The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to mining: Mining – extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, usually (but not always) from an ore body, vein or (coal) seam. Any material that cannot be grown from agricultural processes, or created artificially in a laboratory or factory, is usually mined.
Basic concepts
Mining engineering Resource extraction
Geology of mining
Basic terms Mineral Rock (geology), an aggregate material usually made up of a number of minerals Ore, rock containing a desired mineral Ore genesis, the geological processes by which ore is formed and deposited Ore grade, the amount of a desired mineral or metal that a quantity of ore contains high grade ores are rich in the mineral desired, low-grade ores have less of the mineral desired Gangue, minerals within the ore that are not desired; these are removed during ore processing Vein (geology) a geological formation that often contains ore Overburden, the material on top of a given mineral deposit (in surface mining, it has to be removed)
Finding ore Prospecting Mineral exploration
Materials mined Some examples of materials that are extracted from the earth by mining include:
Base metals Bauxite (Aluminium) Cassiterite (Tin) Chromite (Chromium) Cinnabar (Mercury) Cobaltite (Cobalt) Coltan (Niobium and Tantalum) Columbite (Niobium) Copper – see List of copper ores Ilmenite (Titanium) Iron ore (Iron) Galena (Lead) Magnesite (Magnesium) Malachite (Copper) Molybdenite (Molybdenum) Pentlandite (Nickel) Pyrolusite (Manganese) Scheelite (Tungsten) Sphalerite (Zinc) Tantalite (Tantalum) Tin Wolframite (Tungsten) Baryte (Barium) Beryl (Beryllium and Gemstones) Clay Construction aggregates Gravel – see Gravel pit Sand – see Sand mining Diamonds dolomite (ornamental stone, Magnesium) Fossil fuels Coal – see Coal mining Oil sands Oil shale – see Oil shale industry and Shale oil extraction Gemstones Kaolinite Limestone Phosphorite (Phosphate) Precious metals Gold – see Gold mining Silver – see Silver mining Platinum Potash Rare-earth elements Slate – see Slate industry Rock salt Stone – see Quarry List of decorative stones Sulfur Uranium ore
Types of mining and techniques
Surface mining Surface mining, mining conducted down into the ground, but with the sky open above Open-pit mining, where the overburden is removed and put in a different location, leaving a large pit at the end. Strip mining, where the overburden is stripped off and placed onto the area where the mineral (usually coal) has already been mined out, allowing the surface to be returned to roughly how it was before Mountaintop removal mining, where the overburden on a mountain is pushed off the mountain into the adjacent valley Quarrying Placer mining Dredging Hydraulic mining, using high-pressure jets of water to blast soil or hillsides apart
Underground mining Sub-surface mining, mining conducted underground Two main types of underground mining, classified by the characteristic of the rock being mined: Underground mining (hard rock) Underground mining (soft rock) There are three directions by which an underground mine may be conducted: Drift mining, mining horizontally Shaft mining, mining vertically Slope mining, mining at an inclined angle Stoping is the process of extracting out the ore from underground, leaving a hole called a stope Room and pillar Longwall mining Retreat mining Fire-setting, a method used in stoping by setting fires to timber and letting the resulting collapse break up the rock
Other methods Borehole mining Box cut Deepsea mining Glory hole (petroleum production) Heap leaching In-situ leach Landfill mining Mine reclamation Omega Hydraulic Diggings Quartz reef mining
Mining equipment
Excavation
Heavy machinery Steam shovel, used from the 19th century to the 1930s Power shovel, derived from the steam shovel, but using electricity instead of steam Excavator, derived from the steam shovel, but using hydraulics or pneumatics instead of steam Draglines use buckets attached to long cable lines, rather than affixed to a beam Bucket-wheel excavator, the largest moving land machines ever built Dredge
Blasting Rock blasting
Explosives Gunpowder or black powder, used from the 17th century to the mid-19th century Dynamite, used from the mid-19th century into the 20th century, still used some today ANFO, used from the 20th century, and the primary explosive in use today Blasting gear Detonator, a small explosive charge used to set off the main explosive Blasting machine, a device used to generate or send an electric charge to the detonators
Transport Vertical equipment Hoist (mining) Winding engine Headframe Equipment for transporting miners Man engine Mantrip Engines used in mining
Archimedes' screw Beam engine Drilling rig Loader (equipment) Wheel tractor-scraper
Liquid mining Pumpjack Wellhead Subsea
Safety and environment Safety lamp Miner's canary Air classifier Movement and Surveying Radar
Processing Ore dressing General methods of ore processing Froth flotation Trommel Methods peculiar to gold placer mining. Gold is much denser than many other minerals, various methods use this to separate it out: Gold panning, uses a pan in water to wash material Rocker box Sluice box Drywasher, used where there is insuffician Extractive metallurgy Pyrometallurgy, using heat Smelting Cupellation Hydrometallurgy, using aqueous solutions Leaching, using an acid (lixiviant) to remove. Commonly used for gold and copper Amalgamation, using liquid mercury to extract the metal. Used to separate out silver and gold. Electrometallurgy, using electricity to separate out metals
Mining waste Spoil tip, a pile where overburden is placed (which has NOT been processed) Tailings, waste mineral material (gangue) leftover AFTER processing Slag, material left over from smelting Acid mine drainage, liquid leached out of mines
Mining hazards and safety Bootleg mining Claustrophobia Deformation monitoring Coal mining debate Damp (mining) After damp Black damp Fire damp Stink damp White damp Energy law Mine disaster Mine exploration Mine fire Mine rescue Mining accident Mining induced subsidence
Geography of mining List of diamond mines List of uranium mines
Mining, by country
Mining of specific minerals, by country Bentonite production, by country Bismuth production, by country Feldspar production, by country Fluorite production, by country Manganese production, by country Mine production of gold, by country Uranium production, by country
History of mining
Cornish stamps Davy lamp De re metallica Fire-setting Freeminer Geordie lamp Gold rush History of coal mining Hurrying Hushing Mining innovations during the Industrial Revolution School of mines
Economics of mining List of mining companies
Future of mining Biomining Asteroid mining
People associated with mining miner, is a person who is involved in the act of mining prospector, a person who is expert in searching for and assessing the value of
Mining scholars Georg Agricola - author of De re metallica Harrison Schmitt - American geologist, astronaut, retired senator Paul Worsey Richard Redmayne Robert Hunt (scientist) Ronald F. Tylecote Russell Walter Fox Frank T. M. White
Organizations National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health National Mining Hall of Fame, in the United States
Leaders and innovators in mining Archimedes – invented the Archimedes' screw Charles Steen Daniel Guggenheim Ed Schieffelin George Stephenson – inventor of the Geordie lamp Henry Beecher Dierdorff – American inventor of mining equipment Herbert Hoover, engineer and writer on mining engineering (later President of the United States) Horace Austin Warner Tabor Humphry Davy – inventor of the Davy lamp Meyer Guggenheim Paddy Martinez William Boyce Thompson William Reid Clanny – inventor of the first safety lamp
See also Billy Elliot Brassed Off Centre for Mined Land Rehabilitation European Route of Industrial Heritage Environmental impact of mining Mining National Coal Mining Museum for England National Mining Hall of Fame Salt-concrete Scientific drilling Well drilling Water mining Automated mining
External links
Mining Journal Introduction to Mining What is mining?