Life cycle assessment of aggregate quarry activity

Global interest in mining and sustainability is steadily increasing today, bringing to the forefront the necessity of transforming the mining industry into a more sustainable structure. During this process, adopting sustainable practices and minimizing environmental impacts are of great importance. Aggregate is the general name for natural materials such as sand, gravel, and crushed stone used in the production of concrete and asphalt. The structural growth and development of a country, its increasing population, and the necessity of industrial and infrastructure investments make aggregate one of the mandatory strategic natural raw materials worldwide. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the environmental impacts of sandstone aggregate mining activities at the Northern Cebeci Aggregate Quarry located in Cebeci Village, Sultangazi District, Istanbul. In this context, firstly, the geology of the quarries where sandstones and limestones are produced, along with their surrounding areas, has been examined.Then, using the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) method,,activities in the aggregate quarries were included in the system. These activities include excavation and blasting, loading and transportation, crushing and sieving and transportation to the stockpile In this study, 1 tonne aggregate production was accepted as the functional unit and LCA analysis was performed using GaBi Education software. The system boundary was determined as cradle to gate. The EN 15804+A2 impact assessment method was employed to evaluate twelve impact categories, including climate change, acidification, and eutrophication potential. The results indicate that the crushing and sieving facility contributes the most to all impact categories. Electricity consumption during the crushing and sieving process is the most significant factor. In this study, in addition to presenting the results regarding the environmental impacts of sandstone aggregate production, alternative scenarios are proposed for reducing environmental impacts, such as the use of wind energy in crushing and vingsiplants and conveyor belt systems in transportation, and their environmental effects have also been calculated. The results obtained will contribute to decision-making processes in the mining sector and support the development of more sustainable practices in aggregate production