Mining facilities require coast-based storage and docks to stockpile, load/unload, and dispatch concentrates and ore materials from the mine plant to transporting ships. Similarly, backshore areas of contemplated port sites need to be identified and quantified to plan the various port facilities, including the stockpile yard, warehouses, terminals, and evacuation areas. Due to their location, mining ports and seaports may be prone to coastal hazards which should be considered in their planning and siting.

This paper aims to present methods of predicting and quantifying two common coastal hazards, tropical storms and seismically-generated tsunamis, with a view to quantifying their direct impact on the siting, planning and engineering of port infrastructures. The paper also discusses two case applications, namely, one involving the siting for a mining plant of a pier along open coastline; the second involves the pre-engineering planning for a seaport along a coastline that is historically susceptible to submarine earthquakes.

The results are based on numerical simulations of the wave climate due to tropical storms and typhoons, and computations of the maximum runup elevations of historical and potential maximum inland incursions of tsunamis. A suitability matrix is devised to numerically weigh the relative importance of these hazards in the site evaluation process.

It is concluded that the direct impacts of coastal hazards can be numerically assessed and accounted for in the siting and planning of mine and sea ports. The methodology is used to eliminate unsuitable port sites or identify the best port location along a long coastline.