Ethical Construction and Development of Mining Engineering Based on the Safe, Efficient, Green, and Low-Carbon Concept

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Dear Authors,

the problem raised in the manuscript is interesting.

However, I have a few comments to the content presented:

1) You write about sustainable development by referring directly or indirectly to the main assumptions and commonly known definitions. It is worth referring to specific goals when describing actions contrary to SD principles. Similarly, with the indication of pro-ethical activities.

2) You do not refer directly and you do not use terms such as corporate social responsibility and geoetics in the article

3) I suggest, in addition to the ethical problems presented in Table 2, to present good practices and summarize a short analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of the mining industry in the ethical context

Regards

Author Response

Response to Reviewer 1 Comments

Dear Editors and Reviewers: 

Thank you for your letter and for the reviewers’ comments concerning our revised manuscript entitled “Ethical construction and development of mining engineering based on the safe, efficient, green, and low-carbon concept” (ID: sustainability-1972584). Those comments or suggestions are all valuable and very helpful for revising and improving our paper, as well as the important guiding significance to our researches. We have studied comments or suggestions carefully and have made correction which we hope meet with approval. Revised portion are listed in the following responds. The main corrections in the paper and the responds to the reviewer’s comments are as following:

Point 1: You write about sustainable development by referring directly or indirectly to the main assumptions and commonly known definitions. It is worth referring to specific goals when describing actions contrary to SD principles. Similarly, with the indication of pro-ethical activities.

Response 1: Thank you very much for your valuable comments, and we mentioned in Section 3 (see Table 2) the faults of each actor in the production accident, for the students this can clearly understand how the people of all parties in this accident did activities that were against ethics. However, if too much specific information (e.g. units, people) is added, students cannot absorb it quickly when dealing with the complicated information, which in turn affects the effectiveness of teaching, so we do not mention specific information, and we hope you can understand.

Point 2: You do not refer directly and you do not use terms such as corporate social responsibility and geoetics in the article.

Response 2: Thank you very much for your valuable comments. In the second and third sections, we have added references to all relevant terms

Point 3: I suggest, in addition to the ethical problems presented in Table 2, to present good practices and summarize a short analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of the mining industry in the ethical context

Regards.

Response 3: Thank you for your good suggestion. We add good practices from China and other countries and briefly analyze them, concluding with how mining engineers can refer to these examples for their own behavior.

In addition to the accidents that occurred above, we also collected classic projects for students to learn about promoting ethical behavior in practice. In China, in order to promote the intelligent construction of coal, The coal industry introduced Harmony OS, The application practice showed that the Mine Harmony OS could make the equipment more intelligent, quickly find problems and give early warning, and effectively improve the safety production efficiency of coal mine and equipment operation and maintenance  Efficiency[40]. In other regions, such as Poland, we have also learned how Former Post-Mining Waste Dumps are handled locally, and analyzing the handling of stored coal mine waste in this region can help students better understand the ethical responsibilities of mining engineers[41]. The Technical University of Ostrava (Czech Republic) presented research on the safe exploitation of coal tailings after land reclamation in abandoned mining areas[42].

Mining engineers can not only cause serious engineering accidents, but also do a lot of behaviors that are conducive to the development of the industry. For this reason, it is necessary to let them understand the implementation of specific cases, which can also point out the direction of their future behavior.

Thank you very much for your attention to the manuscript, and thank you for spending time reviewing this paper.

Regards

Fangtian WANG and Hongfei QU

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 2 Report

The manuscript "Ethical construction and development of mining engineering based on the safe, efficient, green, and low-carbon concept" by Fangtian WANG, Hongfei QU, Wei TIAN, Shilei ZHAI, Liqiang MA was submitted for peer review.

I read the submitted manuscript with great interest. The author turned to a very urgent problem: the formation of a new generation of mining engineers and the creation of a mining ethic which must become a moral code governing moral standards among the staff, enterprises and departments concerned, and an ethical principle to be followed by all staff in the practice of mining in order to build the concept and trend of safe mining engineering and the efficient and environmentally friendly exploitation of georesources.

A great deal of research has been done by the authors. But the manuscript has significant flaws that need to be corrected. Correction of the shortcomings listed below must be done to improve the quality of the manuscript, enhance the ease of perception of the presented material and increase the interest of a readers.

1.) From my point of view, there are very few keywords. Keywords enable the reader to quickly search for the necessary material and enable the author to popularise their research and increase interest and citations. But if this number of keywords satisfies the requirement of the journal, this comment is advisory. 

