Application of MCDM in evaluating emerging technology for artisanal mining

The paper reports on the an extensive study conducted on artisanal mining of sandstone in QwaQwa. The purpose of which was to develop a comprehensive method of assessing emerging technology in the mining of sandstone in QwaQwa. The techniques being evaluated if successful would improve the mining of sandstone at a lesser risk to the miners and increase the productivity of sandstone as well as the processing capacity of the sandstone thereby resulting into a reduced pricing of the sandstone as a product. The technology at the forefront of the research was the solar energy microwave activated equipment which would be used to heat the sandstone rock to very high temperatures resulting to the blocks of stone scrambling due to differential expansion rates and internal stresses. The methodology used in the research was the Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) tool based on five perspectives used in the comparison of two mining techniques. The MCDM technique relies on the judgement by experts in the mining paternity to give credible decisions. These experts are usually individuals with a wealth of knowledge acquired through experience over the years in employment. The experts normally consider both qualitative and quantitative measurements in arriving at a credible judgement quantification value. The data obtained from these experts were synthesised to provide an overall numerical score which in this study favoured the solar energy microwave activated magnetron mining technology. The intellectual merit of this paper is the development of a comprehensive model for the evaluation of emerging technology in the mining paternity to enable better decisions to be taken regarding mining techniques and commercialisation. The targeted audience for this paper are the academicians, Government officials, Policy makers, Mining Practitioners and the QwaQwa community where sandstone was being mined.