Search Results (10)

This study investigates the evolution of online public opinion during the COVID-19 pandemic by integrating topic mining with sentiment analysis. To overcome the limitations of traditional short-text models and improve the accuracy of sentiment detection, we propose a novel hybrid framework that combines a GloVe-enhanced Biterm Topic Model (BTM) for semantic-aware topic clustering with a RoBERTa-TextCNN architecture for deep, context-rich sentiment classification. The framework is specifically designed to capture both the global semantic relationships of words and the dynamic contextual nuances of social media discourse. Using a large-scale corpus of more than 550,000 Weibo posts, we conducted comprehensive experiments to evaluate the model’s effectiveness. The proposed approach achieved an accuracy of 92.45%, significantly outperforming baseline transformer-based baseline representative of advanced contextual embedding models across multiple evaluation metrics, including precision, recall, F1-score, and AUC. These results confirm the robustness and stability of the hybrid design and demonstrate its advantages in balancing precision and recall. Beyond methodological validation, the empirical analysis provides important insights into the dynamics of online public discourse. User engagement is found to be highest for the topics directly tied to daily life, with discussions about quarantine conditions alone accounting for 42.6% of total discourse. Moreover, public sentiment proves to be highly volatile and event-driven; for example, the announcement of Wuhan’s reopening produced an 11% surge in positive sentiment, reflecting a collective emotional uplift at a major turning point of the pandemic. Taken together, these findings demonstrate that online discourse evolves in close connection with both societal conditions and government interventions. The proposed topic–sentiment analysis framework not only advances methodological research in text mining and sentiment analysis, but also has the potential to serve as a practical tool for real-time monitoring online opinion. By capturing the fluctuations of public sentiment and identifying emerging themes, this study aims to provide insights that could inform policymaking by suggesting strategies to guide emotional contagion, strengthen crisis communication, and promote constructive public debate during health emergencies. Full article

Underground coal mining in expansive basins has led to land subsidence, posing significant threats to the aboveground structures and the environment. Addressing this issue is paramount, necessitating accurate and reliable prediction methods. This study introduces a novel approach to forecast subsidence and deformations along Highway E75, Belgrade–Niš, situated in the influence zone of the Morava Pit at the Aleksinac mine. The prognostic calculation was conducted using the MITSOUKO software package rooted in the stochastic Patric-Stojanović method, and based on the obtained results, a spatial analysis within the geographic information system (GIS) was performed. Additionally, the sustainability of the highway segment affected by mining activities was evaluated. The data from geodetic measurements indicate that the developed model demonstrates exceptional proficiency in simulating mine subsidence and deformation processes. Precise forecasts of subsidence and deformation, along with accurate risk assessments, are essential prerequisites for developing and implementing effective measures to mitigate the impacts of mine-induced subsidence on highways. This investigation could play a vital role in the feasibility assessment of reopening the Aleksinac mine, potentially presenting lucrative and environmentally sound solutions amidst current energy challenges. Full article

Current advances and trends in the fields of mechanical, material, and software engineering have allowed mining technology to undergo a significant transformation. Aiming to maximize the efficiency and safety of the mining process, several enabling technologies, such as the recent advances in artificial intelligence, IoT, sensor fusion, computational modeling, and advanced robotics, are being progressively adopted in mining machine manufacturing while replacing conventional parts and approaches that used to be the norm in the rock ore extraction industry. This article aims to provide an overview of research trends and state-of-the-art technologies in face exploration and drilling operations in order to define the vision toward the realization of fully autonomous mining exploration machines of the future, capable of operating without any external infrastructure. As the trend of mining at large depths is increasing and as the re-opening of abandoned mines is gaining more interest, near-to-face mining exploration approaches for identifying new ore bodies need to undergo significant revision. This article aims to contribute to future developments in the use of fully autonomous and cooperative smaller mining exploration machines. Full article

