Deralu Tailing Dam Site Selection Using GIS and Multi Criteria Decision Making

Deralu Copper Mine in 120 Km of south of city Kerman and 35 Km of north Eastern Baft in mountain area, are rested between Hezar with high of 4465 meters and Lalehzar by high 4351 m mountains. Tailings dam for the processing plant, is a required facility for mining operation. Site selection of tailings dams has a great impact on the initial and final investment of the mining operations. The dam site selection process was based on economic issues and of ease of operation criteria in the past, but for now, due to the importance of the environmental issues, tailings dam site selection is a complicated process. In this study, determination of location of the copper mine tailings dam Deralu using GIS software as a decision support software is used. Many parameters affect the localization of tailings dam, which these parameters cause complexity in choice of localization of tailings dam. In this research, the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) - based on weighting parameters by the experts, will attempt to locate - is used. The opinions of experts, consisting of five layers of geological, environmental, hydrological, and economic and morphology was classified. Then, paired comparisons were performed between the layers to weight. Simultaneously the weighted sets analyzes were inconsistent judgments. Finally, By field control operations, the four proposed areas for further research were identified. The four regions were compared using TOPSIS method and preferred option was chosen.