Mining

Mining is the extraction of geological

materials and minerals from the surface
of the Earth. Mining is required to obtain
most materials that cannot be grown
through agricultural processes, or
feasibly created artificially in a
laboratory or factory. Ores recovered by
mining include metals, coal, oil shale,
gemstones, limestone, chalk, dimension
stone, rock salt, potash, gravel, and clay.
The ore must be a rock or mineral that
Mining of sulfur from a deposit at the edge of Ijen's crater lake,
contains a valuable constituent, can be
Indonesia
extracted or mined and sold for profit.[1]
Mining in a wider sense includes
extraction of any non-renewable resource such as petroleum, natural gas, or even water.

Modern mining processes involve prospecting for ore bodies, analysis of the profit potential of a
proposed mine, extraction of the desired materials, and final reclamation or restoration of the land after
the mine is closed.[2] Mining materials are often obtained from ore bodies, lodes, veins, seams, reefs, or
placer deposits. The exploitation of these deposits for raw materials is dependent on investment, labor,
energy, refining, and transportation cost.

Mining operations can 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;
however, the outsized role of mining in generating business for often rural, remote or economically
depressed communities means that governments often fail to fully enforce such regulations. Work safety
has long been a concern as well, and where enforced, modern practices have significantly improved
safety in mines. Unregulated, poorly regulated or illegal mining, especially in developing economies,
frequently contributes to local human rights violations and environmental conflicts. Mining can also
perpetuate political instability through resource conflicts.

History

Prehistory
Since the beginning of civilization, people have used stone, clay and, later, metals found close to the
Earth's surface. These were used to make early tools and weapons; for example, high quality flint found
in northern France, southern England and Poland was used to create flint tools.[3] Flint mines have been
found in chalk areas where seams of the stone were followed underground by shafts and galleries. The
mines at Grimes Graves and Krzemionki are especially famous, and like most other flint mines, are
Neolithic in origin (c. 4000–3000 BC). Other hard rocks mined or collected for axes included the
greenstone of the Langdale axe industry based in the English Lake District.[4] The oldest-known mine on
archaeological record is the Ngwenya Mine in Eswatini (Swaziland), which radiocarbon dating shows to
be about 43,000 years old. At this site Paleolithic humans mined hematite to make the red pigment
ochre.[5][6] Mines of a similar age in Hungary are believed to be sites where Neanderthals may have
mined flint for weapons and tools.[7]

Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egyptians mined malachite at Maadi.[8] At first,
Egyptians used the bright green malachite stones for
ornamentations and pottery. Later, between 2613 and 2494
BC, large building projects required expeditions abroad to the
area of Wadi Maghareh in order to secure minerals and other
resources not available in Egypt itself.[9] Quarries for
turquoise and copper were also found at Wadi Hammamat,
Tura, Aswan and various other Nubian sites, on the Sinai
Peninsula, and at Timna.[9] Quarries for gypsum were found Malachite
at the Umm el-Sawwan site; gypsum was used to make
funerary items for private tombs. Other minerals mined in
Egypt from the Old Kingdom (2649–2134 BC) until the Roman Period (30 BC-AD 395) including
granite, sandstone, limestone, basalt, travertine, gneiss, galena, and amethyst.[10]

Mining in Egypt occurred in the earliest dynasties. The gold mines of Nubia were among the largest and
most extensive of any in Ancient Egypt. These mines are described by the Greek author Diodorus
Siculus, who mentions fire-setting as one method used to break down the hard rock holding the gold. One
of the complexes is shown in one of the earliest known mining maps.[11] The miners crushed the ore and
ground it to a fine powder before washing the powder for the gold dust known as the dry and wet
attachment processes.[12]

Ancient Greece and Rome

Mining in Europe has a very long history. Examples include the silver mines of Laurium, which helped
support the Greek city state of Athens. Although they had over 20,000 slaves working them, their
technology was essentially identical to their Bronze Age predecessors.[13] At other mines, such as on the
island of Thassos, marble was quarried by the Parians after they arrived in the 7th century BC.[14] The
marble was shipped away and was later found by archaeologists to have been used in buildings including
the tomb of Amphipolis. Philip II of Macedon, the father of Alexander the Great, captured the gold mines
of Mount Pangeo in 357 BC to fund his military campaigns.[15] He also captured gold mines in Thrace
for minting coinage, eventually producing 26 tons per year.

