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What is mining?
We use the general term mining to describe the activity ofrecovering materials from the earth. It is from these raw materialswe take minerals we need or the raw material from …which we winmetal. Mining is a broad term, and there is more to it than mightmeet the eye. In mining, we might extract the ore of a metal. After processing,we'd win the metal, be it iron, copper, aluminum, or any othermetal we use (and we use most of them!). In the case of stone foruse as a building material, we mine the marble, granite, limestone,slate or any other rock we can utilize. Sand, pieces of rock andother aggregate products are also mined, and they are vital tobuilding and construction. Even if you call the activity quarrying,you are describing a mining operation. The earthen materialsnecessary to make Portland cement are mined. Imagine a worldwithout cement, if you can. There is so much more. Clay and other earthen materials are used in the ceramics industry.Glass manufacture would be impossible without mining. And let's notforget that we also mine "rocks" like diamond, ruby, emerald andthe like. Borax, mica and other minerals are extracted from theearth to be used in thousands of applications. Scouring powder hasminerals in it, and they were mined. So were the minerals used tomake the sheet rock (wallboard) in a home or other structure. Let'skeep going. Moreover, Mining is required to obtain any material that cannot begrown through agricultural processes, or created artificially in alaboratory or factory. Mining in a wider sense includes extractionof any non-renewable resource such as petroleum, natural gas, oreven water. Coal is burned in massive quantities to generate electricity. Ithas to be mined. So does the uranium ore we use to produce theuranium we find in nuclear fuels. Mining is a broad topic, andspecifics are easy to list because we utilize so many products ofmining in our daily lives. (MORE)
