Online, which transports desktop mapping into a web environment. The above mentioned tools regarding GIS and system engineering would be useful in coal mining because of its unique characteristics and efficiency in detection of geographical sites.

2.1. Optimization and systems engineering approach

The systems engineering approach is a meticulous way of delivering an issue. As stated by the International Council on Systems Engineering, the whole life cycle of a system must be ensured with satisfaction of requirements of shareholders and customers in trust, scheduled complaints, economic and high quality through creation and execution of the interdisciplinary process of systems engineering. This process is established through the seven following tasks, namely the problem statement, analysis of alternatives, system modelling, integration, system launch, performance assessment, and revaluation. Though this method of approach is often applied in different engineering services such as network design, construction and manufacturing, the support of this approach is implemented in sustainable development and environmental management [11]. When taking sustainability development into consideration, the planning and design of the coal mine field is achieved through the application of the systems engineering approach. The process optimization technique is one of the tools of systems engineering approach. The optimization technique can be defined as a tool for measuring the most effective use of resources which are required to acquire an expected outcome such as the reduction in cost, processing time, or increase in output, profit or service levels. Complex problems in business can be solved with high response and accuracy, and real-time solutions through implementation of the optimization technique which enhances the quality and speed in decision making.

The optimization technique is focussed on the process planning step during the modelling or integration stages of systems engineering, and before the implementation stage. By incorporating the principles of systems engineering approach with the optimization technique, the system design is enabled to focus on the most effective approach in attaining the expected outcomes. In the coal excavation processes, these outcomes include attaining economic, sustainable development and environmental goals. The optimization technique, as suggested by other researchers, is a tool for acquiring sustainable management of environment [12]. However, in these problem-solving methods it is necessary that the resources, constraints, timelines, problems, and the expected outcomes are identified as a process of developing the design and model of the system.

2.2. Regulatory factors for coal mining

A various set of elements has to be taken into consideration for designing and functioning coal mines in India, in accordance with the Mines Act, CMR, 2017 and other corresponding controlling programs which are applicable to coal mining processes. The considered factors comprises of environment-friendly concerns, like wildlife protection and water quality, engineering design aspect, like slope stability, and concerns of post-mining usage of land. Also, the considered factors directly corresponds to the standards of performance which are recognized in various sections of Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 and Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, and reproduced in the regulations. The controlling programs, corresponding to the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974, Hazardous Waste Management Rules – 2016 and Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, are related to similar factors. A list of the most important regulation factors are included in the Table 1.

Table 1.

Regulatory factors considered for coal mining operations.

Regulatory factor	Related information and factors
Increase recovery of coal	Information of geology and volume of coal
Land use restoration or achieving better or higher usage of land	Usage of land pre-mining and post-mining, land usage control and land cover
Restoration and refilling of the mined area closer to actual contour	Surface hydrology, post-mining landform and Pre-mining topography
Reduce air and water pollution, and minimise erosion	Topography, Geologic information, surface hydrology, and land cover
Protection of topsoil and its restoration, to maintain vegetation	Pre-mining topography, surveys and soil maps
Create waste piles of engineering, and develop permanent and stable impoundments	Engineering designs, mine plan, hydrology and Post-mining topography
Reduce disturbance for hydrology	Water quality information, water use information, Surface hydrology, ground water hydrology
Obstacle from other abandoned or active mines	Topography, mine permitting information and mine maps
Remove toxic and acidic materials	Information of geology
Appropriate use of explosives	Geologic information and blasting information
Eco-friendly construction of roadways farer from streams	Public road maps, surface hydrology and road plans
Revegetation of mine site, with a preference for native plants	Land cover, pre-mining vegetation survey, ecosystem surveys
Minimise adverse impacts on fish, wildlife and related environmental values and where possible enhance them	Habitat assessments, pre-mining land cover and land use, threatened and endangered species information
Prevent subsidence damage from underground coal mines to structures and water supplies	Surface structures, subsidence plans, water supplies, surface utilities, residential maps, surface hydrology
Seal portals, drill holes and openings related to underground mines	Location information on mine openings, locations to drill hole, geology, topography

Besides these considered primary factors, there are several related parameters that are simpler for evaluation. For instance, the worth of the present revegetation and vegetation potential can be evaluated by using the slope angle, soil depth, soil type, ground cover, vegetation type, precipitation and solar exposure. The habitat value of wildlife and fish population, and related parameters can be influenced by factors like vegetation type, water quality and vegetative cover. The water temperature can be influenced by the vegetation cover and vegetation type along the river side, thereby influencing the health and composition of aquatic habitats and communities.