However, it was the Romans who developed large-scale mining methods, especially the use of large
volumes of water brought to the minehead by numerous aqueducts. The water was used for a variety of
purposes, including removing overburden and rock debris, called hydraulic mining, as well as washing
comminuted, or crushed, ores and driving simple machinery.
The Romans used hydraulic mining methods on
a large scale to prospect for the veins of ore,
especially using a now-obsolete form of mining
known as hushing. They built numerous
aqueducts to supply water to the minehead,
where the water was stored in large reservoirs
and tanks. When a full tank was opened, the
flood of water sluiced away the overburden to
expose the bedrock underneath and any gold-
bearing veins. The rock was then worked by
fire-setting to heat the rock, which would be
quenched with a stream of water. The resulting
thermal shock cracked the rock, enabling it to
be removed by further streams of water from
the overhead tanks. The Roman miners used
similar methods to work cassiterite deposits in
Cornwall and lead ore in the Pennines.

Sluicing methods were developed by the

Romans in Spain in 25 AD to exploit large
alluvial gold deposits, the largest site being at Ancient Roman development of the Dolaucothi Gold
Mines, Wales
Las Medulas, where seven long aqueducts
tapped local rivers and sluiced the deposits. The
Romans also exploited the silver present in the argentiferous galena in the mines of Cartagena (Cartago
Nova), Linares (Castulo), Plasenzuela and Azuaga, among many others.[16] Spain was one of the most
important mining regions, but all regions of the Roman Empire were exploited. In Great Britain the
natives had mined minerals for millennia,[17] but after the Roman conquest, the scale of the operations
increased dramatically, as the Romans needed Britannia's resources, especially gold, silver, tin, and lead.

Roman techniques were not limited to surface mining. They followed the ore veins underground once
opencast mining was no longer feasible. At Dolaucothi they stoped out the veins and drove adits through
bare rock to drain the stopes. The same adits were also used to ventilate the workings, especially
important when fire-setting was used. At other parts of the site, they penetrated the water table and
dewatered the mines using several kinds of machines, especially reverse overshot water-wheels. These
were used extensively in the copper mines at Rio Tinto in Spain, where one sequence comprised 16 such
wheels arranged in pairs, and lifting water about 24 metres (79 ft). They were worked as treadmills with
miners standing on the top slats. Many examples of such devices have been found in old Roman mines
and some examples are now preserved in the British Museum and the National Museum of Wales.[18]

Medieval Europe
Mining as an industry underwent dramatic changes in medieval Europe. The mining industry in the early
Middle Ages was mainly focused on the extraction of copper and iron. Other precious metals were also
used, mainly for gilding or coinage. Initially, many metals were obtained through open-pit mining, and
ore was primarily extracted from shallow depths, rather than through deep mine shafts. Around the 14th
century, the growing use of weapons, armour, stirrups, and horseshoes greatly increased the demand for
iron. Medieval knights, for example, were often laden with up to 100
pounds (45 kg) of plate or chain link armour in addition to swords,
lances and other weapons.[19] The overwhelming dependency on iron
for military purposes spurred iron production and extraction processes.

The silver crisis of 1465 occurred when all mines had reached depths at
which the shafts could no longer be pumped dry with the available
technology.[20] Although an increased use of banknotes, credit and
copper coins during this period did decrease the value of, and
dependence on, precious metals, gold and silver still remained vital to
the story of medieval mining.

Due to differences in the social structure of society, the increasing

extraction of mineral deposits spread from central Europe to England
Agricola, author of De Re
in the mid-sixteenth century. On the continent, mineral deposits
Metallica
belonged to the crown, and this regalian right was stoutly maintained.
But in England, royal mining rights were restricted to gold and silver
(of which England had virtually no deposits) by a judicial decision of
1568 and a law in 1688. England had iron, zinc, copper, lead, and tin
ores. Landlords who owned the base metals and coal under their estates
then had a strong inducement to extract these metals or to lease the
deposits and collect royalties from mine operators. English, German,
and Dutch capital combined to finance extraction and refining.
Hundreds of German technicians and skilled workers were brought
over; in 1642 a colony of 4,000 foreigners was mining and smelting
copper at Keswick in the northwestern mountains.[21]

