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Mining
Mining for coal is something that is widely known, but did you know that diamonds, uranium, copper, and other non-renewable natural resources are also mined? There are two types of mining; surface and subsurface. Questions about the methods and types of mining, what ores are mined, and related questions should be asked in this category.
4,677 Questions
Which of these is an advantage of surface mining?
One advantage of surface mining is that it is generally a more cost-effective method compared to underground mining, as it requires less specialized equipment and labor. Additionally, surface mining allows for the extraction of large quantities of minerals over a large area.
Explain why undersea mining has been largely unsuccessful to date?
Undersea mining has been largely unsuccessful due to technical challenges such as extreme water pressure, harsh underwater conditions, and lack of efficient technology for extracting minerals from the seabed. Additionally, there are concerns about environmental impact, regulatory challenges, and complex legal issues related to deep-sea mining. These factors have collectively hindered the development and success of undersea mining ventures.
One way that mining for mineral resources harms the land is by .?
destroying habitats, disrupting ecosystems, and polluting water sources with toxic run-off and waste materials.
Surface mining involves extracting minerals near the surface by removing vegetation and soil, while subsurface mining involves digging tunnels deep underground to extract minerals. Surface mining is faster, cheaper, and less hazardous to miners but can lead to environmental degradation and habitat destruction. Subsurface mining is safer for the environment but poses higher risks to miners due to the potential for collapses and gas explosions.
What kind of rocks are mined in Georgia?
Some common rocks mined in Georgia include granite, marble, and kaolin. Granite is used for construction materials, marble is used for building facades and countertops, and kaolin is a type of clay used in the production of paper, porcelain, and ceramics.
Give two minerals that are mined using open-pit mining?
Two minerals commonly mined using open-pit mining are copper and coal. In open-pit mining, large holes are dug to access the mineral deposits near the surface, making it an efficient method for extracting these minerals in large quantities.
What is reclamation and what does it do to mined land?
Reclamation is the process of restoring land affected by mining activities to a stable and productive state. It involves reshaping the land, planting vegetation, and ensuring that water quality is maintained. Reclamation aims to mitigate the environmental impacts of mining and provide long-term benefits for ecosystems and communities.
To calculate the amount of copper mined, multiply the amount of Earth removed by the copper content percentage. In this case, 120,000 metric tons * 0.7% copper = 840 metric tons of copper mined during that week.
What is one reason the process of fracking has increased in the US?
One reason fracking has increased in the US is due to advancements in technology, such as horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing, which have made it more cost-effective to extract oil and gas from shale formations. This has resulted in an increase in domestic energy production and a decrease in dependence on foreign sources.
Where do minerals go after they are extracted from the mine?
After being extracted from the mine, minerals typically go through a process that includes crushing, grinding, and refining to separate the desired mineral from waste material. The final product is then transported to processing facilities, manufacturing plants, or markets where they are used in various industries such as construction, manufacturing, and technology. Any waste generated during the extraction and processing is usually disposed of according to environmental regulations.
Disadvantage of subsurface mining?
A disadvantage of subsurface mining is the risk of cave-ins and collapses, which can result in serious injuries or fatalities to miners. Additionally, subsurface mining can lead to environmental damage through the disruption of ecosystems and contamination of groundwater. The process can also be costly and require extensive monitoring and regulation to ensure safety and minimize negative impacts.
5. Describe three environmental or social issues relating to the mining of metal ores.?
- Habitat destruction: Mining activities often require clearing large areas of land, leading to deforestation and disruption of ecosystems, depriving plants and animals of their habitats.
- Water pollution: Mining operations can release harmful chemicals and heavy metals into surrounding waterways, contaminating water sources and impacting aquatic life and local communities that rely on these resources.
- Human rights violations: Mining operations can lead to forced displacement of communities, exploitation of labor, and conflicts over land rights, causing social unrest and injustices for local populations.
What is the largest diamond production in the world?
The worlds largest diamond mine by surface area is located in Botswana, in Africa: the open cast Orapa diamond mine. Read more about it, in the related links.
The world's largest diamond mine in terms of volume is located in Mirnyj, Eastern Siberia, Russia, and is 525 metres deep and 1,200 metres in diameter, while some say that it is 1,200 metres deep.
What two methods can be used to mine minerals?
