The Need For A Standardized Socio-Economic Assessment Of Mining Projects In Bulgaria

The article examines the need to introduce a standardized socio-economic assessment of mining projects in Bulgaria throughout their life cycle. It synthesizes scientific and institutional approaches to social impact, public value, stakeholder engagement and mine closure, and identifies a regulatory gap in the Bulgarian framework. A stage-based assessment architecture is proposed, combining comparable indicators, public evidence, fiscal data and conflict-related metrics at defined decision points. The model aims to improve comparability, transparency and the quality of regulatory decisions without replacing existing environmental and economic procedures.