E-MINING What is mining?

Mining is the extraction (removal) of minerals and metals from earth. Manganese, tantalum, cassiterite, copper, tin, nickel, bauxite (aluminum ore), iron ore, gold, silver, and diamonds are just some examples of what is mined.

Why mine?
Mining is a money making business. Not only do mining companies prosper, but governments also make money from revenues. Workers also receive income and benefits.

What are the minerals and metals used for?

Minerals and metals are very valuable commodities. For example, manganese is a key component of low-cost stainless steel. It is also used to de-color glass (removing greenish hues), but in higher concentrations, it actually makes lavendar-colored glass. Tantalum is used in cell phones, pagers, and lap-tops. Cooper and tin are used to make pipes, cookware, etc. And gold, silver, and diamonds are used to make jewelry.

Large scale mining versus small scale mining:

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Large scale mining usually involves a company with many employees. The company mines at one or two large sites and usually stays until the mineral or metal is completely excavated. An example of a large scale mine is the Serra Pelada mine in Brazil which yielded 29,000 tons of gold from 1980 to 1986 and employed 50,000 workers (Kricher, 1997). Small scale mining usually involves a small group of nomadic men. They travel together and look for sites which they think will yield gold or another valuable metal or mineral. Small scale mining occurs in places such as Suriname, Guyana, Central Africa, and many other places around the world. Some

researchers believe that small scale mining is more harmful to the environment and causes more social problems than large scale mining. This will become apparent later in the lesson.

MININGS
Mining may well have been the second of humankinds earliest endeavors granted that agriculture was the first. The two industries ranked together as the primary or basic industries of early civilization. Little has changed in the importance of these industries since the beginning of civilization. If we consider fishing and lumbering as part of agriculture and oil and gas production as part of mining,then agriculture and mining continue to supply all the basic resources used by modern civilization.

The history of mining :is fascinating. It parallels the history of civilization, with many important cultural eras associated with and identified by various minerals or their derivatives. MINING TERMINOLOGY: y Most of themining terminology is introduced in the sections of this book where they are most applicable. Some general terms are best defined at the outset; these are outlined here. For a complete list of mining terminology,see a standard reference (Gregory,1980; American Geological Institute, 1997). The following three terms are closely related:

Mine:- an excavation made in the earth to extract minerals Mining:- the activity,occupation,and industry concerned with the extraction of minerals Mining engineering:- the practice of applying engineering principles to the development,planning, operation,closure, and reclamation of mines Some terms distinguish various types of mined minerals. Geologically,one can distinguish the following mineral categories: Mineral: a naturally occurring inorganic element or compound having an orderly internal structure and a characteristic chemical composition, crystal form,and physical properties Rock: any naturally formed aggregate of one or more types of mineral particles Economic differences in the nature of mineral deposits is evident in the following terms: Ore: a mineral deposit that has sufficient utility and value to be mined at a profit. Gangue: the valueless mineral particles within an ore deposit that must be discarded. Waste: the material associated with an ore deposit that must be mined to get at the ore and must then be discarded. Gangue is a particular type of

waste

ADVANCEMENTS IN MINING TECHNOLOGY As one of humanitys earliest endeavorsand certainly one of its first organized industriesmining has an ancient and venerable history (Gregory, 1980). y To understand modern mining practices,it is useful to trace the evolution of mining technology,which (as pointed out earlier in this chapter) has paralleled human evolution and the advance of civilization. y Mining in its simplest form began with Paleolithic humans some 450,000 years ago,evidenced by the flint implements that have been found with the bones of early humans from the Old Stone Age (Lewis and Clark,1964 ). Our ancestors extracted pieces from loose masses of flint or from easily accessed outcrops and,using crude methods of chipping the flint,shaped them into tools and weapons. y By the New Stone Age,humans had progressed to underground mining in systematic openings 2 to 3 ft (0.6 to 0.9m) in height and more than 30 ft (9m) in depth (Stoces,1954 ).

