Introduction to Mining

Mining is the process of extraction of solid mineral resources from the earth. These resources include
ores, which contain commercially valuable amounts of metals, such as iron and aluminum; precious
stones, such as diamonds; building stones, such as granite; and solid fuels, such as coal and oil shale.

The search for and discovery of mineral deposits is called prospecting, or exploration. When a
mineral deposit is found, it is studied to determine if it can be mined profitably. If so, the deposit can
be worked or extracted by a variety of mining methods.

Mining operations usually create a negative environmental impact, both during the mining activity
and after the mine has closed. Hence, most of the world's nations have passed regulations to decrease
the impact. Work safety has long been a concern as well, and modern practices have significantly
improved safety in mines.

Mine Development
The process of mining from discovery of an ore body through extraction of minerals and finally to
returning the land to its natural state consists of several distinct steps. The first is discovery of the ore
body, which is carried out through prospecting or exploration to find and then define the extent,
location and value of the ore body. This leads to a mathematical resource estimation to estimate the
size and grade of the deposit.
This estimation is used to conduct a pre-feasibility study to determine the theoretical economics of
the ore deposit. This identifies, early on, whether further investment in estimation and engineering
studies is warranted and identifies key risks and areas for further work. The next step is to conduct
a feasibility study to evaluate the financial viability, the technical and financial risks, and the
robustness of the project.
To gain access to the mineral deposit within an area it is often necessary to mine through or
remove waste material which is not of immediate interest to the miner. The total movement of ore
and waste constitutes the mining process. Often more waste than ore is mined during the life of a
mine, depending on the nature and location of the ore body. Waste removal and placement is a major
cost to the mining operator, so a detailed characterization of the waste material forms an essential
part of the geological exploration program for a mining operation.
Once the analysis determines a given ore body is worth recovering, development begins to create
access to the ore body. The mine buildings and processing plants are built, and any necessary
equipment is obtained. The operation of the mine to recover the ore begins and continues as long as
the company operating the mine finds it economical to do so. Once all the ore that the mine can
produce profitably is recovered, reclamation begins to make the land used by the mine suitable for
future use.

Mining Techniques/Methods
Mining techniques can be divided into two common excavation types: surface mining and sub-
surface (underground) mining.
Targets are divided into two general categories of materials: placer deposits, consisting of valuable
minerals contained within river gravels, beach sands, and other unconsolidated materials; and lode
deposits, where valuable minerals are found in veins, in layers, or in mineral grains generally
distributed throughout a mass of actual rock. Both types of ore deposit, placer or lode, are mined by
both surface and underground methods.
Some mining, including much of the rare earth elements and uranium mining, is done by less-
common methods, such as in-situ leaching: this technique involves digging neither at the surface nor
underground. The extraction of target minerals by this technique requires that they be soluble,
e.g., potash, potassium chloride, sodium chloride, sodium sulfate, which dissolve in water. Some
minerals, such as copper minerals and uranium oxide, require acid or carbonate solutions to dissolve.

Surface Mining
Surface mining is done by removing (stripping) surface vegetation, dirt, and, if necessary, layers of
bedrock in order to reach buried ore deposits. Techniques of surface mining include: open-pit
mining, which is the recovery of materials from an open pit in the ground, quarrying, identical to
open-pit mining except that it refers to sand, stone and clay, strip mining, which consists of stripping
surface layers off to reveal ore/seams underneath; and mountaintop removal, commonly associated
with coal mining, which involves taking the top of a mountain off to reach ore deposits at depth.
Most (but not all) placer deposits, because of their shallowly buried nature, are mined by surface
methods.

Underground Mining
Sub-surface mining consists of digging tunnels or shafts into the earth to reach buried ore deposits.
Ore, for processing, and waste rock, for disposal, are brought to the surface through the tunnels and
shafts. Sub-surface mining can be classified by the type of access shafts used, the extraction method
or the technique used to reach the mineral deposit. Drift mining utilizes horizontal access
tunnels, slope mining uses diagonally sloping access shafts, and shaft mining utilizes vertical access
shafts. Mining in hard and soft rock formations require different techniques.

Other methods include shrinkage stope mining, which is mining upward, creating a sloping
underground room, long wall mining, which is grinding a long ore surface underground, and room
and pillar mining, which is removing ore from rooms while leaving pillars in place to support the
roof of the room. Room and pillar mining often leads to retreat mining, in which supporting pillars
are removed as miners retreat, allowing the room to cave in, thereby loosening more ore. Additional
sub-surface mining methods include hard rock mining, which is mining of hard rock (igneous,
metamorphic or sedimentary) materials, bore hole mining, drift and fill mining, long hole slope
mining, sub level caving, and block caving.

Machineries
Heavy machinery is used in mining to explore and develop sites, to remove and stockpile
overburden, to break and remove rocks of various hardness and toughness, to process the ore, and to
carry out reclamation projects after the mine is closed. Bulldozers, drills, explosives and trucks are
all necessary for excavating the land. In the case of placer mining, unconsolidated gravel,
or alluvium, is fed into machinery consisting of a hopper and a shaking screen which frees the
desired minerals from the waste gravel. The minerals are then concentrated using sluices or jigs.
Large drills are used to sink shafts, excavate stopes, and obtain samples for analysis. Trams are used
to transport miners, minerals and waste. Lifts carry miners into and out of mines, and move rock and
ore out, and machinery in and out, of underground mines. Huge trucks, shovels and cranes are
employed in surface mining to move large quantities of overburden and ore. Processing plants utilize
large crushers, mills, reactors, roasters and other equipment to consolidate the mineral-rich material
and extract the desired compounds and metals from the ore.

Processing
Once the mineral is extracted, it is often then processed. The science of extractive metallurgy is a
specialized area in the science of metallurgy that studies the extraction of valuable metals from their
ores, especially through chemical or mechanical means.
Mineral processing (or mineral dressing) is a specialized area in the science of metallurgy that
studies the mechanical means of crushing, grinding, and washing that enable the separation
(extractive metallurgy) of valuable metals or minerals from their gangue (waste material). Processing
of placer ore material consists of gravity-dependent methods of separation, such as sluice boxes.
Only minor shaking or washing may be necessary to disaggregate the sands or gravels before
processing. Processing of ore from a lode mine, whether it is a surface or subsurface mine, requires
that the rock ore be crushed and pulverized before extraction of the valuable minerals begins. After
lode ore is crushed, recovery of the valuable minerals is done by one, or a combination of several,
mechanical and chemical techniques.
Since most metals are present in ores as oxides or sulfides, the metal needs to be reduced to its
metallic form. This can be accomplished through chemical means such as smeltingor through
electrolytic reduction, as in the case of aluminium. Geometallurgy combines the geologic sciences
with extractive metallurgy and mining.

Environmental Issues
Environmental issues can include erosion, formation of sinkholes, loss of biodiversity,
and contamination of soil, groundwater and surface water by chemicals from mining processes. In
some cases, additional forest logging is done in the vicinity of mines to create space for the storage
of the created debris and soil. Contamination resulting from leakage of chemicals can also affect the
health of the local population if not properly controlled. Extreme examples of pollution from mining
activities include coal fires, which can last for years or even decades, producing massive amounts of
environmental damage.
Mining companies in most countries are required to follow stringent environmental and rehabilitation
codes in order to minimize environmental impact and avoid impacting human health. These codes
and regulations all require the common steps of environmental impact assessment, development
of environmental management plans, mine closure planning (which must be done before the start of
mining operations), and environmental monitoring during operation and after closure. However, in
some areas, particularly in the developing world, government regulations may not be well enforced.