Unearthing mineral resources has brought about serious impacts on the natural ecosystem. Eco-compensation of mineral resources has been proposed; however, the lack of a systematic method for evaluating eco-compensation criteria has limited its implementation and progress. Life cycle thinking is proposed for evaluating eco-compensation criteria because it provides a holistic view for stakeholders through all the stages of production. In this study, the economic loss caused by resource exhaustion and environmental externalities is both studied to evaluate the eco-compensation criteria by integrating life cycle assessment, emergy accounting, and equivalent factor of ecosystem services. Gold production is used as an application for the explanation of this integrated framework. Results show that the life cycle eco-compensation of gold ingot per gram is 4.87 $, including both the economic loss of the gold itself (2.00 $) and the loss in terms of environmental externalities damage (2.87 $). Environmental costs include damage to ecosystem services because of land occupation (75.68%), damage to human health (12.28%), and the costs associated with climate change (12.04%). The results of this study can enrich the theory and future researches of eco-compensation criteria. Finally, suggestions and helpful insights are provided for policy-makers to enhance decision-making regarding eco-compensation criteria.
Keywords: Eco-compensation criteria; Ecosystem services; Emergy; Environmental externalities; Life cycle.