Glossary¶

This glossary defines the core terms used throughout the surfacing-mining project. Terms are defined structurally and consistently across profiles, projects, data files, and the explorer interface.

Core Concepts¶

Project¶

A project is a regional or contextual instance of analysis.

A project combines:

a profile
location-specific data
value flows
exposures
evidence
geospatial layers

Example:

copper_sulfide_mn
helium_mn

Profile¶

A profile is a reusable structural pattern describing a class of extraction activity.

A profile defines:

processing stages
exposure categories
value flow categories
required and optional map layers
time emphasis

Profiles are independent of any specific company or site.

Example:

copper_sulfide_hardrock
helium_gas

Unit of Analysis¶

The unit of analysis is profile + location: a structural pattern applied to a specific region.

A single profile can be applied to multiple locations. A single location can be analyzed under multiple profiles. Results are always relative to the combination of both.

Scope¶

Scope describes the analytical boundary of a project.

Current scope values:

regional pattern — analysis of structural patterns across a region, not tied to a single operator or permit application

Value and Cost Structures¶

Value Flow¶

A value flow is a directional transfer of economic value associated with an extraction project.

Each value flow has:

a direction (see Flow Direction)
a recipient
a local capture fraction
a weight (relative importance within the project)
a time horizon

Value flows are not uniformly positive. A counterfactual loss (e.g., suppressed tourism revenue) is modeled as an outflow.

Flow Direction¶

Flow direction describes where value moves relative to the local region.

Direction	Meaning
`inflow_to_region`	Value enters the local economy (wages, taxes, royalties)
`outflow_from_region`	Value leaves the region (commodity revenue to shareholders)
`inflow_variable`	Inflow whose amount is uncertain or contingent (royalties under negotiation)
`inflow_conditional`	Inflow that only materializes under specific conditions (reclamation bond draw)
`inflow_national`	Value accrues nationally rather than locally (strategic mineral supply)
`outflow_counterfactual`	Value that would have existed in the absence of the project (foregone tourism)

Local Capture Fraction¶

The local capture fraction is a qualitative estimate of how much of a value flow remains within the local region.

Values: high, medium, low, negligible, negative, or a descriptive phrase.

A high local capture fraction means most of the value stays in the region (e.g., wages paid to local residents). A low fraction means most value exits (e.g., commodity revenue to external shareholders).

Weight¶

A weight is a configurable relative importance assigned to a value flow or exposure within a project.

Weights are expressed as decimals summing to 1.0 across all flows (or across all exposures).

Weights are structural defaults from the profile. They are not empirical measurements. They should be treated as assumptions, not findings.

Time Horizon¶

The time horizon of a value flow or exposure describes the phase or duration over which it is active.

Common values:

construction — bounded to the build phase
operational — active during mine or facility operations
post-closure — persists after operations end
permanent / perpetual — no expected end date
multi-generational — extends across decades or longer

Time horizon is one of the primary structural dimensions for detecting asymmetry between bounded benefits and long-tail costs.

Exposure¶

An exposure is a category of cost, risk, or disruption borne by a local population, community, or ecosystem.

Each exposure has:

a category (environmental, economic, fiscal, cultural/legal, quality of life)
a local bearer
a weight
a time horizon
a reversibility assessment

Exposures are local by definition. They describe who bears what, for how long, and how recoverable the impact is.

Local Bearer¶

The local bearer is the population, community, or entity that carries an exposure.

Examples:

downstream municipalities
tribal communities with treaty rights
recreational outfitters
regional taxpayers

Reversibility¶

Reversibility describes whether an exposure can be recovered from after the project ends.

Value	Meaning
`high`	Conditions return to baseline post-closure with standard remediation
`medium`	Partial recovery likely; some lasting change expected
`low`	Significant lasting impact; full recovery unlikely
`very low`	Effectively permanent under realistic scenarios

Temporal Asymmetry¶

Temporal asymmetry occurs when value flows are bounded to the operational period while exposures extend into post-closure or are permanent.

This is a structural feature of many extraction projects: revenue and employment end when operations cease, but water treatment obligations, abandoned well liability, or ecosystem impacts may persist indefinitely.

The explorer surfaces temporal asymmetry automatically when it is detected.

Evidence¶

Evidence is the collection of sources, claims, and documented gaps associated with a project.

Evidence is stored in evidence.toml and includes:

regulatory sources (EIS documents, permit filings, agency rules)
scientific and technical sources
economic sources
indigenous and legal sources
known gaps

Claim¶

A claim is a factual assertion associated with a project that can be linked to one or more sources.

Claims are not conclusions. They are traceable statements that can be inspected, challenged, or updated.

Gap¶

A gap is an explicitly documented absence of evidence.

Gaps are first-class data. Documenting what is unknown is as important as documenting what is known.

Geospatial¶

Geospatial Layer¶

A geospatial layer is a GeoJSON file associated with a project that provides spatial context.

Standard layers:

Layer	Description
`site`	Project site footprint, wellpads, or lease area
`watershed`	Drainage sub-basins relevant to the project
`laurentian_divide`	Continental drainage divide (where applicable)
`downstream_path`	Modeled downstream drainage paths from the site
`protected_areas`	Wilderness, national forest, park, and state forest boundaries

All geospatial layers in this project are structural placeholders unless explicitly marked otherwise. Replace with authoritative sources (USGS NHD, PADUS, USFS, MN DNR) before drawing conclusions.

Laurentian Divide¶

The Laurentian Divide is a continental drainage divide in northern Minnesota separating two major drainage basins:

North — drains to the Rainy River and Hudson Bay
South/East — drains to Lake Superior and the St. Lawrence Seaway

The position of a project site relative to the Laurentian Divide determines which downstream watershed(s) bear water quality exposure. Sites near the divide may drain to both basins.

Downstream Path¶

A downstream path is the modeled drainage route from a project site to a major receiving water body.

Downstream paths are used to identify communities, ecosystems, and jurisdictions that may bear water quality or hydrological exposure from a project.

Framework Terms¶

Admissibility¶

Admissibility is whether a project or scenario passes a defined set of hard constraints.

Admissibility is binary (pass / fail) and constraint-dependent. A project that fails a constraint under one assumption set may pass under another. Admissibility is not approval or recommendation.

Assumption Dependence¶

All results in this framework are assumption-dependent.

Weights, thresholds, and constraint values are configurable. Changing assumptions changes results. The framework is designed to make this dependence explicit and inspectable.

Structural Exploration¶

Structural exploration is the practice of examining how different assumptions, constraints, and weightings shape outcomes without asserting which outcome is correct.

This project is a tool for structural exploration. It does not determine outcomes or recommend decisions.