In recent years, changes have been made in the structure of primary energy use in the European

Union In addition, a reduction in the use of primary energy has also been observed. According to

the forecasts of the International Energy Agency, the European energy market will be subject to

further changes in the perspective of 2040. These may include the reduction of the energy consumption

and the change in the structure of the energy balance as a result pro-ecological activities.

Natural gas will be the only fossil energy carrier whose role in covering the energy demand will not

change. Along with the changes taking place in the European energy market, global changes can

also be observed. The EU Member States will continue to strive to diversify natural gas supplies.

One of the main elements of diversification of natural gas supplies is the use of LNG regasification

terminals. The reasons for that include the increasing production of natural gas, particularly in the

case of unconventional deposits, the ongoing development of liquefaction terminals, and, as a consequence,

an increase in the LNG supply in the global market. The article presents the utilization of

regasification terminals in the EU Member States and plans for the development of LNG terminals.

Europe has the opportunity to import natural gas through LNG terminals. However, until now,

these have been used to a limited extent. This may indicate that in addition to diversification tasks,

terminals can act as a safeguard against interruptions in gas supplies.

A significant part of hard coal production (15–19% in the years 2010–2017, i.e. 1.0–1.3 billion

tons per year) is traded on the international market. The majority of coal trade takes place by sea,

accounting for 91–94% of the total coal trade. The article discusses the share of coal in international

seaborne trade and the largest coal ports. Coal is one the five major bulk commodities (in addition

to iron ore, grain, bauxite, alumina, and phosphate rock). In the years 2010–2016, the share of coal

in international seaborne trade and major bulk commodities was 36–41% and 11–12%, respectively.

Based on the analysis of coal throughput in different ports worldwide, the ports with the

largest throughput include the ports of Qinhuangdao (China), Newcastle (Australia), and Richards

Bay (South Africa). For 2013–2017, their throughput amounted to a total of 411–476 million tons

of coal. The largest coal exporting countries were: Australia, Indonesia, Russia, Colombia, South

Africa, and the US (a total of 85% share in global coal exports), while the largest importers are

Asian countries: China, India, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan (a 64% share in global imports). In

Europe, Germany is the largest importer of coal (54 million tons imported in 2016). The article also

discusses the freight costs and the bulk carrier fleet. Taking the price of coal at the recipient’s (i.e.

at the importer’s port) into account, the share of freight costs in the CIF price of steam coal (the

price of a good delivered at the frontier of the importing country) was at the level of 10–14%. In

the years 2010–2016, the share of bulk carriers in the world fleet was in the range of 11–15%. In

terms of tonnage, bulk carriers accounted for 31–35% of the total tonnage of all types of ships in

the world. The share of new (1–4 years) bulk carriers in the total number of ships on a global scale

in the years 2010–2016 was 29–46%.

The new legislative provisions, regulating the solid fuel trade in Poland, and the resolutions of

provincial assemblies assume, inter alia, a ban on the household use of lignite fuels and solid fuels

produced with its use; this also applies to coal sludge, coal flotation concentrates, and mixtures

produced with their use. These changes will force the producers of these materials to find new

ways and methods of their development, including their modification (mixing with other products

or waste) in order to increase their attractiveness for the commercial power industry. The presented

paper focuses on the analysis of coal sludge, classified as waste (codes 01 04 12 and 01 04 81)

or as a by-product in the production of coals of different types. A preliminary analysis aimed at

presenting changes in quality parameters and based on the mixtures of hard coal sludge (PG SILESIA)

with coal dusts from lignite (pulverized lignite) (LEAG) has been carried out. The analysis

of quality parameters of the discussed mixtures included the determination of the calorific value,

ash content, volatile matter content, moisture content, heavy metal content (Cd, Tl, Hg, Sb, As, Pb,

Cr, Co, Cu, Mn, Ni, and W), and sulfur content. The preliminary analysis has shown that mixing

coal sludge with coal dust from lignite and their granulation allows a product with the desired quality

and physical parameters to be obtained, which is attractive to the commercial power industry.

