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Aggregate Resource Extraction: Examining Environmental Impacts on Optimal Extraction and Reclamation Strategies
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- Author / Creator
- Campbell, Brett A
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Aggregate resources are naturally occurring deposits of sand, gravel and crushed stone that are integral components to the construction of everything from roads and sidewalks, to hospitals and schools. Mining these resources can release deleterious sediments, salt and chemicals into watercourses, soil and the air and can affect scenery. The structure of these environmental externalities raises questions about the optimal extraction of aggregate resources, the timing of reclamation activities, and the appropriate distance gravel mines should be from their market. A social planner optimizing aggregate extraction and incorporation of the effects of the externality may choose a different extraction path and reclamation strategy than a private operator. Hedonic price analysis and difference-in-difference modelling are used in this research to measure the effect of the negative externalities from an aggregate mine in Calgary, Alberta on nearby property values, and to examine how reclamation can address those effects. The empirical hedonic price model findings are used to develop a simulation of gravel mining operations with the incorporation of private and social costs to examine the benefits of locating mines in remote locations versus in close proximity to their intended market, and strategies for reclamation timing.
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- Subjects / Keywords
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- Graduation date
- Fall 2014
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- Type of Item
- Thesis
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- Degree
- Master of Science
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- License
- This thesis is made available by the University of Alberta Libraries with permission of the copyright owner solely for non-commercial purposes. This thesis, or any portion thereof, may not otherwise be copied or reproduced without the written consent of the copyright owner, except to the extent permitted by Canadian copyright law.