Digitalisation as a Tool to Improve the Assessment of the Environmental Impact of Quarrying Operations

Paper in proceeding, 2024

Quarrying operations can produce a series of environmental impacts, e.g. noise, dust, gas emissions, ground vibration, water pollution, and effects on biodiversity, among others. They vary in magnitude and criticality according to the specific conditions at each site, posing difficulties in developing general solutions and constraining the efficiency of allocating resources for their proper monitoring and control. Additionally, their estimation often involves significant efforts and time-consuming campaigns. The EU Horizon 2020 project, DigiEcoQuarry, aims to digitalise European quarries, improving their economic and environmental performance, safety aspects, and social acceptance. Through this digitalisation process, large amounts of data are generated, opening the opportunity to facilitate the estimation of the environmental burden and, consequently, the implementation of corresponding mitigation measures. 

As a first approach, this paper presents an overview of the most common and relevant environmental aspects related to quarrying operations in each one of the stages in their value chain. Additionally, we propose guidelines to identify and prioritise the most critical environmental concerns of a given site, considering its specific conditions. Finally, we analyse the estimation methods for different environmental aspects and discuss the potential for improvement through the data generated in a digitalised operation.