Compared to coal sludge, granulates made of coal sludge and coal dust from lignite with or without

ground dolomite have a higher sulfur content (in the range of 1–1.4%). However, this is still an

acceptable content for solid fuels in the commercial power industry. Compared to the basic coal

sludge sample, the observed increase in the content of individual toxic components in the mixture

samples is small and it therefore can be concluded that the addition of coal dust from lignite or carbonates

has no significant effect on the total content of the individual elements. The calorific value

is a key parameter determining the usefulness in the power industry. The size of this parameter for

coal sludge in an as received basis is in the range of 9.4–10.6 MJ/kg. In the case of the examined

mixtures of coal sludge with coal dust from lignite, the calorific value significantly increases to

the range of 14.0–14.5 MJ/kg (as received). The obtained values increase the usefulness in the

commercial power industry while, at the same time, the requirements for the combustion of solid

fuels are met to a greater extent. A slight decrease in the calorific value is observed in the case of

granulation with the addition of CaO or carbonates. Taking the analyzed parameters into account,

it can be concluded that the prepared mixtures can be used in the combustion in units with flue gas

desulfurization plants and a nominal thermal power not less than 1 MW. At this stage of work no

cost analysis was carried out.

The paper describes factors influencing the development of electricity storage technologies.

The results of the energy analysis of the electric energy storage system in the form of hydrogen are

presented. The analyzed system consists of an electrolyzer, a hydrogen container, a compressor, and

a PEMFC fuel cell with an ion-exchange polymer membrane. The power curves of an electrolyzer

and a fuel cell were determined. The analysis took the own needs of the system into account, i.e. the

power needed to compress the produced hydrogen and the power of the air compressor supplying

air to the cathode channels of the fuel cell stack. The characteristics describing the dependence

of the efficiency of the energy storage system in the form of hydrogen as a function of load were

determined. The costs of electricity storage as a function of storage capacity were determined. The

energy aspects of energy accumulation in lithium-ion cells were briefly characterized and described.

The efficiency of the charge/discharge cycle of lithium-ion batteries has been determined. The

graph of discharge of the lithium-ion battery depending on the current value was presented. The key

parameters of battery operation, i.e. the Depth of Discharge (DoD) and the State of Charge (SoC),

were determined. Based on the average market prices of the available lithium-ion batteries for the

storage of energy from photovoltaic cells, unit costs of electrochemical energy storage as a function

of the DoD parameter were determined.

The article presents the challenges faced by the hard coal mining sector in Poland. The biggest

challenge results from a decrease in the demand for coal, which was triggered mainly by the climate

policy, including the tightening of environmental standards and an increase in the efficiency of generating

units. The fundamental model of the MRÓWKA domestic coal market has been described.

The model allows for determining the marginal price of a given fuel for a given generating unit in

the system and the optimal mix of fuels to meet the energy demand. The results of the model calculations

for the baseline and alternative scenarios were presented. It has been shown that the optimal

distribution of coal mining capacities promotes the import of the discussed fuel in the north-eastern

part of the country and that the individual customer valuation leads to a decrease in the competitiveness

of the units located in the central-western part of the country. The paper also discusses the

potential impact of the domestic oversupply on the balance sheet and the price of coal. According

to the obtained results and the basic laws of economics, an oversupply of coal leads to a decrease

in prices. For the analyzed variants, the dependence of prices was estimated at PLN 0.0308 / GJ for

every million tons of the oversupply. The fall in prices is largely due to the fuel supply to units located

close to ports or railway border crossings. Based on the presented arguments it can be concluded

that the maximization of financial result from the extraction of coal should be based on an analysis

taking incremental changes in fuel prices into account.

The paper presents the impact of the reformed EU ETS (Emission Trading Scheme – ETS in

the European Union) on the currently operating market for trading in CO2 emission allowances.

The new Directive introduced a number of changes aimed at tightening the climate policy, which

the Polish energy sector based mainly on hard coal may mean an increase in the costs of electricity

production, and thus an increase in the cost of the entire economy.