Since the middle of the 20th century, the crisis of industrial mining activities in Western Europe has caused the cessation of mining, triggering a structural crisis. The necessity to look for alternatives has been widely discussed; among these alternatives, tourist activities based on mining heritage stand out. However, it is essential to address the study of those unattractive peripheral spaces in which new activities encounter obstacles to their development and face post-industrial and rural crises. The Riotinto Mining Basin (Huelva, Andalusia) represents an example of such rural spaces; it has an enormous cultural heritage, and the mine has recently been reactivated. The objective of this research is to analyze the contribution of mining tourism to sustainable rural development. The applied methodology was mixed and was based on interviews and secondary data. The results are (a) the achievement of the tourism value of the mining heritage; (b) the difficulties tourism faces in overcoming its peripheral condition; (c) the relative contribution of tourism to the improvement of the territorial image; (d) the lack of coordination among stakeholders; and (e) the limited contribution of tourism to sustainable rural development and its movement to a secondary economic role after the reopening of the mine. Full article

COVID-19-related school closures caused unprecedented and prolonged disruption to daily life, education, and social and physical activities. This disruption in the life course affected the well-being of students from different age groups. This study proposed analyzing student well-being and determining the most influential factors that affected student well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic. With this aim, we adopted a cross-sectional study designed to analyze the student data from the Responses to Educational Disruption Survey (REDS) collected between December 2020 and July 2021 from a large sample of grade 8 or equivalent students from eight countries (n = 20,720), including Burkina Faso, Denmark, Ethiopia, Kenya, the Russian Federation, Slovenia, the United Arab Emirates, and Uzbekistan. We first estimated a well-being IRT score for each student in the REDS student database. Then, we used 10 data-mining approaches to determine the most influential factors that affected the well-being of students during the COVID-19 outbreak. Overall, 178 factors were analyzed. The results indicated that the most influential factors on student well-being were multifarious. The most influential variables on student well-being were students’ worries about contracting COVID-19 at school, their learning progress during the COVID-19 disruption, their motivation to learn when school reopened, and their excitement to reunite with friends after the COVID-19 disruption. Full article

Aljustrel, Lousal and S. Domingos mines are located in the Iberian Pyrite Belt (IPB), one of the greatest massive sulfide ore deposits worldwide. These mines’ surrounding streams are affected by Acid Mine Drainage (AMD). The main purpose of this study was to understand AMD influence in the water quality and diatom behavior. Thus, waters and diatoms were sampled in 6 sites from the 3 selected mines on winter and summer of 2016. The highest concentrations were found in acidic sites: A3 (Aljustrel—Al, Cd, Cu, Fe and Zn (and lowest pH)) and L1 (Lousal—As, Mn, Ca, Mg, SO₄²⁻ and conductivity). The most abundant diatom species was Pinnularia aljustrelica with 100% of dominance in A3 and S1 acidic sites, which puts in evidence this species adaptation to AMD harsh conditions. Multivariate cluster analysis allowed us to reinforce results from previous studies, where spatial differences were more relevant than seasonal ones. In 12 years (2004–2016), and with many transformations undertaken (re-opening and rehabilitation), there is a conservative behavior in the biological species (diatoms) and physicochemical concentrations (metals, pH and sulfates) from these three mining sites. This type of biogeochemical diagnosis is necessary for the sustainable use of these waters and the prevention of the polluting process, aimed to protect the water ecosystem and its biodiversity. Full article

