In the course of the development of the Report of the World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED) in the 1980s an expression was introduced in the public discussion on environment and development that influenced the international and national policies of the last 20 years in all areas: sustainable development._x000D_
The UN decided in 1992 to implement a program with the Agenda 21 which contains the demand for developing indicators for sustainable development. In this context an indicator is understood as a quantitative or qualitative measure that can be measured or described throughout time and which moreover is able to depict the current status and changes. In order to enable for a simple holistic assessment of sustainable development, highly aggregated indicators are required, which integrate the criteria identified as relevant within a framework to be defined._x000D_
In the presented paper, sustainability indicators for the mining industry are developed that account for the allowances of the sustainable development concept and the Agenda 21._x000D_
The indicators are quantifiable and traceable through time so that developments can be traced and assessed._x000D_
Furthermore, the indicators account for the multidimensional aspect of sustainable development. They are designed to allow for the integration of several dimensions in one indicator._x000D_
The premises that are underlying the development of the indicators are the minimisation of negative impacts on the environment and society while simultaneously considering the maximisation of social and economic factors._x000D_
Moreover, the participative momentum that is part of the sustainability idea is safeguarded in explicitly integrating the social acceptance of certain measures into the assessment._x000D_
The indicators presented are based on the logical combination of statements through the use of Boolean algebra. Starting with basic statements for which the logical value is oriented on the sustainability paradigm, complex multidimensional statements can be constructed and assessed._x000D_
FORMAL CITATION:Pateiro-Fernndez, J B and Martens, P N, 2009._x000D_
Multidimensional sustainable development indicators for the minerals industry, in Proceedings SDIMI 2009 - Sustainable Development Indicators in the Minerals Industry, pp 323-328 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).