The main goal of the changes is to achieve one of the objectives the European Union has set for itself,

i.e. the reduction of CO2 emissions by 40% until the year 2030. These assumptions are the result of

joint arrangements of the EU countries under the Paris Agreement on climate change adopted in 2015.

The Directive introduces a new market stability reserve mechanism (MSR) which, according to its

assumptions, is designed to ensure a demand and supply balance of the ETS. Bearing the balance in

mind, it means the reduction of excess allowances, which, although their number is decreasing, it is

decreasing to slowly according to EU legislators, still oscillating around 2 billion EUA.

The paper also draws attention to the rigorous assumptions adopted in the new Directive, aimed at

increasing the price of CO2, that is the costs in electricity production. Due to manually-controlled

prices, are we doomed to high CO2 prices and therefore the prices of electricity? What are its estimated

maximum levels? Will the new assumptions encourage the Member States to switch to lowcarbon

technologies? Can they weaken the economies of countries that are currently based mainly

on coal energy sources, and strengthen countries where green energy is developed?

The paper looks at the issues of operation safety of the national power grid and the characteristics

of the national power grid in the areas of transmission and distribution. The issues of

operation safety of the national transmission and distribution grid were discussed as well as threats

to operation safety and security of the electricity supply related to these grids. Failures in the

transmission and distribution grid in 2017, caused by extreme weather conditions such as: a violent

storm at the night of 11/12.08.2017, hurricane Ksawery on 5–8.10.2017, and hurricane Grzegorz on

29–30.10.2017, the effects of which affected tens of thousands of electricity consumers and led to

significant interruptions in the supply of electricity were presented. At present, the national power

(transmission and distribution) grid does not pose a threat to the operation safety and security of

the electricity supply, and is adapted to the current typical conditions of electricity demand and the

performance of tasks during a normal state of affairs, but locally may pose threats, especially in

extreme weather conditions. A potentially high threat to the operation safety of the national power

grid is closely linked to: age, technical condition and the degree of depletion of the transmission and

distribution grids, and their high failure rate due to weather anomalies. Therefore, it is necessary

to develop and modernize the 400 and 220 kV transmission grids, cross-border interconnections,

and the 110 kV distribution grid (especially in the area of large urban agglomerations), and the MV

distribution grid (especially in rural areas). The challenges faced by the transmission and distribution

grid operators within the scope of investment and operating activities, with a view to avoiding

or at least reducing the scale of grid failures in the case of future sudden high-intensity atmospheric

phenomena, are presented.

The paper looks at an analysis of the tendency of changes in the fuel structure of electricity

generation and thus resulting changes in carbon dioxide emissions. Forecasts drawn up by various

institutions and organizations were selected for the analysis. Firstly, on the basis of statistical data

contained in (IEA 2017a, IEA 2008) and with the use of Kay’s indicators, the impact of changes in

energy intensity of the national income and energy mix on changes in carbon dioxide emissions per

capita in 2006–2015 for the OECD countries and Poland were analyzed. A small effect of changes

was found in the fuel mix in this period of time on the emissions. The main impact was due to changes

in the energy intensity of the national income and changes in the national income per capita.

Next, selected fuel scenarios for the period up to 2050 (60) were discussed – WEC, IEA, EIA, BP,

Shell, with a focus on the WEC scenarios. These have been developed for various assumptions with

regard to the pace of economic development, population growth, and developments of the political

situation and the situation on the fuel market. For this reason, it is difficult to assess the reliability

thereof. The subject of the discussion was mainly the data on the fuel structure of electricity generation

and energy intensity of national income and changes in carbon dioxide emissions. The final

part of the paper offers a general analysis of forecasts drawn up for Poland. These are quite diverse,

with some of them being developed as part of drawing up the Energy Policy for Poland until 2050,

and some covering the period up to 2035. An observation has been made that some forecasts render

results similar to those characteristic of the WEC Hard Rock scenario.