2) The abstract is not formed correctly. It is very blurry and framed incorrectly. It seems that the authors have taken certain phrases from the text and thus formed the abstract.  The abstract should clearly indicate the purpose of the study, its importance for society (i.e. to characterize the problem), identify the methods and materials of the study, and the conclusions should be clearly and briefly formulated. There is no "starting point" in the abstract, that is, information about previous studies (one sentence is enough). From my point of view, in the abstract, such information begins with the statement: "Previously conducted studies have established that ...". The results are too detailed, with descriptions repeated throughout the manuscript.

2.1) It is desirable to avoid narrative text in the abstract.

2.2) Try to use words and phrases: an analysis has been carried out; studied; developed; proposed; established and so on. It is advisable to start sentences in the abstract with these words and phrases.

2.3) At the end of the abstract, it is necessary to indicate the final result obtained by the authors, for example: A model has been developed that allows ...; A dependence has been established which is...; A pattern has been revealed...; An efficient system (technology) has been proposed, and so on.

The abstract should be revised.

3.) The manuscript has a sufficient reference list (41 references in total). But there is no comprehensive coverage of studies in terms of geography of citations. There are no references to international studies in the field. The list of references is intended to demonstrate the depth of the author's study of the material, the relevance and interest of their research.

3.1.) The depth of study is demonstrated with the number of references - is on the verge of sufficiency.

3.2.) Relevance – with the availability of research in recent years – is enough.

3.3.) Interest – with the availability of research by scientists from different countries - is not enough (practically absent). 

Since you are publishing your manuscript in an international publication, it is necessary to demonstrate the international relevance and interest of this issue. This can be done by analyzing the studies of scientists from different countries. It is imperative to supplement the list of references with studies of scientists from different countries over the past 3-5 years to show geographical (general/global) interest and relevance.

The List of References needs to be completed.

4.) In the introduction when analysing previous studies, the authors make inaccuracies and often their claims are not accompanied by evidence. It is important for readers to know the essence (main idea) of the research you are referring to when analysing previous work.

4.1) Line 34. The authors talk about carbon emissions. Perhaps they meant carbon mining (coal) or greenhouse gas emissions.

4.2) Lines 36-38. The phrase is not quite clear. How can mechanical engineering supply energy consumption? And what is the problem?

4.3) Lines 42-48. A lot of statements. It is desirable to provide evidence (references).

4.4) Lines 49-50. A very misunderstood statement. What does mortality have to do with it?

4.5) Lines 50-52. It is advisable to provide references proving that the coal industry has made a significant contribution to China's economic development.

Such shortcomings are present throughout the introduction. Please review the introduction, make corrections, and supplement your statements with evidence.

5.) I would recommend avoiding group references, for example [34-38]. From my point of view, allowed up to three; more than three references must be deciphered. Each paper you refer is unique and the studies you refer deserve more proper and careful review to demonstrate (and prove) its importance for the current research. It is necessary to demonstrate in detail the essence of each study and their need for your work.

6.) It is necessary to indicate who made figures? If this is the author's merit, then it is necessary to indicate: done by the authors; if this is a borrowed drawing, then it is necessary to indicate the source. In Figure 1, it is necessary to indicate where the data is taken from.

7.) At the end of the introduction, there is no brief conclusion of the analytical study of earlier papers. The authors did not summarize their analysis and did not identify unresolved issues. This conclusion should make it possible to characterize the actual question posed, the purpose of the study and the tasks to be solved to achieve this goal. For example: Analyzing the above, it can be noted that ... is a very topical issue. Therefore, the purpose of this study is ... and to achieve this, it is necessary to solve the following tasks: 1); 2); ... Such a conclusion allows the reader to understand the vector of the study, and the authors to correctly formulate the conclusions. It needs to be improved.

8.) Considering the comments (3) and (6), I would like to note that the authors have very poorly disclosed the main subject of the study. In recent years, a lot of work has been carried out to study the impact of mining on the rock mass and to recommend measures for reducing strain changes of rock mass and minimising the stress on the surface. Since mining production has a significant effect on the stress-strain behaviour of rock mass, the issues of reducing this influence are very relevant and scientists around the world are trying to minimize it. 

For example,

8.1) Łupieżowiec, M.; Rybak, J.; Różański, Z.; Dobrzycki, P.; Jędrzejczyk, W. Design and Construction of Foundations for Industrial Facilities in the Areas of Former Post-Mining Waste Dumps. Energies 2022, 15, 5766. https://doi.org/10.3390/en15165766. This paper describes the impact of industrial waste on the environment, which is characterised by the withdrawal of fertile land from circulation and proposes a reclamation mechanism.

