The 10th International Conference on Energy, Resources, Environment and Sustainable Development (ERESD 2024)

Despite worldwide efforts to promote sustainable energy, coal persists as the predominant source in meeting the energy crisis of many countries emphasizing the urgent need to determine the detrimental impacts emerging from coal production. This pioneering study is the maiden effort to quantify the environmental footprints exuding from the surface coal mining operations in Pakistan using a life cycle approach. SimaPro 9.0 software utilizing uncertainty information and leveraging the ReCiPe Midpoint and Endpoint methods, alongside the Ecoinvent V3 database as a background source is applied to assess the environmental impacts. Based on the characterized results, the coal extraction process exhibits a greater impact on the environment in terms of human carcinogenic toxicity, followed by mineral resource scarcity, freshwater ecotoxicity, marine ecotoxicity, freshwater eutrophication, and terrestrial ecotoxicity. Conversely, transportation significantly contributes to environmental pollution primarily through fossil resource scarcity. Land use is primarily impacted by discarded waste, while energy utilization demonstrates negligible contribution across all categories. Standardized results highlight key categories that demonstrate significant environmental contamination attributed to ecotoxicity. Substance contribution emphasizes the importance of reducing the use of conveyor belts as a transportation source and minimizing the utilization of rubber in tires. The damage assessment results reveal that human health is significantly affected by raw material extraction, coal extraction, and transportation processes. This research underscores the need for heightened attention from stakeholders and policymakers regarding the country's environmental impacts of coal mining. The urgency lies in advocating for green mining practices through the meticulous execution of comprehensive LCA studies.