Taking the importance of time and risk into account has a significant impact on the value of

investment projects. Investments in the energy sector are long-term projects and, as such, are burdened

with uncertainty associated with the long-term freezing of capital and obtaining the expected

return. In the power industry, this uncertainty is increased by factors specific to the sector,

including in particular changes in the political and legal environment and the rapid technological

development. In the case of discounted cash flow analysis (DCF), commonly used for assessing the

economic efficiency of investments, the only parameter expressing investor uncertainty regarding

investment opportunities is the discount rate, which increases with the increasing risk of the project.

It determines the value of the current project, thus becoming an important criterion affecting

investors’ decisions. For this reason, it is of great importance for the assessment of investment

effectiveness. This rate, usually in the form of the weighted average cost of capital (WACC), generally

includes two elements: the cost of equity capital and borrowed capital. Due to the fluctuant

relationship between these two parameters in project financing, performing a WACC analysis in

order to compare the risks associated with the different technologies is not completely justified.

A good solution to the problem is to use the cost of equity. This article focuses on the analysis of this

cost as a measure of risk related to energy investments in the United States, Europe and worldwide.

Intensive modernization and reconstruction of the energy sector takes place throughout the

world. The EU climate and energy policy will have a huge impact on the development of the energy

sector in the coming years. The European Union has adopted ambitious goals of transforming

towards a low-carbon economy and the integration of the energy market. In June 2015, the G7 countries

announced that they will move away from coal fired energy generation. Germany, which

has adopted one of the most ambitious energy transformation programs among all industrialized

countries, is leading these transformations. The long-term strategy, which has been implemented

for many years, allowed for planning the fundamental transformation of the energy sector; after the

Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster, Germany opted for a total withdrawal from nuclear energy and

coal in favor of renewable energy. The German energy transformation is mainly based on wind and

solar energy. Germany is the fifth economic power in the world and the largest economy in Europe.

Therefore, the German energy policy affects the energy policy of the neighboring countries. The

article presents the main assumptions of the German energy policy (referred to as Energiewende).

It also presents the impact of changes in the German energy sector on the development of energy

systems in selected European countries.

 Widespread opinion holds that calcareous rocks have limited suitability for use in the production
 

 of aggregates and stone products having adequate frost resistance. However, some of the rocks, in
 

 particular those from earlier geological periods, provide a promising alternative to silicate rocks.
 

 The paper presents results of the analysis of Devonian carbonate rock originating from two selected
 

 mines in the Swietokrzyskie region. The examined mines extract limestone from two different
 

 deposits of the same age. The rock samples are collected from beds lying at different depths, distinct
 

 in texture and color in macroscopic examination. It was found that despite the changes in bulk density,
 

 porosity and absorption, all the examined samples were frost resistant.
 

 Using the Differential Analysis of Volumetric Strain method, the content of ice formed in the pore
 

 spaces was determined. In addition, the ratio of the content of water capable of freezing to the total
 

 pore volume, and the total amount of water absorbed due to capillary action in rock samples soaked
 

 in water, were analyzed. In all cases, it was revealed that the destructive action of freezing water was
 

 weakened due to a relatively low content of water capable of freezing and a substantial volume of
 

 pores that are not filled with water in capillary absorption.
 

 It is extremely important to be able to classify the available rock material. The generally adopted
 

 methods, including absorptivity tests, do not allow for precise categorization. In the investigations,

the authors focused on the analysis of the basic factors that are decisive for rock durability, including bulk density, pore filling level and volume absorption. The authors do not correspond compressive

strength and resistance to abrasion as this will be the subject of further research.

