An Integrated Gray DEMATEL and ANP Method for Evaluating the Green Mining Performance of Underground Gold Mines

Green mining (GM) can achieve the harmonious development of mineral resource exploitation and environmental protection. Performance evaluation is the key to promoting GM. This research explores favorable methods to evaluate the green mining performance (GMP) of underground gold mines. First, according to the specific characteristics of underground gold mines, an evaluation criteria system for GM is formulated. Meanwhile, the weights are calculated using an integrated gray DEMATEL and ANP technique, which considers the correlation between indicators. Subsequently, the solution methodology for performance evaluation is proposed based on normalization of indicators. Finally, six underground gold mines are utilized as case studies to verify the methodological feasibility. The results of the empirical study show that there is a significant gap between ordinary mines and pilot green mines, and this study, via comparison analysis and cause-effect analysis, gives direction for mines improvement. Not only will the work provide technical and theoretical support for the evaluation and construction of similar green mines, it will also serve as a reference for government policy implementation.