Mining technology,like that of all industry, languished during the Dark Ages. Notably,a political development in 1185 improved the standing of mining and the status of miners,when the bishop of Trent granted a charter to miners in his domain. y It gave miners legal as well as social rights,including the right to stake mineral claims. A milestone in the history of mining,the edict has had long-term consequences that persist to this day. STAGES IN THE LIFE OF A MINE The overall sequence of activities in modern mining is often compared with the five stages in the life of a mine: prospecting, exploration, development, exploitation, and reclamation. y Prospecting and exploration,precursors to actual mining, linked and sometimes combined. Geologists and mining engineers often share responsibility for these two stages geologists more involved with the former,mining engineers more with the latter. y Likewise, development andexploitation are closely related stages; they are usually considered to constitute.

y mining proper and are the main province of the mining engineer. Reclamation has been added to these stages since the first edition,to reflect the times. Closure and reclamation of the mine site has become a necessary part of the mine life cycle because of the demands of society for a cleaner environment and stricter laws regulating the abandonment of a mine. The overall process of developing a mine with the future uses of the land in mind is termed sustainable development. (1) This concept was defined in a book entitled Our Common Future (World Commission on Environment and Development,1987 ) as development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. The ideas presented therein have been widely endorsed as a practical means of providing for future generations.

EXPLORATION The second stage in the life of a mine, exploration,determines as accurately as possible the size and value of a mineral deposit,utilizing techniques similar to but more refined than those used in prospecting. The line of demarcation

between prospecting and exploration is not sharp; in fact,a distinction may not be possible in some cases. . . Development development,the work of opening a mineral deposit for exploitation is performed. With it begins the actual mining of the deposit,now called the ore. Access to the deposit must be gained either y (1)by stripping theoverburden,which is the soil and/or rock covering the deposit, to expose thenear-surface ore for mining or y by excavating openings from the surface toaccess more deeply buried deposits to prepare for underground mining. Exploitation Exploitation,the fourth stage of mining, is associated with the actual recovery of minerals from the earth in quantity. Although development may continue, the emphasis in the production stage is on production. Usually only enough development is done prior to exploitation to ensure that production,once started,can continue uninterrupted throughout the life of the mine.

Types of Mining Mining is a very diverse field with different aspects to it. Just like there are many ways to prepare foods, there are

many different ways that minerals are extracted from the earth. Here are the various ways in which mining can occur: The main two divisions of mining are:
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Surface mining Underground mining

Surface Mining Surface mines are mining operations that delve into rock to extract deposits of mineral resources that are close to the surface. In most forms of surface mining, heavy equipment, such as earthmovers, first remove the overburden (the soil and rock above the deposit). Next, huge machines such as drag line excavators extract the mineral.Once the material has been removed, the land is recovered for safe use on the surface through a process called reclamation.There are several variations of surface mining...

Mountaintop removal Mountaintop removal (MTR) is a relatively new form of coal mining that involves the mass restructuring of earth in order to reach sediment as deep as 1,000 feet below the surface. Mountaintop removal requires that the targeted land be first clear-cut and then leveled by explosives. Hydraulic Hydraulic mining involves high pressure water. The water is sprayed at an area of rock and/or gravel and the water breaks the rock up, dislodging ore and placer deposits. The water/oremixture is then milled. This is a very destructive way to mine and has been outlawed in most areas. Open Pit Open pit mines involve digging large open holes in the ground as opposed to a small shaft in hard rock mining. This method of mining is most often used with minerals like copper and molybdenum. Open pit mines are very large and mostly away from urban areas. Mining operations of this scale were not done often in the 19th century. Dredging Dredging is a method often used to bring up underwater mineral deposits. Although dredging is usually employed to clear or enlarge waterways for boats, it can also recover significant amounts of underwater minerals relatively efficiently and cheaply.

Underground Mining

Underground mining refers to a group of techniques used for the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth. In contrast to the other main type of excavation, surface mining, sub-surface mining requires equipment and people to operate under the surface of the earth. There are several variations of underground mining:
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Drift mining Drift mining is a method of accessing valuable geological material, such as coal, by cutting into the side of the earth, rather than tunneling straight downwards. Drift mines have horizontal entries into the coal seam from a hillside. Drift mines are distinct from slope mines, which have an inclined entrance from the surface to the coal seam. If possible, though, drifts are driven at just a slight incline so that removal of material can be assisted by gravity. Slope mining Slope mining is a method of accessing valuable geological material, such as coal. A sloping access shaft travels downwards towards the coal seam. Slope mines differ from shaft and drift mines, which access resources by tunneling straight down or horizontally, respectively. Shaft mining Shaft mining is a type of underground mining done by use of a mine shaft. A mine shaft is a vertical passageway used for access to an underground mine. On the surface above the shaft stands a building

known as the head frame, which in previous years contained a winding engine and in modern.