Use of water power in the form of water mills was extensive. The
water mills were employed in crushing ore, raising ore from shafts, and
ventilating galleries by powering giant bellows. Black powder was first
Gallery, 12th to 13th century,
used in mining in Selmecbánya, Kingdom of Hungary (now Banská Germany
Štiavnica, Slovakia) in 1627.[22] Black powder allowed blasting of
rock and earth to loosen and reveal ore veins. Blasting was much faster
than fire-setting and allowed the mining of previously impenetrable metals and ores.[23] In 1762, one of
the world's first mining academies was established in the same town there.

The widespread adoption of agricultural innovations such as the iron plowshare, as well as the growing
use of metal as a building material, was also a driving force in the tremendous growth of the iron industry
during this period. Inventions like the arrastra were often used by the Spanish to pulverize ore after being
mined. This device was powered by animals and used the same principles used for grain threshing.[24]

Much of the knowledge of medieval mining techniques comes from books such as Biringuccio's De la
pirotechnia and probably most importantly from Georg Agricola's De re metallica (1556). These books
detail many different mining methods used in German and Saxon mines. A prime issue in medieval
mines, which Agricola explains in detail, was the removal of water from mining shafts. As miners dug
deeper to access new veins, flooding became a very real obstacle. The mining industry became
dramatically more efficient and prosperous with the invention of mechanically- and animal-driven
pumps.
Africa
Iron metallurgy in Africa dates back over four thousand years. Gold became an important commodity for
Africa during the trans-Saharan gold trade from the 7th century to the 14th century. Gold was often traded
to Mediterranean economies that demanded gold and could supply salt, even though much of Africa was
abundant with salt due to the mines and resources in the Sahara. The trading of gold for salt was mostly
used to promote trade between the different economies.[25] Since the Great Trek in the 19th century, after,
gold and diamond mining in Southern Africa has had major political and economic impacts. The
Democratic Republic of Congo is the largest producer of diamonds in Africa, with an estimated 12
million carats in 2019. Other types of mining reserves in Africa include cobalt, bauxite, iron ore, coal, and
copper.[26]

Oceania
Gold and coal mining started in Australia and New Zealand in the 19th century. Nickel has become
important in the economy of New Caledonia.

In Fiji, in 1934, the Emperor Gold Mining Company Ltd. established operations at Vatukoula, followed in
1935 by the Loloma Gold Mines, N.L., and then by Fiji Mines Development Ltd. (aka Dolphin Mines
Ltd.). These developments ushered in a "mining boom", with gold production rising more than a hundred-
fold, from 931.4 oz in 1934 to 107,788.5 oz in 1939, an order of magnitude then comparable to the
combined output of New Zealand and Australia's eastern states.[27]

Americas
During prehistoric times, early Americans mined large
amounts of copper along Lake Superior's Keweenaw
Peninsula and in nearby Isle Royale; metallic copper was still
present near the surface in colonial times.[28][29][30]
Indigenous peoples used Lake Superior copper from at least
5,000 years ago;[28] copper tools, arrowheads, and other
artifacts that were part of an extensive native trade-network
have been discovered. In addition, obsidian, flint, and other Lead mining in the upper Mississippi
minerals were mined, worked, and traded.[29] Early French River region of the U.S., 1865
explorers who encountered the sites made no use of the
metals due to the difficulties of transporting them,[29] but the
copper was eventually traded throughout the continent along major river routes.

In the early colonial history of the Americas, "native gold and silver was quickly expropriated and sent
back to Spain in fleets of gold- and silver-laden galleons",[31] the gold and silver originating mostly from
mines in Central and South America. Turquoise dated at 700 AD was mined in pre-Columbian America;
in the Cerillos Mining District in New Mexico, an estimate of "about 15,000 tons of rock had been
removed from Mt. Chalchihuitl using stone tools before 1700."[32][33]

In 1727 Louis Denys (Denis) (1675–1741), sieur de La Ronde – brother of Simon-Pierre Denys de
Bonaventure and the son-in-law of René Chartier – took command of Fort La Pointe at Chequamegon
Bay; where natives informed him of an island of copper. La Ronde obtained permission from the French
 crown to operate mines in 1733, becoming "the first practical
miner on Lake Superior"; seven years later, mining was
halted by an outbreak between Sioux and Chippewa tribes.[34]