In certain circumstances, the fundamental controlling factors are merged to an index factor which looks between interrelationships of several parameters. These index parameters are valued as an estimate of complete system function. An example of such index parameter is the Environmental Protection Act, 1986, which assesses the water quantity, water quality, suitability of habitat, vegetation and the viability and population of animals and plant species. The variances in habitat index parameter can be utilised in a wide range of controlling programs to denote the variation or possible variation in a system because of a planned activity, like the effects of mining or, sit recovery or restoration effectiveness.

2.3. Factors of sustainability for coal mining operations

The controlling factors which were mentioned earlier, partly relates to the sustainability development. Certain factors linked to sustainability development in mining of coal cannot be identified easily, because those factors are not based on certain legal necessities. Nevertheless, by investigating considerations of sustainability which are comprised in established protocols, like Global Reporting Initiative (GRI, 2000) and those considerations recognized by United Nations (UNCTAD, 2003), we can differentiate few issues. The extra sustainability factors can be gathered from certain approaches followed by international coal mine companies. The important factors include job opportunities created and lost, displacement of residences and towns, infrastructure concerns, effects of adjacent communities, disruption and reconstruction of habitat, usage of land post-mining, net enduring community benefits, and enduring impacts on the community's economy. The Table 2 enlists few significant sustainability factors.

Table 2.

Factors of sustainability considered for coal mining (after GRI and UNCTAD).

Sustainability factor	Related factors and information
Economic performance	Revenues, employee compensation, community investment, operating costs
Local market presence	Employing from the local community, the amount of expenditure with local dealers
Indirect economic impacts	Development of infrastructure, unpaid community engagement, in-kind donations
Materials and energy used	Energy consumed and weight or volume of used materials
Water use	Water source
Biodiversity	Property use, property ownership, habitats affected by the operation, populations of wildlife and fish
Waste and emissions	Discharge of water, emissions of gas, material spills, location of waste disposal, fugitive dust, waste types
Regulatory compliance	Fines and non-monetary approvals
Products and services	Reduction in environmental effects on products
Transport	Railways, Roadways, employee transportation, conveyors
Environmental impacts	Reduce and protect expenditures of environmental causes
Employment	Type of employment, demographics of employee, workforce, turnover of employee
Labour relations	Collective bargaining
Occupational health and safety	Education and training, injury and rate of accident
Training and education	Career development plans, employee training hours
Procurement and investment	Screening of human rights, non-discrimination, labour practices
Community involvement	Community participation programs, outreach

As regards resources of environment, the factors of sustainability can be addressed by component standards. Financial benefits of the community from the mining process can be understood from the local tax revenues, population, per capita income, vacancy rates of commercial properties, property values, residential occupancy rates, unemployment rates etc. The community services’ availability including hospitals, schools, retail business, libraries, recreational facilities and roads are some other factors that may also be included as a community benefits measure. Few of these social factors are helpful in estimating the possible effects of coal mining processes. The coal mining process closer to the premises of residences, infrastructures and community services can be taken into account as a risk measure that mining process enforces on the corresponding community and the possibility of the process itself to cause effect on those facilities.

For sustainability factors within a community also, there are possibilities of developing indices. The liveability indices, for instance, are frequently established for communities, considering many factors that are mentioned above. The rise or decline in health and stability of community can be estimated through the standards of deviation in factors such as, income, population, property values and investment in infrastructure. The sustainability methods associated with environmental strength and functions are often dependent on the indices which are related to a set of discrete factors. Several researchers have proposed that the approach based on indicator has developed of supreme significance [13]. Even more challenging to represent are the concerns, like public satisfaction and involvement, which are difficult for estimating the assistances to development of sustainability. The collection of data and information varieties required for community liveability assessment was discussed in detail and reported by the National Research Council (NRC, 2002).