Two methods to mine minerals are surface mining, which involves removing rocks and soil to access the mineral deposit on the surface, and underground mining, which involves tunnels and shafts to reach deeper mineral deposits. Each method has its own environmental and safety considerations.
Yes, these are known as underground mines. They involve a complex system of tunnels and shafts to extract desired minerals or ores from beneath the earth's surface. Workers use equipment and tools to navigate through these tunnels to access and extract the valuable resources.
How frightening was it and is it down in a coal mine?
There are two types of coal mines: a slope mine and a vertical shaft mine. There is also surface mining, where rock is blasted and rock and earth are moved aside or trucked away as they expose coal veins.
We'll focus on slope mines and vertical mines.
Slope Mines
A slope mine originally started out (early 1800s) as a hole dug into the hillside, typically where coal was already seen on the surface (example: banks of the Monongahela River). To access those slope mines, men simply crawled into the hole on their bellies or backs, continually digging forward and pulling out earth, stones, and coal. This would be similar to today's gem hunting in the western US mountain areas, where men and women lay on their backs or bellies to dig deeper under the rock face or under a boulder.
Expansion of Slope Mines
Eventually, slope mines were enlarged so a man could walk semi-upright or be seated in a rail car to be taken deeper into the mine.... so the mine's roof was perhaps 4 feet high from the ground. Many West Virginia mines were slope mines originally.
Vertical Mines
Vertical mines means men could access the mine via an elevator system. An elevator car would take a team down and bring the men back up. These deep mines typically need ventilation shafts to bring air in, and for emergency escape IF assisted from the surface. For example, "The Quecreek Mine rescue took place in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, when nine miners were trapped underground for over 77 hours, from July 24 to 28, 2002. All nine miners were rescued." This was accomplished through a newly bored rescue hole, similar to a wide air vent bore hole.
Vertical mines by the late 1800s included a surface tipple and a coal conveyor system from within the mine to the surface, along with an elevator-cage system. Today's coal mines are pretty much the same, except much larger and more mechanized; men either walk in, eventually stooped over, or ride in cars on rails; or use elevator-cages.
HAZARDS OF MINES
- First, the environment inside a mine is typically warm and humid.
- Pockets of methane gas are a constant danger; methane is colorless and can catch fire/explode with a mere spark of one rock hitting another rock; from static electricity; from any source of fire or spark; from malfunction in machinery. Methane explosions and "toxic air" were leading causes of death in the 1800s.
- Flooding is a constant threat from underground water sources AND from a breach through the active mine's wall through to an abandoned but flooded mine.
- There are thousands of old, abandoned underground mines of various sizes and deteriorated conditions that were NEVER marked on any maps! It is therefore easy to be boring in one mine's wall and have a breach into an old mine's chamber.
- Old abandoned mine chambers can be full of methane, or flooded.
- Mines leave pillars of coal as the "studs" to hold up the roof of the mine. When a mine is played out (does not have enough coal to safely mine) or when the mine is deemed unsafe, these pillars can be deliberately blasted as a way to collapse the mine back to the entrance, so no one unauthorized can enter. But, coal pillars can also weaken on their own, causing a catastrophic collapse within the mine.
- In all mines, the "roof" or "ceiling", which can have miles of weight pressing down on it from the surface downward, is at once the most critical mine location, and the most destructive, fragile area. Roof collapse is deadly. A slate fall or coal fall from the roof can injure, crush, bury, or trap miners within the chamber they are in. Roof collapses were a common cause of injury, death, and being trapped in the 1800s.
- Mechanical failures that directly result in injury or death are less common than one might think. In the 1800s, men went into mines with helmets with a candle or lantern attached, and often took a canary--if the bird died, the miners knew to get out because the air was bad. Today, Mine Safety is much more sophisticated.
One of the worst mine disasters happened at the Marianna Mine, Marianna PA in Washington County, PA (SW PA). "At 10:55 a.m. on the morning of Saturday, November 28, 1908, an explosion occurred in the mine which killed 154 men and left only one survivor. Although the mine was quickly refurbished by the Pittsburg Buffalo Company, the colliery's fortunes flagged. By 1914, the mine was sold to the Union Coal and Coke Company and later to Bethlehem Steel which continued to extract coal until 1988, when the main conveyor caught fire. The fire was extinguished, but the mine closed anyway." (Wikipedia) Many of the men could not be reached and are entombed there.