Mining in the United States became widespread in the 19th

century, and the United States Congress passed the General
Mining Act of 1872 to encourage mining of federal lands.[35]
As with the California Gold Rush in the mid-19th century,
mining for minerals and precious metals, along with ranching,
became a driving factor in the U.S. Westward Expansion to
Miners at the Tamarack Mine in Copper the Pacific coast. With the exploration of the West, mining
Country, Michigan, U.S., in 1905 camps sprang up and "expressed a distinctive spirit, an
enduring legacy to the new nation"; Gold Rushers would
experience the same problems as the Land Rushers of the
transient West that preceded them.[36] Aided by railroads,
many people traveled West for work opportunities in mining.
Western cities such as Denver and Sacramento originated as
mining towns.[37]

When new areas were explored, it was usually the gold

(placer and then lode) and then silver that were taken into
possession and extracted first. Other metals would often wait
for railroads or canals, as coarse gold dust and nuggets do not
Mining factory, c. 1880–1885. require smelting and are easy to identify and transport.[30]
Photographs of the American West,
Boston Public Library
Modernity

The Pyhäsalmi Mine, a metal mine in

Pyhäjärvi, Finland View showing miners' clothes suspended
by pulleys, also wash basins and
ventilation system, Kirkland Lake,
In the early 20th century, the gold and silver rush to the Ontario, 1936
western United States also stimulated mining for coal as well
as base metals such as copper, lead, and iron. Areas in modern
Montana, Utah, Arizona, and later Alaska became predominant suppliers of copper to the world, which
was increasingly demanding copper for electrical and household goods.[38] Canada's mining industry
grew more slowly than did the United States due to limitations in transportation, capital, and U.S.
competition; Ontario was the major producer of the early 20th century with nickel, copper, and gold.[38]
Meanwhile, Australia experienced the Australian gold rushes and by the 1850s was producing 40% of the
world's gold, followed by the establishment of large mines such as the Mount Morgan Mine, which ran
for nearly a hundred years, Broken Hill ore deposit (one of the largest zinc-lead ore deposits), and the
iron ore mines at Iron Knob. After declines in production, another boom in mining occurred in the 1960s.
In the early 21st century, Australia remains a major world mineral producer.[39]

As the 21st century begins, a globalized mining industry of large multinational corporations has arisen.
Peak minerals and environmental impacts have also become a concern. Different elements, particularly
rare-earth minerals, have begun to increase in demand as a result of new technologies.[40]

In 2023, 8.5 billion metric tons of coal were extracted from the Earth's crust. However, as the global
economy transitions away from fossil fuels and toward a more sustainable future, the demand for metals
is set to skyrocket. Between 2022 and 2050, an estimated 7 billion metric tons of metals will need to be
extracted. Steel will account for the largest portion of this total at 5 billion tons, followed by aluminum at
950 million tons, copper at 650 million tons, graphite at 170 million tons, nickel at 100 million tons, and
other metals. Notably, the energy expenditure required to extract these metals will soon surpass that of
coal mining, highlighting the growing importance of sustainable metal extraction practices.[41]

Mine development and life cycle

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
Schematic of a cut and fill mining operation in hard rock
estimate the size and grade of the
deposit.[42]

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.[43]

This is when the mining company makes the decision whether to develop the mine or to walk away from
the project. This includes mine planning to evaluate the economically recoverable portion of the deposit,
the metallurgy and ore recoverability, marketability and payability of the ore concentrates, engineering
concerns, milling and infrastructure costs, finance and equity requirements, and an analysis of the
proposed mine from the initial excavation all the way through to reclamation. The proportion of a deposit
that is economically recoverable is dependent on the enrichment factor of the ore in the area.[44]
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.[45]

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 can begin, to make the land used by the mine suitable for future use.

