All activities in the mining system are relevant to cost flows. Costs are divided into preliminary, direct, indirect, by-product credit, non-operational and environmental. Direct costs for excavation (blasting, haulage and crushing, hoisting, waste disposal, cost of closure, etc), beneficiation (crushing and screening, wet milling classification, froth flotation, dewatering, waste disposal, cost of closure etc.) have been collected and analysed. These direct costs affect the environmental costs, therefore data pertaining to the costs of environmental protection have been collected (environmental investment costs, environmental charges: fees, fines), the cost of waste disposal (hydraulic transport, distribution and silting up, clarifying, water discharge) and cost of closure, reclamation, monitoring and redevelopment (long-term costs). The sum of costs for each operational unit used in each separate process have been closely connected with the direct cost of every process defined in the LCA system.
In accounting for the financial cost and benefit of alternative scenarios, economic analysis using LCC (Life Cycle Costs) for different solutions have been developed. All the cost are accounted in monetary terms, benefits are presented in quantitative and monetary (a monetary valuation study based on mainly reduction of charges and reduction of damages after environmental investment) terms.