8.2) Rybak, J.; Khayrutdinov, M.M.; Kuziev, D.A.; Kongar-Syuryun, Ch.B.; Babyr, N.V. Prediction of the geomechanical state of the rock mass when mining salt deposits with stowing. Journal of Mining Institute 2022, 253, https://doi.org/10.31897/PMI.2022.2. This paper analyses the impact of underground mining on the undermined mass. This impact is investigated using FLAC 3D modelling software. Mining operations cause destruction of the mass above, bringing this disturbance to the surface and producing subsidence and sinkholes. Ways to minimise the impact of underground mining on the environment are suggested.

8.3) Khayrutdinov A., Kongar-Syuryun Ch., Kowalik T., Faradzhov V. Improvement of the backfilling characteristics by activation of halite enrichment waste for non-waste geotechnology. IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering 2020, 867(1), 012018. https://doi.org/10.1088/1757-899X/867/1/012018. In this study, the authors propose to minimize the impact of mining on the environment by involving man-made waste in cyclical production and the creation of waste-free technology.

8.4) Kongar-Syuryun, Ch.; Ubysz, A.; Faradzhov, V. Models and algorithms of choice of development technology of deposits when selecting the composition of the backfilling mixture. IOP Conf. Series: Earth Environ. Sci. 2021, 684(1), 012008. https://doi.org/10.1088/1755-1315/684/1/012008. In this study, the authors propose a methodology of selecting a mineral deposit development technology and a rational backfill material. The structure of the methodology includes fuzzy models and algorithms that provide processing of large amounts of information and form the significance of environmental factors. This allows to make a more correct decision, taking into account all the requirements: safety; environmental friendliness and financial sustainability.

As follows from the presented works (8.1) - (8.4) the authors of the manuscript submitted for review missed a large layer of research related to theformation of a generation of mining engineers who prioritise reducing the impact of mining on the environment. If the authors become familiar with the works presented in (8.1), (8.2), (8.3), (8.4) they will be able to properly form the introduction, enrich their manuscript with international research by scientists from Poland, Czech Republic, Slovenia, Slovakia, Russia, Germany and demonstrate the depth of their material, as well as eliminate the remark (3). 

9.) In chapters 2 and 3 the authors mention existing problems and then point out the qualities that need to be fostered in mining engineers. However, there is a lack of evidence for certain statements. From my point of view references need to be added.

10) The manuscript should be written in a concise, scientific and informative style. The main section of the article should be clearly structured. But at the same time, the authors in their manuscript do not describe the methods that they used in conducting their research.

11.) Conclusion section is formatted incorrectly. Conclusion – brief summary of the study without repeating the wording given earlier in the manuscript. However, in conclusion, the authors repeat what has already been said above, and also declare well-known facts. The conclusion lacks the results established by the authors. The authors abuse repetition throughout the manuscript, and Conclusion section is no exception. Such a presentation of the material reduces the ease of perception by the reader of the information presented. The mistake of incorrectly forming conclusions is a consequence of the incorrect presentation of the introduction noted by me in remark (6) due to the fact that when writing the introduction, the aims and objectives are not formulated.

Conclusions should briefly characterize the result of the study, for example:

As a result of the study 

(1) the dependence of … was obtained.

(2) it was found that ...

(3) and so on.

The conclusion needs to be revised.

Summary: 

1.) From my point of view the manuscript does not fit the theme of the journal. It is more of a philosophical reflection on mining and the place of the mining engineer.

2.) The manuscript is not a finished research work. Corrections are needed. The chosen research topic is relevant. From my point of view, the authors failed to present their research correctly and clearly, which reduced its value and worsened the ease of perception of the material presented. 

From my point of view, the manuscript cannot be published in the open press without correction in accordance with my suggestions. 

Author Response

Response to Reviewer 1 Comments

Dear Editors and Reviewers: 

Thank you for your letter and for the reviewers’ comments concerning our revised manuscript entitled “Ethical construction and development of mining engineering based on the safe, efficient, green, and low-carbon concept” (ID: sustainability-1972584). Those comments or suggestions are all valuable and very helpful for revising and improving our paper, as well as the important guiding significance to our researches. We have studied comments or suggestions carefully and have made correction which we hope meet with approval. Revised portion are listed in the following responds. The main corrections in the paper and the responds to the reviewer’s comments are as following:

Point 1: From my point of view, there are very few keywords. Keywords enable the reader to quickly search for the necessary material and enable the author to popularise their research and increase interest and citations. But if this number of keywords satisfies the requirement of the journal, this comment is advisory.

