Resource efficiency is both, a scientific concept in sustainability assessment and a policy concept that aims to achieve maximum extraction of resource materials from a mineral deposit at minimum waste production. Presently, established proxies for resource efficiency use weight-based measures of a system's materials consumption However, such proxies are not directly applicable to mining operations. This study introduces a new method and associated techniques for the evaluation and quantification of resource efficiency in mining operations. This approach considers intensities in land, water, energy and mineral deposit consumption (i.e. specific resource consumption to produce one unit of output). Applying this new methodology, resource intensities have been assessed and quantified for 22 major copper mines. Results have allowed relative ranking of these mines in terms of resource efficiency. This work also demonstrates that deposit properties and its geographic location impact on resource efficiency. Consequently, political measures, needed to promote resource efficiency in mining, should focus on region-specific aspects and the properties of the mined ore deposit. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.