The study included bituminous coal seams (30 samples coal from the Bogdanka and Chełm deposits)

of the Lublin Formation, the most coal-bearing strata in the best developed and recognized in

terms of mining parts of the Lublin Coal Basin in Poland. High phosphorus concentrations in coal of

the Lublin Formation were found (1375 g/Mg) as well as P2O5 in coal ash (2.267 wt%). The phosphorus

contents in coal and coal ash from the 385 and 391 coal seams in the area of the Lubelski Coal Bogdanka

Mine and in the area of its SE neighbor is the highest (max. 2.644 wt. % in coal and 6.055 wt. %

of P2O5 in coal ash). It has been shown that mineral matter effectively affects phosphorus contents

in coal and coal ash. At the same time, phosphate minerals (probably apatite and crandallite) present

in kaolinite aggregates of tonsteins contain the most of phosphorus and have the greatest impact on

the average P content in the 382, 385, 387, and 391. The secondary source of phosphorus in these

coal seams and main source of phosphorus in these coal deposits that do not contain mineral matter

of pyroclastic origin (378, 389, 394) may be clay minerals, which absorbed phosphorus compounds

derived from organic matter released during coalification. Phosphorus-rich ash from the combustion

of the Lublin Formation coal tend to be environmentally beneficial to the environment and also useful

for improving the soil quality. Due to the low degree of coalification and high content of phosphorus

in coal, this coals of little use for coking.

At present, industrial development is increasing pollution of soils, air and natural waters. These

pollutants have a negative effect on the health and life of living organisms. Metals which interfere with

the natural biological balance and inhibit self-cleaning processes in water bodies have particularly

toxic effects. Cobalt, which gets into the environment from industrial sewage from electrochemical

plants and the metallurgical industry, also belong to this group. This is also relatively rare and precious

element, so it is important to look for additional sources of its recovery. Chemical and physicochemical

methods such as: precipitation, extraction, membrane processes – nanofiltration, reverse

osmosis, sorption and ion exchange are used to recover cobalt. The choice of method depends on: the

kind and composition of wastewaters as well as on form and concentration of the pollutants.

Ion exchange resins produced by Purolite which were used to remove cobalt ions from solutions

with concentrations corresponding to its contents in galvanic wastewater was the subject of the study.

It has been shown that the C 160 ion exchange resin has the best the sorption properties for Co2+ ions

(54.7 mg/g). In case of this ion exchange resin, after sorption process carried out in one 50 minute cycle,

cobalt concentration decreased from about 30 g/L to about 9 g/L. The values of the sorption capacity

do not depend on the method of introducing the solution into an ion exchange column (pouring or dropping).

E ach of the tested ion exchange resins is characterized by a high degree of cobalt concentration

after regeneration using mineral acids, which can be advantageous in selecting the recovery method for

this metal.

For years, the Polish hard coal mining has been struggling with the problem of fire hazards in

areas with coal residue, mainly in goafs. Currently, a common method of limiting this hazard is the

fire prevention involving use of fine-grained hydromixtures based on power generation waste, mainly

fly ashes. The hydromixture is introduced into the caving zone created by the advancement of exploitation

face and its task is to fill in voids, limiting the possibility of access to the mine air oxygen to

a minimum. The first part of the article presents theoretical fundamentals of determining the parameters

of gravitational hydraulic transport of water and ash hydromixtures used in the mining pipeline

systems. Each hydromixture produced based on fine-grained wastes is characterized by specified

rheological parameters that have a direct impact on the future flow parameters of a given pipeline

system. Additionally, the gravitational character of the hydraulic transport generates certain limitations

concerning the so-called correct hydraulic profile of the system in relation to the applied hydromixture

characterized by required rheological parameters that should ensure safe flow at a correct

efficiency. This paper shows an example of optimisation of the composition of a selected fly ash-water

hydromixture in relation to its capacity for hydrotransport in gravity pipeline installations, as well as

the amount of excess water that will always drain from the location of feeding the hydromixture to

the underground workings.

The aim of the article is to present the selected results of analytical investigations concerning

possible directions of reducing the unit production costs in the mining company together with some

results of practical calculations. The investigations emphasize the role of the rate of utilising the

production capacity leading to reducing the unit production costs. The main component having an

essential influence on the unit production costs are the fixed unit costs. Two basic indices of a crucial

meaning for searching for possibilities leading to decreasing the unit production costs are assumed.

