Proposing a new model for waste dump site selection: case study of ayerma phosphate mine

Abstract

The purpose of developing a mining project is to meet the demand for metals and minerals resources. This is obviously connected with the generation of a considerable volume of waste. However, one of the most important strategies in waste management is to select the optimum waste dump site. To face with this problem, managers go in search of the techniques that not only can consider the technical and economic factors but also take into account environmental aspects to get a better perspective on the problem under consideration. The merit of using multicriteria decision making (MCDM) model is to consider different criteria. One of the most standard techniques used for the formulation of a complex problem under different criteria is Additive Ratio ASsessment (ARAS). In this paper, the ARAS based group decision making (GARAS) for evaluating the possible alternatives under partial or incomplete information is proposed. The proposed model contains three main stages: (i) identifying the main and sub-criteria, (ii) evaluating the feasible alternative by using fuzzy GARAS technique, and (iii) conducting a sensitivity analysis to determine how the importance weights influence the process of the decision making. To demonstrate the potential application of the proposed model, a real case study is illustrated. The strength of the proposed model is its effectiveness and capability to produce proper solutions under the inherent uncertainty involved in the process of modeling a real-life problem.