Selection of an Appropriate Quarrying Technology for Dimension Stone Quarries Using Combined Multi - Criteria Decision - making Method, Case Study at Hoa Quang Bac Quarry

At a Glance

Metadata	Details
Publication Date	2025-10-10
Journal	Inżynieria Mineralna
Authors	Vinh Pham, Anh V. Nguyen, Vinh Pham
Analysis	Full AI Review Included

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Executive Summary

The paper explores the selection of appropriate quarrying technologies for dimension stone quarries, aiming to optimize cost, safety, and environmental impact.
A multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) method combining Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and PROMETHEE II is used to evaluate different quarrying techniques.
AHP is employed to determine the weights of various criteria (cost, quality, safety, environment, stone loss).
PROMETHEE II is then used to rank the quarrying technologies based on the weighted criteria.
The method is applied to a case study at Hoa Quang Bac quarry.
The results suggest that disc sawing combined with diamond wire sawing is the most suitable technology for the specific conditions at the quarry.
The developed program aids in selecting the optimal technology, contributing to economic benefit and optimizing recovery rate.

Technical Specifications

| Parameter | Value

Technical Specifications

| Parameter | Value the paper’s analysis of quarrying technologies is quite comprehensive, focusing on a multi-criteria decision-making approach. Here’s a breakdown of the key methodologies:

Key Methodologies

Data Collection:
- Gathered data on dimension stone block sizes at Hoa Quang Bac quarry (length, width, height).
- Collected expert assessments from mining managers on the importance of criteria for technology selection.
- Compiled data on mining costs, block quality, working safety, consumed time, environmental impact, and stone loss for various quarrying technologies.
Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP):
- Established a pairwise comparison matrix (6x6) to define the relative importance of the six criteria (mining cost, block quality, working safety, consumed time, environmental impact, and stone loss).
- Used a 9-point scale (Saaty scale) for pairwise comparisons (1: Equally preferred, 3: Moderately preferred, 5: Strongly preferred, 7: Very strongly preferred, 9: Extremely preferred).
- Calculated criteria weights by normalizing the comparison matrix and averaging the values in each row.
- Determined the consistency ratio (CR) to ensure the consistency of expert judgments (CR < 0.1).
PROMETHEE II Ranking:
- Constructed an evaluation table with alternatives (quarrying technologies) and criteria.
- Normalized the data using linear normalization to ensure comparability across different criteria.
  - For positive criteria: Rij = (xij - min xij) / (max xij - min xij)
  - For negative criteria: Rij = (max xij - xij) / (max xij - min xij)
- Calculated preference functions Pj(a,b) for each pair of alternatives based on the difference in their normalized values for each criterion.
  - Pj(a,b) = 0 if Raj ≤ Rbj
  - Pj(a,b) = (Raj - Rbj) if Raj > Rbj
- Computed the overall preference index π(a, b) by aggregating the preference functions using the criteria weights.
  - π(a, b) = [Σj=1 Wj Pj(a, b)] / Σj=1 Wj
- Determined the positive outranking flow φ+(a) and negative outranking flow φ-(a) for each alternative.
  - φ+(a) = 1/(m-1) Σb∈A π(a, b)
  - φ-(a) = 1/(m-1) Σb∈A π(b, a)
- Calculated the net outranking flow φ(a) for each alternative.
  - φ(a) = φ+(a) - φ-(a)
- Ranked the alternatives based on the net outranking flow, with higher values indicating better overall performance.
Software Implementation:
- Developed a custom software program (using Matlab) to automate the AHP and PROMETHEE II calculations.
- The software allows users to input data on block sizes, quarrying costs, expert assessments, and criteria weights.
- The software outputs the preferred quarrying technology based on the MCDM analysis.

Commercial Applications

Based on the analyzed paper, the commercial applications are primarily within the dimension stone quarrying industry. Specific applications include:

Dimension Stone Quarries: Direct application for selecting optimal quarrying technologies based on site-specific conditions.
Quarrying Equipment Manufacturers: Informing the design and development of more efficient and sustainable quarrying equipment.
Mining Consulting Services: Providing consulting services to dimension stone quarries to optimize their operations using the MCDM methodology.
Software Development: Further development and commercialization of the Matlab-based software for quarrying technology selection.
Sustainable Mining Initiatives: Supporting initiatives focused on promoting sustainable and responsible mining practices in the dimension stone industry.

View Original Abstract

Nowadays, unselected quarrying technologies for dimension stone quarries, including manual and traditional technologies to modern technologies, have been applied in the whole nation. These technologies include blasting with detonation fuse , blasting with explosive , splitting wedge , diamond wire sawing, disc sawing, diamond wire sawing combined with splitting wedge and disc sawing combined with diamond wire sawing and splitting wedge. Due to characteristics of each technology, there exist different quarrying cost, consumed time, safety, environment and stone loss . Therefore, it is difficult for the quarries to select the most suitable one of the technologies. Basing on the comprehensive assessment of the criterion above to select the most proper technology for each dimension stone quarry, the paper used multi - criteria decision - making method combining between Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) for selecting criteria weigh and multi - criteria ranking method Promethee II for ranking the technologies. The study was applied to Hoa Quang Bac quarry and technology combining disc sawing and diamond wire sawing was choosen as the most appropriate technology for mine.

Tech Support

Original Source

DOI: https://doi.org/10.29227/im-2025-02-07