The first index (w1) is a measure of the rate of utilising the production capacity, the second one (w2)

concerns the fixed costs coincided with the unit of the production capacity. Theoretical considerations

concerning the mathematical modelling of the unit production costs as the values depending on the

rate of utilising the production capacity and the fixed costs coincided with the production capacity

unit, are presented in the first part of the paper. The rationalisation criteria of the mine unit production

costs are formulated. These criteria can constitute the elements of restructuring program for the mining

company. The calculation example with the use of the practical input data shows the impact of the

rate of utilising the production capacity on the mine unit production costs. In the example two variants

of annual working time are taken into account. Results of appropriate calculations are presented and

analysed in an aspect of reducing unit costs of production as a result of increasing rate of utilising the

mine production capacity.

Potential sources of rare earth elements are sought after in the world by many researchers. Coal

ash obtained at high temperatures (HTA ) is considered among these sources.

The aim of the study was an evaluation of the suitability of the high temperature ash (HTA ) formed

during the combustion of bituminous coal from the Ruda beds of the Pniówek coal mine as an

potential resource of REY . The 13 samples of HTA obtained from the combustion of metabituminous

(B) coal were analyzed.

The analyses showed that the examined HTA samples varied in their chemical composition.

In accordance with the chemical classification of HTA , the analyzed ash samples were classified

as belonging to the following types: sialic, sialocalcic, sialoferricalcic, calsialic, fericalsialic,

ferisialic.

The research has shown that the rare earth elements content (REY ) in examined HTA samples

are characterized by high variability. The average REY content in the analyzed ashes was 2.5 times

higher than the world average (404 ppm).

Among rare earth elements, the light elements (LREY ) were the most abundant. Heavy elements

(HREY ) had the lowest share.

A comparison of the content of the individual rare earth elements in HTA samples and in UCC

showed that it was almost 20 times higher than in UCC.

The distribution patterns of REY plotted for all samples within their entire range were positioned

above the reference level and these curves were of the M-H or M-L type. The data presented indicate, that the analyzed ash samples should be regarded as promising REY

raw materials. Considering the fact that in 7 out of 13 analyzed ash samples the REY content was

higher than 800 ppm, REY recovery from these ashes may prove to be economic.

Several surface measurement methods for determining the volume of deep or layered stone exist.

One of the key indicators of coal extraction efficiency in open cast mining is to determine the volume

of excavated rock. Procedures for determining the volume have been used for many centuries.

Determining the extracted volume or layered material has been a periodically recurring role of mine

-surveying practice, and mine surveyors apply different methods for its determination. The incorrect

determination of the rock volume may result in large economic losses of the mining enterprise. The

choice of the method for determining the volume depends on the deadline by which the determined

volume has to be submitted to the superior components or the mining enterprise management, as well

as on the requirements for accuracy of the volume determination, and a financial limit beyond which

this volume determination has to be done. Secondary conditions for determining the volumes include

the level of personnel training in the individual procedures and methods of measuring and calculating

volumes, the technical standards of the enterprise, the applied instrumentation, hardware and

software. The article compares the values of the accurately defined mathematical solid (a cylindrical

segment) to the methods of calculating the volume normally used in mining and surveying practice

and programs commonly used to calculate volumes in order to determine the threshold value of the

systematic deviation in input measurements to determine the volume. The mathematical model is the

basis for determining the correct volumes of the extracted material. The surface of the drawn or layered

material does not form a smooth surface as a mathematical model. The process of determining

volume errors on the mathematical model has been verified on the real body of coal deposition. The

comparison of the determination of the errors between the digital terrain model on the mathematical

body and the real homogenization coal stock is presented at the Conclusion of the article.