Response 1: Thank you very much for your valuable reminding. As you pointed out, too few keywords are indeed less likely to attract readers who are interested in the subject matter of this paper, so some keywords have been added in this revision：

Keywords: Development concept; Ethical issues; Mining engineering; engineering ethics; Ethical responsibility; Talent training path; Ethics construction path

Point 2: The abstract is not formed correctly.It is very blurry and framed incorrectly. It seems that the authors have taken certain phrases from the text and thus formed the abstract.  The abstract should clearly indicate the purpose of the study, its importance for society (i.e. to characterize the problem), identify the methods and materials of the study, and the conclusions should be clearly and briefly formulated. There is no "starting point" in the abstract, that is, information about previous studies (one sentence is enough). From my point of view, in the abstract, such information begins with the statement: "Previously conducted studies have established that ...". The results are too detailed, with descriptions repeated throughout the manuscript.

2.1) It is desirable to avoid narrative text in the abstract.

2.2)Try to use words and phrases: an analysis has been carried out; studied; developed; proposed; established and so on. It is advisable to start sentences in the abstract with these words and phrases.

2.3)At the end of the abstract, it is necessary to indicate the final result obtained by the authors, for example: A model has been developed that allows ...; A dependence has been established which is...; A pattern has been revealed...; An efficient system (technology) has been proposed, and so on.

The abstract should be revised.

Response 2: Thank you for your good suggestion. We modified the structure and language of the abstract to make the structure clear and removed repeated sentences in the article.

Modern mining engineering has become a huge system project with the increased intensification and complexity of mining engineering, which interwinds involving many factors. Ethical issues in the main body of the mining engineering have become more and more prominent. What must complement ongoing discussions is a more professional and systematic of analysis that engages with the mining engineering on the socio-technical systems. In this paper, at first, the connotation and basic principles of mining engineering ethics is put forward. Then the ethical responsibilities that mining engineers may face is analyzed. It is suggested that the code of mining engineering ethics can provide engineers in practice with the necessary guidelines to avoid mine accidents caused by wrong decisions. In addition, a case base is introduced to train students to analyze engineering ethics in practical cases, and four typical case studies are discussed in detail. Then the implementation paths of mining engineering ethics are studied, which are respectively centered on the concept of safe, efficient, green and low-carbon development. Finally, we suggest that improving the ethical norms of mining engineering, personnel training system and moral supervision of mining projects will engineers to deal with the ethical issues of mining engineering more effectively, thereby improving the sustainability of mining engineering.

Point 3: The manuscript has a sufficient reference list (41 references in total). But there is no comprehensive coverage of studies in terms of geography of citations. There are no references to international studies in the field. The list of references is intended to demonstrate the depth of the author's study of the material, the relevance and interest of their research.

3.1.) The depth of study is demonstrated with the number of references - is on the verge of sufficiency.

3.2.) Relevance – with the availability of research in recent years – is enough.

3.3.) Interest – with the availability of research by scientists from different countries - is not enough (practically absent). 

Since you are publishing your manuscript in an international publication, it is necessary to demonstrate the international relevance and interest of this issue. This can be done by analyzing the studies of scientists from different countries. It is imperative to supplement the list of references with studies of scientists from different countries over the past 3-5 years to show geographical (general/global) interest and relevance.

The List of References needs to be completed.

Response 3: Thank you for your good suggestion. We have now increased the number of references to 53. Moreover, articles from many countries are referred to, which indeed makes the research breadth of the article go up to a higher level.

Point 4: In the introduction when analysing previous studies, the authors make inaccuracies and often their claims are not accompanied by evidence. It is important for readers to know the essence (main idea) of the research you are referring to when analysing previous work.

4.1)Line 34. The authors talk about carbon emissions. Perhaps they meant carbon mining (coal) or greenhouse gas emissions.

4.2) Lines 36-38. The phrase is not quite clear. How can mechanical engineering supply energy consumption? And what is the problem?

4.3) Lines 42-48. A lot of statements. It is desirable to provide evidence (references).

4.4) Lines 49-50. A very misunderstood statement. What does mortality have to do with it?

4.5) Lines 50-52. It is advisable to provide references proving that the coal industry has made a significant contribution to China's economic development.

Such shortcomings are present throughout the introduction. Please review the introduction, make corrections, and supplement your statements with evidence.