Many coal mines became tombs throughout the 1800s. Many mines had roof/slate falls that killed one or more miners. Many NE US miners came as immigrants to work in the coal mines. In the bituminous mines, especially, there were many debates/fights over miner qualifications (the "practical miner") and the beginning of Mine Safety measures began in the late 1800s. The United Mine Workers UMW union was also started in SW PA in the early 1900s.
TO BE A MINER YOU MUST BE ABLE TO
- Work in confined spaces
- Tolerate claustrophobic conditions of tight space, total darkness if lights go out, and constant danger
- Learn safe mining practices
- Follow safe mining procedures to the letter
- Never let down your guard or become complacent
- Always protect fellow miners
- Appropriately use your mining gear and keep it in working order
- Know First-Aid and emergency medical equipment
- Know and Understand your escape routes
- Follow all directions superiors give
- Tolerate being blackened from coal dust, from head to foot
- Tolerate keeping your hardhat on at all times
- Eat while underground, without worrying about washing up first
- Be willing to learn from oldtimers every day
- Be willing to do long shifts
- Be willing to come back and do your next assigned shift
This is what millions of coal miners have done since the late 1700s. Millions of men did this job to supply coal and coke to steel factories, coal to railroads to power train engines, and to burn for heating homes and businesses. Men (and even women now) take huge risks to continue going underground for this resource.
Poor families also used to send children to coal refuse waste piles of earth that had bits of coal embedded in clay, to chisel coal from the rock/clay to use in families' homes. Poor and homeless often built fires in coal refuse mounds to stay warm in winters. Coal refuse would catch fire also, from internal combustion due to the build-up of heat inside the mound of coal refuse. Many small towns had refuse pits that burned for years. (Burning coal refuse--the unusable coal-- creates red dog, which was used on many rural roads before they made asphalt.)
One town's coal mine caught fire and is still burning under Centralia, PA which started in the 1960s, and eventually forced the US Government to relocate its residents.
Who is anyone who searches for an ore deposit?
A person who searches for an ore deposit is typically a geologist or a mineral exploration specialist. They use methods such as studying rock formations, analyzing geochemical data, and conducting geophysical surveys to locate areas with potential mineral deposits. Once a site is identified, further exploration and testing are done to determine the feasibility of extracting the ore.
Do metals in the earths atmosphere must be mined and separated from their ores?
Metals found in the Earth's crust must typically be mined and extracted from their ores in order to be utilized. Through mining processes, the ores are extracted and then undergo various separation techniques to isolate the desired metal for industrial and commercial applications.
How is land restored after mining is compleated?
Land restoration after mining typically involves reshaping the land, replacing topsoil, planting native vegetation, and monitoring habitat and water quality. It may also include constructing wetlands or ponds to support wildlife. Engaging with local communities and stakeholders throughout the restoration process is key to ensuring the long-term success of the restoration efforts.
How can topsoil be replaced in an area that has been strip mined?
Topsoil can be replaced in strip-mined areas by importing nutrient-rich topsoil from other locations, or by using soil stabilization techniques such as planting cover crops, trees, and grasses to restore soil fertility. It is important to properly grade the land and ensure proper drainage to support plant growth and prevent erosion. In some cases, adding organic matter such as compost or manure can speed up the restoration process.
What are the two parts of lift that go down in a mine called?
The two parts of a lift that go down in a mine are the cage and the counterweight. The cage is the compartment that carries miners and equipment, while the counterweight balances the weight of the cage for efficient operation.
How did placer mining hydraulic mining and hard-rock mining differ?
Placer mining involves extracting minerals like gold from deposits in rivers and streams using pans or sluice boxes. Hydraulic mining uses high-pressure jets of water to dislodge minerals from hillsides, causing significant environmental damage. Hard-rock mining involves extracting minerals from solid rock formations underground using drilling and blasting techniques.
How is land resorted after mining is completed?
Land is often restored after mining by regrading the land to its original contour, backfilling open pits, and replanting native vegetation. Measures are taken to prevent erosion, control sedimentation, and ensure water quality. Reclamation plans are typically developed and implemented in consultation with regulatory agencies to ensure compliance with environmental regulations.