The Bogdanka coal mine, the only currently operating mine in the Lublin Coal Basin (LCB),

extracts coal from the Upper Carboniferous formations of the LCB. The average sulfur content in

the No. 385/2 seam is 0.98%, while in the case of the No. 391 seam it is slightly higher and amounts

to 1.15%. The iron sulfides (pyrite and marcasite) in bituminous coal seams form macroscopically

visible massive, vein, and dispersed forms. A microscopic examination has confirmed their complex

structure. Massive forms contain euhedral crystals and framboids. The sulfide aggregations are often

associated with a halo of dispersed veins and framboids. Pyrite and marcasite often fill the fusinite

cells. Framboids are highly variable when it comes to their size and the degree of compaction within

the carbonaceous matter. Their large aggregations form polyframboids. The cracks are often filled

with crystalline accumulations of iron sulfides (octaedric crystals). The Wavelenth Dispersive Spectrometry

(WDS) microanalysis allowed the chemical composition of sulfides in coal samples from the

examined depoists to be analyzed. It has been shown that they are dominated by iron sulfides FeS2 –

pyrite and marcasite. The examined sulfides contain small admixtures of Pb, Hg, Zn, Cu, Ag, Sb, Co,

Ni, As, and Cd. When it comes to the examined admixtures, the highest concentration of up to 0.24%,

is observed for As. In addition, small amounts of galena, siderite, and barite have also been found in

the examined coal samples. The amounts of the critical elements in the examined samples do not allow

for their economically justified exploitation. Higher concentrations of these elements can be found in

the ashes resulting from the combustion process.

Image processing techniques (band rationing, color composite, Principal Component Analyses)

are widely used by many researchers to describe various mines and minerals. The primary aim of

this study is to use remote sensing data to identify iron deposits and gossans located in Kaman,

Kırşehir region in the central part of Anatolia, Turkey. Capability of image processing techniques is

proved to be highly useful to detect iron and gossan zones. Landsat ETM+ was used to create remote

sensing images with the purpose of enhancing iron and gossan detection by applying ArcMap image

processing techniques. The methods used for mapping iron and gossan area are 3/1 band rationing,

3/5 : 1/3 : 5/7 color composite, third PC and PC4 : PC3 : PC2 as RG B which obtained result from

Standard Principal Component Analysis and third PC which obtained result from Developed Selected

Principal Component Analyses (Crosta Technique), respectively. Iron-rich or gossan zones were mapped

through classification technique applied to obtained images. Iron and gossan content maps were

designed as final products. These data were confirmed by field observations. It was observed that iron

rich and gossan zones could be detected through remote sensing techniques to a great extent. This

study shows that remote sensing techniques offer significant advantages to detect iron rich and gossan

zones. It is necessary to confirm the iron deposites and gossan zones that have been detected for the

time being through field observations.

At present, with the increase of production capacity and the promotion of production, the reserves

of most mining enterprises under the original industrial indexes are rapidly consumed, and the full

use of low-grade resources is getting more and more attention. If mining enterprises want to make

full use of low-grade resources simultaneously and obtain good economic benefits to strengthening

the analysis and management of costs is necessary. For metal underground mines, with the gradual

implementation of exploration and mining projects, capital investment and labor consumption are

dynamic and increase cumulatively in stages. Consequently, in the evaluation of ore value, we should

proceed from a series of processes such as: exploration, mining, processing and the smelting of

geological resources, and then study the resources increment in different stages of production and the

processing. To achieve a phased assessment of the ore value and fine evaluation of the cost, based on

the value chain theory and referring to the modeling method of computer integrated manufacturing

open system architecture (CIMOSA), the analysis framework of gold mining enterprise value chain is

established based on the value chain theory from the three dimensions of value-added activities, value

subjects and value carriers. A value chain model using ore flow as the carrying body is built based on

Petri nets. With the CPN Tools emulation tool, the cycle simulation of the model is carry out by the

colored Petri nets, which contain a hierarchical structure. Taking a large-scale gold mining enterprise

as an example, the value chain model is quantified to simulate the ore value formation, flow, transmission

and implementation process. By analyzing the results of the simulation, the ore value at different

production stages is evaluated dynamically, and the cost is similarly analyzed in stages, which can improve mining enterprise cost management, promote the application of computer modeling and

simulation technology in mine engineering, more accurately evaluate the economic feasibility of ore

utilization, and provide the basis for the value evaluation and effective utilization of low-grade ores.