Throughout the past many years, notable measures have been carried out for making use of the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) as a method for assessing the industrial activity effects on sustainable development, as well as mining. The summary of developed procedures and methods were reviewed [14]. There are several practices of LCA for mining applications which delivered through comprehensive models to assess the role of mines in development of sustainability [[15], [16], [17], [18], [19]]. [20,21] focused on mining processes in United States and Australia respectively, and carried out particular works in coal mines.

These research studies denotes that the application of LCA in mining operations has certain boundaries. The LCA methodologies highlighted the economic and environmental aspects, since these quantifiable indicators are easily agreed upon and accessible. The social features of sustainability development dominates less in this modelling type. Nevertheless, the factors applied in the LCA are highly beneficial in optimization and modelling [15,18].

2.4. Application of GIS in systems engineering method

The application of the GIS tools are highly useful in the coal mining processes since they are planned and executed in specific geographic sites. The application of GIS for identification of the quantity and quality of coal in a certain geographic location before the commencement of mining, done similar to conventional mining, is illustrated in Fig. 1. Similarly the same approach can be applied for determining the depth and quantity of overload at the sites designated for mining through surface methods or, the thickness and capability of overload for determining the technical possibility for underground mining method. These data are significant to estimate whether a certain site capable for mining. The application of tools like GIS has become comparatively common in India for mining processes and is found to be expanding.

Fig. 1.

Licensed coal mine location with coal volume and data calculations at study area map of Korba Coalfield, SECL, Chhattisgarh [22].

Several factors corresponding to pre-mining conditions and the variations in those factors in later stages can be evaluated by the application of GIS. In order to elaborate the sustainability and environmental factors, listed in Table 1, Table 2, in detail, the GIS tools can be used. For instance, the similar location of land cover shown in Fig. 1 is also shown in Fig. 2. It is not common to use this kind of depiction when the mine designs are still under developing stage.

Fig. 2.

Licensed coal mine location representing Land cover at study area map of Korba Coalfield, SECL, Chhattisgarh [23].

A large amount of data are available for GIS through public sources which are mostly relevant to geological, topographical, social, cultural and environmental factors. However, the resolution or clarity of data is one significant issue. Most data availed through public sources does not have fine resolution and could not be applied for sit-specific assessment. In order to develop a proper model and conduct analysis in a useful manner, high-resolution data of geographic sites must be availed.

The estimation of proximity, evaluation of probability of reaction among factors and enabling the modelling of effects, are enabled through special analysis performed by the GIS tools, like ESRI's ArcGIS™. The GIS tools enables to overlap the non-identical data so as to find the possible competency among the factors. For instance, from Fig. 1 the information regarding coal, and from Fig. 2 the information regarding habitat quality, can be overlapped using the GIS tools, to determine the particular regions with high quality coal and high quality habitat resources that are within the proposed site of mining. The best optimized solution can be obtained through considering these factors of those regions for designing the mine.

3. Results and discussions

3.1. Developing models and determining desired results

The identification of best method to consider the shareholders’ requirements and attain the best result is achieved through the implementation of systems engineering approach for planning and design of mining, which comprises of the optimization technique. A principal problem statement is necessary to follow the vital steps of the systems engineering approach.

Based on the expected results for the coal mining processes, the statement of problem does change fundamentally. The mining of maximum commercial quantity of coal with least probable working expense is one of the key component of the problem. The net income of the mining company and its cash flow are related components of the problem. The increase of employability in the same region and involvement of maximum local workforce are additional expected outcomes. In view of sustainability factors and legal necessities, improvement or protection of public safety and health is considered to be another concern of the problem. The availability of schools and hospitals and increase in individual income are the socio-economic factors that are expected to be fulfilled through the coal mining operations. Protection of functions of ecosystem, removal of ecological pollution and reduction in contingent threats for the mining industry based on strange safety and environmental concerns developed by the process are few long-term influences that may get included with the statement of problem development for the model of coal mining. The community involvement effectiveness and social arrogances remaining towards the coal mining operation are few of the infinite outcomes that are significant, but challenging to be included with the statement of problem.