Response 4: Thank you for your good suggestion. We have extensively revised the introduction, adding references where the proofs are needed to make the claims reasonable and well-founded.

4.1 We refer to carbon dioxide emissions. (Corrected)

4.2 What we mean is that the resources (mostly fossil energy) produced by mining engineering (especially coal engineering) provide the material basis for energy consumption, and the massive use of fossil energy greatly increases carbon emissions. Now we have revised the statement. (Corrected)

4.3 Sources have been indicated for the data given. (Corrected)

4.4 References have been provided. (Corrected)

The above is a small part of the modification description. Please check the manuscript for more modifications

Point 5: I would recommend avoiding group references, for example [34-38]. From my point of view, allowed up to three; more than three references must be deciphered. Each paper you refer is unique and the studies you refer deserve more proper and careful review to demonstrate (and prove) its importance for the current research. It is necessary to demonstrate in detail the essence of each study and their need for your work.

Response 5: Thank you for your good comments. In this sentence, we try to explain that many mature technologies have been used in green mining by adding more references. But not taking into account a bunch of references makes it impossible for the reader to know which reference proves the relevant argument. Now we have added literature for each of these technologies that readers can be aware of the development of these technologies.

The practice of green mining technologies such as water conservation mining[35], coal pillarless mining[36], backfill mining[37], utilization of abandoned mines[38,39], and mine ecological restoration technology[40]is beneficial to the green development of coal.

Point 6: It is necessary to indicate who made figures? If this is the author's merit, then it is necessary to indicate: done by the authors; if this is a borrowed drawing, then it is necessary to indicate the source. In Figure 1, it is necessary to indicate where the data is taken from.

Response 6: The author obtained the required data from the national authoritative website and made pictures to illustrate mining engineering and China's economic development. Now all the data indicate the source.

Point 7: At the end of the introduction, there is no brief conclusion of the analytical study of earlier papers. The authors did not summarize their analysis and did not identify unresolved issues. This conclusion should make it possible to characterize the actual question posed, the purpose of the study and the tasks to be solved to achieve this goal. For example: Analyzing the above, it can be noted that ... is a very topical issue. Therefore, the purpose of this study is ... and to achieve this, it is necessary to solve the following tasks: 1); 2); ... Such a conclusion allows the reader to understand the vector of the study, and the authors to correctly formulate the conclusions. It needs to be improved.

Response 7: Thank you very much for your valuable comments, and we have modified the end of the introduction. And the existing research is analyzed and summarized, existing problems and research purpose of the article are pointed out. Finally, the work of this paper is introduced.

Point 8: Considering the comments (3) and (6), I would like to note that the authors have very poorly disclosed the main subject of the study. In recent years, a lot of work has been carried out to study the impact of mining on the rock mass and to recommend measures for reducing strain changes of rock mass and minimising the stress on the surface. Since mining production has a significant effect on the stress-strain behaviour of rock mass, the issues of reducing this influence are very relevant and scientists around the world are trying to minimize it. 

For example,

8.1) Łupieżowiec, M.; Rybak, J.; Różański, Z.; Dobrzycki, P.; Jędrzejczyk, W. Design and Construction of Foundations for Industrial Facilities in the Areas of Former Post-Mining Waste Dumps. Energies 2022, 15, 5766. https://doi.org/10.3390/en15165766. This paper describes the impact of industrial waste on the environment, which is characterised by the withdrawal of fertile land from circulation and proposes a reclamation mechanism.

8.2) Rybak, J.; Khayrutdinov, M.M.; Kuziev, D.A.; Kongar-Syuryun, Ch.B.; Babyr, N.V. Prediction of the geomechanical state of the rock mass when mining salt deposits with stowing. Journal of Mining Institute 2022, 253, https://doi.org/10.31897/PMI.2022.2. This paper analyses the impact of underground mining on the undermined mass. This impact is investigated using FLAC 3D modelling software. Mining operations cause destruction of the mass above, bringing this disturbance to the surface and producing subsidence and sinkholes. Ways to minimise the impact of underground mining on the environment are suggested.

8.3) Khayrutdinov A., Kongar-Syuryun Ch., Kowalik T., Faradzhov V. Improvement of the backfilling characteristics by activation of halite enrichment waste for non-waste geotechnology. IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering 2020, 867(1), 012018. https://doi.org/10.1088/1757-899X/867/1/012018. In this study, the authors propose to minimize the impact of mining on the environment by involving man-made waste in cyclical production and the creation of waste-free technology.

