Mining companies are under increasing pressure to demonstrate that mines can contribute to sustainable societies. A holistic design process integrates modular models of economic, environmental, social and institutional criteria into an approach that employs decision analysis. To date decision analysis approaches have had limited application to the holistic assessment of reclamation strategies, however, no holistic application has been found to the mine design process itself. The paper demonstrates the integration of multi criteria analysis (MCA) into the conventional mine design process through a hypothetical case study. Initial results provide insight into the strengths and weaknesses of the prototype holistic design process for further iterations. Uncertainties, weighting of criteria and decision structuring are revealed as key issues to be addressed. A "quasi-qualitative" decision analysis process using consequences tables, is identified as particularly useful for evaluating trade-offs. With transparent interfaces, this approach could be used to facilitate stakeholder deliberation of the implications of design options and critically for improving options.
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