Investigation of alternatives is the next step of systems approach. This steps involves the identification of regions with constraints or struggles for recovery of coal resource for the coal mining processes. In the view point of fundamental mining engineering, the stripe ratio tends to make the recovery of coal in certain regions of the site to be expensive or impractical. The existence of trout stream or closer approachability to hospitals or schools, in other regions, tends to make the coal sites irretrievable for specific reasons, like public relations or governing issues. In general, the identification of methods and equipment for mining, procedures for blasting and rate of production tends to provide other considerable alternatives.

3.2. Optimization approaches

The modelling and optimization of natural resource management is focused based on multi-criteria approach and linear programing by some researchers. The system complexity is a built-in problem to develop models through this approach. A wide range of factors are influenced in the economic, social and environmental realms of coal mining processes [10,24]. The complex modelling of environmental systems through optimization theory is demonstrated by research work of [25]. Models with less complexity will be required for the optimization of coal mining processes, since the index parameters, like community liveability indices and environmental health indices, represent multiple factors in simple form, and the suitable coal mining models are significantly based on these factors.

Though several mathematical models can be developed for coal mining processes, the application of the graphical and GIS methods gives a simple approach. By using graphical relations to determine the regions that are closer and has constraints, either quantitative or qualitative models are designed to provide concerns of those coal mining regions where numerous expected outcomes are possible. Derivation of graph models for mining processes is possible through assessment of these constraints and finding the parameters significant for resolving or creating the constraints. In comparison to other models based on large number of possible factors and expected outcomes which can be used, the models deduced by this method will have less complexity.

Moreover, several expected outcomes makes the modelling further complicated. Few probable expected outcomes, of whichever method, are the pre-mining ecological circumstance conservation, preservation or enhancement of social standards, decrease in conditional enduring risk, and increasing economic profit and coal recovery. These are not direct outcomes and cannot be used for modelling or measuring. Due to this reason the outcomes are restricted to increase profit (income versus capitalization), improve social values (liveability indices), and give environmental protection (regulatory compliance).

3.3. Optimizing coal mine planning and design for sustainable development framework

The sustainability of resources is a significant in national tactical management, and additionally, improvement of resources of coal is an important mission. Particularly, in past 3 to 4 decades, the improvement in resources of coal has given solid support and conservation to the swift progress of society and economy. Because of technology oriented reasons and the hunt for high profits, capacity of mine ecological safety and restoration control is not capable as would be preferred by the people, causing increase in inconsistency in progress of coal mine and ecological protection, for example high production of coal mine wastes, radiation harm, and severe water, air and soil pollution. Particularly, the chaotic progress in certain regions has caused geological disasters, like dump, debris flow and surface collapse, which further increased desertification of land and caused deprivation in environmental quality. Hence, in order to avoid further deprivation in environmental health, it is vital to find a novel technology of mining environmental geology governance and restoration of ecology. The present evaluation of ecological environment protection of coal mines can replicate the ecological environment pollution governance in addition to estimating the total status of ecological superiority of coal mines. Moreover, it can swiftly identify the significant factors which cause decline to the mining surrounding, thereby letting quick implementation of most efficient actions to control offenders who worsen the mine environment [26].

Nevertheless, there are several factors that influence the social, environmental and economic relationship between assessment factors, thus making the sustainability level as uncertain and the limitations of present assessment model to be more understandable. For example, though the model of neural network is capable to overcome the subjectiveness of skilled knowledge and guarantee more accurate assessment outcomes, during the estimation of weight, it easily gets into the difficulty of minimum and reduced convergence speed. Though grey theory and AHP assessment methods are capable of dealing well with association of each index, it depends on the expert's skill for assessment when estimating the influencing factors' weight; hence it cannot neglect subjectivity. To propose the relationship between all factors of fuzzy the hierarchy method of fuzzy analytics is used; nevertheless, the assessment of experts while developing the comparison matrix cannot be avoided.