Major benefits and constraints related to mineral extraction within the EU have been identified on the examples of selected critical raw materials’ deposits. Analyzed case studies include the following ore deposits: Myszków Mo-W-Cu (Poland), Juomasuo Au-Co (Finland), S. Pedro das Águias W-Sn (Portugal), Penouta Nb-Ta-Sn (Spain), Norra Kärr REEs (Sweden) and Trælen graphite (Norway). They represent different stages of development, from the early/grassroot exploration stage, through advanced exploration and active mining, up to reopening of abandoned mines, and refer to different problems and constraints related to the possibility of exploitation commencement. The multi-criteria analysis of the cases has included geological and economic factors as well as environmental, land use, social acceptance and infrastructure factors. These factors, in terms of cost and benefit analysis, have been considered at three levels: local, country and EU levels. The analyzed cases indicated the major obstacles that occur in different stages of deposit development and need to be overcome in order to enable a new deposit exploitation commencement. These are environmental (Juomasuo and Myszków), spatial (Juomasuo) as well as social constraints (Norra Kärr, Juomasuo). In the analyzed cases, the most important constraints related to future deposit extraction occur primarily at a local level, while some important benefits are identified mainly at the country and the EU levels. These major benefits are related to securing long-term supplies for the national industries and strategically important EU industry sectors. Full article

Mining can have a notable environmental and social footprint both during the production phase and after the mine closure. We examined local stakeholders’ viewpoints on two post-mining areas in northern Finland, Hannukainen and Rautuvaara, using a public participation geographic information system (PPGIS) approach. Spatially explicit data on local residents’ and visitors’ values, knowledge needs, and future perspectives on mining landscapes were collected with an online map-based survey tool (Harava). The results show that post-mining sites were generally considered unpleasant places. A majority of respondents were of the opinion that areas would need better reclamation and landscaping measures. The landscape surrounding the post-mining sites contained a wide diversity of pleasant places with high nature and recreational value. Respondents addressed various environmental concerns related to the impacts of former mining activities on the quality of ground water and surface water, potential soil contamination, and the safety of natural products. Opinions on the planned mine reopening were strongly divided among the respondents. One of the key questions was whether a large open-pit mine and nature-based tourism can coexist in the same region. Our results highlight that “the shadow of the mine”—observed environmental impacts, uncertainties related to the spatial extent, duration, and magnitude of impacts, and knowledge gaps—can affect local stakeholders’ land use far outside the mining sites and long after the mine closure. Identifying and mapping stakeholder values, opinions, and knowledge needs could significantly improve post-mining land use planning and mitigate the loss of multifunctional landscapes. Full article

Sustainable land use in post-mining areas has received more attention only recently. This study examined landscape characteristics and post-mining land use in 51 metal mining sites in Finland. Studied mines were closed during the period of 1924–2016, and over half of them had been active more than 10 years. Mines were typically located in sparsely populated forest landscapes. Cultural and recreational functions were found in one third of the sites, especially in significant historical mining areas close to the population centers. Further, nearly one third of the post-mining sites included new activities related to industry and infrastructure. The diversity of post-mining functions was generally limited in small and isolated sites. Re-opening of five closed mines was planned or under development, and exploration permits (or claims) were applied or admitted for half of the post-mining areas. The results showed that every closed mine is unique and thus, sustainable post-mining land use requires careful evaluation of potentials and limitations (e.g., contamination and other hazards) of the sites. Increasing sizes of new mining projects calls for paying more attention on future post-mining landscapes in order to avoid degraded and underused areas from environmental, social and economic perspectives. Full article

Rare earths are used in the renewable energy technologies such as wind turbines, batteries, catalysts and electric cars. Current mining, processing and sustainability aspects have been described in this paper. Rare earth availability is undergoing a temporary decline due mainly to quotas being imposed by the Chinese government on export and action taken against illegal mining operations. The reduction in availability coupled with increasing demand has led to increased prices for rare earths. Although the prices have come down recently, this situation is likely to be volatile until material becomes available from new sources or formerly closed mines are reopened. Although the number of identified deposits in the world is close to a thousand, there are only a handful of actual operating mines. Prominent currently operating mines are Bayan Obo in China, Mountain Pass in the US and recently opened Mount Weld in Australia. The major contributor to the total greenhouse gas (GHG) footprint of rare earth processing is hydrochloric acid (ca. 38%), followed by steam use (32%) and electricity (12%). Life cycle based water and energy consumption is significantly higher compared with other metals. Full article