MINING AND ITS TYPES
PREPARED BY: SHAHAB NOOR
MINING
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological
materials from the earth from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, or
reef, which forms the mineralized package of economic interest to
the miner.
MINING WASTE AND MATERIAL
In mining upper surface called waste material are
removed. waste material are composed of acid
generating substance and it is big task to replace it
a proper place where it should be treated to
detoxified. Most of money spend in removing the
waste material so highly qualified needed to
operate this job. or recover by mining includes
metal, coal, oil shale, gems stone, lime stone, rock
salt, petroleum, natural gas even water.
GOLD STONE
PRE HISTORICAL MINING
Since the beginning of civilization, people have
used stones, ceramics for making tools and
weapons. in ancient Egypt malachite and maadi
where excavated for ornamentation, pottery, etc.
gold mines of Nubia was very famous, ancient
Greece and Rome silver mines of Laurium was very
famous. The used hydraulic method. America
continent was also not behind in the field of mining
and copper mines along lake superior was very
famous and it is still working.
PRE HISTORIC 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.
Surface Mining
1.Placer mining involves any type of mining where raw minerals
are deposited in sand or gravel or on the surface and are picked up
without having to drive, use dynamite or any other significant
means. Ex: gold.
2.Strip mining is the practice of mining a seam of
mineral ore by first removing all of the soil and rock that
lies on top of it (the overburden). It is similar to open-pit
mining in many regards.
3.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
4.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/ore
mixture is then milled. This is a very destructive way to mine
and has been
outlawed in most areas.
5.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
Underground mining
Underground mining refers to a group of techniques used for the
extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from
the earth.
1.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.
2.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.
3.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.
4.Hard Rock mining refers to various techniques used to mine ore bodies
by creating underground "rooms“ supported by surrounding pillars of standing
rock.
Some effects of mining on the
environment
•Deforestation and loss of biodiversity are major effects of
mining.(It destroys forest and
wetlands. It may mean that you have to cut down lots of
trees just to get to the spot that has all the gold or iron ore).
•Many mine require tailings dams to prevent waste being
washed into the rivers. Unethical miners can dispense with
the dams, to save costs, resulting in massive pollution
downstream. In other cases, the tailings dam can overflow,
and even breach, during periods of heavy rain.
•Underground coal mining can require the removal of almost an
entire layer of material deep under the surface. When the timber
supports collapse, this can
lead to subsidence. The subsidence can mean economic loss to
people above or damage to natural areas. It can even cause
cracks in river beds, leading to loss of river flow.
• Some mining involves the inadvertent dispersal
of heavy metals, such as lead, into the
atmosphere. This can have serious health
effects, including mental retardation in children.
• Asbestos mining causes the dispersal of
asbestos into the environment. This will cause
deaths among local residents and workers,
often several decades later. Fortunately, the
mining and use of asbestos are banned in most
parts of the world.
SOCIAL DAMAGE OF MINING
A large scale mining creates new infrastructure and provides
additional employment, permanent settlements can arise around
these operations in areas that otherwise would have remained
more sparsely inhabited, mining comes along with promise of
wealth and jobs for people, but it has many negative impacts that
is:
Appropriation of land belonging to local communities,
Impacts on health,
Alternation of social relationships,
Destruction of forms of community subsistence
and
life,
Social disintegration
Radical and abrupt change in regional cultures,
Displacement of other present and future local
economic activities.
Case study of sukinda valley
Here due to mning of chromite ore 2600000 people effected due to open pit
mining the Brahmni river got polluted by hexavalent chromium, according to
OVHA about 24.47% of the inhabitant found to be suffering pollution induced
disease in that area.