To take over the subjectiveness of assessment experts while assessing every factor of index for influence degree and additionally advance the data processing uncertainty, in this research work a complete assessment model and design for planning of coal mine is developed according to the theory of fuzzy level and generalized linear theory. To begin, the significance of every index based on the target index is attained through initial statistics data of source of every least level index in relation to generalized linear theory. Next, based on the statistical data obtained from generalizer linear theory, the construction of pairwise comparison matrix is done through standard theory of practice. In the end, the value of influence weight of every index factor is precisely attained by the obtained rank percentage. The developed model is made practical for sustainability evaluation of a coal mine.

The following elements, in this research, are evaluated based on multi-criteria dimension analysis (MCDA) for optimization of coal mining processes sustainability.

• •Element 1 – Mining operations related parameters
• •Element 2 - Environment related parameters
• •Element 3 - Adoption of technology
• •Element 4 - Economic performance related parameters
• •Element 5 – Rehabilitation and resettlement related parameters
• •Element 6 - Employee/Worker related compliance parameters
• •Element 7 - Safety related parameters

The Fig. 3, Fig. 4 represents the data obtained from the various sites of mining operations to perform the optimization to create models and design. The optimized data will be used to identify the mine site for performing the mining processes without causing any impact on the environment, economic and social factors.

Fig. 3.

Multi-criteria dimension analysis (MCDA) of open cast mine

Fig. 4.

Multi-criteria dimension analysis (MCDA) of underground mines

3.4. Future scope: Measuring sustainable development in Indian coal mining industry

The further procedure in this method includes applying the data on present operations of coal mining to create GIS-based graphical and mathematical models associated with sustainability and controlling factors with an intention to describe the system. Through investigation of the developed models, with existing tools, alternate methods to examine the appropriateness of those models with actual data should be created. During this stage, so as to identify the model parameters and factors which are significant and established of results, certain extent of sensitivity analysis has to be done. Pertaining to the expected outcomes, both graphical and quantitative methods has to be assessed qualitatively and statistically.

As soon as the process is refined by the developed models, the experimental data of coal mining processes has to be merged with the data available publicly to assess the suitability of systems approach with multiple mining processes. The protection of environment and qualitative details of sustainability results has to be focused in particular. Based on the available possibilities, the environmental damages, contingent risk and economic outcomes has to be compared quantitatively.

The outcome models of graphical and quantitative analyses can be applied for assessing the future design process of coal mining in the United States. The possibility of merging this systems approach to conventional mining engineering to attain the best results for social, economic and environmental factors can be understood.

4. Conclusion

The application of systems engineering approach and optimization techniques enables the possibility in combining sustainability and controlling factors with design of coal mine. In accordance to the utilization of the tools of GIS, both graphical and mathematical methods enables in producing useful and harmful effects of coal mining processes. The optimized results are numerous and focused on social, economic and environmental outcomes of the process. Due to the involvement of many factors and characteristic complexity in developing models of social, economic and natural systems, the application of index data, like livability indices, and substitute data, such as profit and controlling adherence enable to develop models with less complexity and highly beneficial.

4.1. Practical implications

As the results from the study focused mainly on social, environmental and economic factors related to coal mining. The findings of the study will contribute in the following applications practically and they are.

• •Real time monitoring and control of coal quality characteristics allows precise adjustment of the quality of the coal being fed to the generating unit to match power output and meet emission requirements.
• •Without real time control operators select a coal blend that will never cause the plant trouble.

Funding

This research received no external funding.

Data availability

Data sharing not applicable to this article as no datasets were generated.

Ethical statement for human participant

Not applicable for this research.

CRediT authorship contribution statement

Sanjay Kumar Singh: Writing – original draft, Conceptualization. Dheeraj Kumar: Validation, Conceptualization.

Declaration of competing interest

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.