8.4) Kongar-Syuryun, Ch.; Ubysz, A.; Faradzhov, V. Models and algorithms of choice of development technology of deposits when selecting the composition of the backfilling mixture. IOP Conf. Series: Earth Environ. Sci. 2021, 684(1), 012008. https://doi.org/10.1088/1755-1315/684/1/012008. In this study, the authors propose a methodology of selecting a mineral deposit development technology and a rational backfill material. The structure of the methodology includes fuzzy models and algorithms that provide processing of large amounts of information and form the significance of environmental factors. This allows to make a more correct decision, taking into account all the requirements: safety; environmental friendliness and financial sustainability.

As follows from the presented works (8.1) - (8.4) the authors of the manuscript submitted for review missed a large layer of research related to theformation of a generation of mining engineers who prioritise reducing the impact of mining on the environment. If the authors become familiar with the works presented in (8.1), (8.2), (8.3), (8.4) they will be able to properly form the introduction, enrich their manuscript with international research by scientists from Poland, Czech Republic, Slovenia, Slovakia, Russia, Germany and demonstrate the depth of their material, as well as eliminate the remark (3). 

Response 8: Thank you for your suggestion. The author has consulted articles from many countries (including the four articles mentioned above) to enrich the depth of this study.

Point 9: In chapters 2 and 3 the authors mention existing problems and then point out the qualities that need to be fostered in mining engineers. However, there is a lack of evidence for certain statements. From my point of view references need to be added.

Response 9: Thank you very much for your valuable comments, and references have been added.

Point 10: The manuscript should be written in a concise, scientific and informative style. The main section of the article should be clearly structured. But at the same time, the authors in their manuscript do not describe the methods that they used in conducting their research.

Response 10: Thank you very much for your valuable reminding.

(1) The structure of the main parts of the article has been adjusted to ensure that readers can clearly understand the content of the article.

(2) During the study we use methods such as documentary researching, case study method and so on. The research method of this paper is also pointed out in the article.

Point 11: Conclusion section is formatted incorrectly. Conclusion – brief summary of the study without repeating the wording given earlier in the manuscript. However, in conclusion, the authors repeat what has already been said above, and also declare well-known facts. The conclusion lacks the results established by the authors. The authors abuse repetition throughout the manuscript, and Conclusion section is no exception. Such a presentation of the material reduces the ease of perception by the reader of the information presented. The mistake of incorrectly forming conclusions is a consequence of the incorrect presentation of the introduction noted by me in remark (6) due to the fact that when writing the introduction, the aims and objectives are not formulated.

Conclusions should briefly characterize the result of the study, for example:

As a result of the study

(1) the dependence of … was obtained.

(2) it was found that ...

(3) and so on.

The conclusion needs to be revised.

Response 11: Thank you very much for your valuable comments. We revised the conclusion by removing duplicate sentences, resummarizing the results of this paper and making it as clear and readable as possible.

Ethics is crucial to mining engineering, but the empirical study of ethics has revealed shortcomings in the education of mining engineering ethics, as well as in ways to increase mining engineering ethics under the new development concept are revealed.

On the one hand, the work respected the law of natural economic development and combines the characteristics of mining engineering, and initially explored mining engineering ethics with mining characteristics and Chinese features. On the other hand, It advocated amendments to the code of ethics for mining engineering and provided professional and systematic guidance for mining engineers and mining engineering practice. The two promote engineering ethics in the mining industry and cultivate more professionals with ethical responsibility consciousness, which is beneficial to the high-quality development of mining engineering in China.

Thank you very much for your attention to the manuscript, and thank you for spending time reviewing this paper.

Regards

Fangtian WANG and Hongfei QU

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Round 2

Reviewer 2 Report

The manuscript "Ethical construction and development of mining engineering based on the safe, efficient, green, and low-carbon concept" by Fangtian WANG, Hongfei QU, Wei TIAN, Shilei ZHAI, Liqiang MA was submitted for second review.

As can be seen from the submitted manuscript and the explanatory note to the review, the authors did a lot of work to make changes in accordance with the comments. 

The revised manuscript is a completed scientific study on a highly relevant topic: the formation of a new generation of mining engineers and the creation of a mining ethic which must become a moral code governing moral standards among the staff, enterprises and departments concerned, and an ethical principle to be followed by all staff in the practice of mining in order to build the concept and trend of safe mining engineering and the efficient and environmentally friendly exploitation of georesources. The revised version of the manuscript, in my opinion, fully satisfies the requirements of a scientific article and can be published in the open press.