Technical and economic challenges notwithstanding, successful mine development must also address
human factors. Working conditions are paramount to success, especially with regard to exposures to
dusts, radiation, noise, explosives hazards, and vibration, as well as illumination standards. Mining today
increasingly must address environmental and community impacts, including psychological and
sociological dimensions. Thus, mining educator Frank T. M. White (1909–1971), broadened the focus to
the "total environment of mining", including reference to community development around mining, and
how mining is portrayed to an urban society, which depends on the industry, although seemingly unaware
of this dependency. He stated, "[I]n the past, mining engineers have not been called upon to study the
psychological, sociological and personal problems of their own industry – aspects that nowadays are
assuming tremendous importance. The mining engineer must rapidly expand his knowledge and his
influence into these newer fields."[46]

Techniques
Mining techniques can be divided into two common excavation types: surface mining and sub-surface
(underground) mining. Today, surface mining is much more common, and produces, for example, 85% of
minerals (excluding petroleum and natural gas) in the United States, including 98% of metallic ores.[47]

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.[48]
Explosives in mining
Explosives have been used in surface mining and sub-surface mining to blast out rock and ore intended
for processing. The most common explosive used in mining is ammonium nitrate.[49] Between 1870 and
1920, in Queensland Australia, an increase in mining accidents lead to more safety measures surrounding
the use of explosives for mining.[50] In the United States of America, between 1990 and 1999, about 22.3
billion kilograms of explosives were used in mining quarrying and other industries; Moreover "coal
mining used 66.4%, nonmetal mining and quarrying 13.5%, metal mining 10.4%, construction 7.1%, and
all other users 2.6%".[49]

Artisanal
Artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) is a blanket
term for a wide variety of types of small mining that
range from manual subsistence mining using simple
tools to vocational mining that is semi-mechanised
involving light machinery such as generators, water
pumps, and small motorized mills, through to
organised mechanised mining that employs industrial
equipment such as excavators and bulldozers. ASM
involves miners who may or may not be officially
employed. Although there can be large numbers of
miners working at a mining site, they typically work
in small teams according to a customary system of
organisation that includes a manager, skilled and
unskilled labour.

While the terms are generally used interchangeably or

synonymously, by definition 'artisanal mining' refers
to purely manual labor while 'small-scale mining'
typically involves larger operations and some use of
mechanical or industrial tools.[51] While there is no
completely coherent definition for ASM, artisanal
mining generally includes miners who are not
officially employed by a mining company and use Artisanal wolframite mining in Kailo Territory, DRC
their own resources to mine. As such, they are part of
an informal economy. ASM also includes, in small-
scale mining, enterprises or individuals that employ workers for mining, but who generally still use
similar manually-intensive methods as artisanal miners (such as working with hand tools). In addition,
ASM can be characterized as distinct from large-scale mining (LSM) by less efficient extraction of pure
minerals from the ore, lower wages, decreased occupational safety, benefits, and health standards for
miners, and a lack of environmental protection measures.[52] ASM has on occasion been evaluated
positively in terms of negligible capital outflow, the employment it generates and the connection it has
with local society and economy in contrast with the enclave economies of some LSM.[53]

Artisanal miners often undertake the activity of mining seasonally. For example, crops are planted in the
rainy season, and mining is pursued in the dry season. However, they also frequently travel to mining
areas and work year-round. There are four broad types of ASM:[54]
 1. Permanent artisanal mining
2. Seasonal (annually migrating during idle agriculture periods)
3. Rush-type (massive migration, pulled often by commodity
price jumps)
4. Shock-push (poverty-driven, following conflict or natural
disasters).
ASM is an important socio-economic sector for the rural poor in many
developing nations, many of whom have few other options for
supporting their families. Over 90% of the world's mining workforce
are engaged in ASM, with an estimated 40.5 million people directly
engaged in ASM, from over 80 countries in the global south. More than
150 million people indirectly depend on ASM for their livelihood. 70–
80% of small-scale miners are informal, and approximately 30% are
women, although this ranges in certain countries and commodities
from 5% to 80%.[55]

Artisanal gold mines near

Surface Dodoma, Tanzania. Makeshift
sails lead fresh air
Surface mining is done by removing surface vegetation, dirt, and underground.
bedrock 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 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 placer
deposits, because they are shallowly buried, are mined by
surface methods. Finally, landfill mining involves sites where
landfills are excavated and processed.[56] Landfill mining has
been thought of as a long-term solution to methane emissions Interior of an artisanal mine near Low's
and local pollution. [57] Creek, Mpumalanga Province, South
Africa. The human figures, exploring this
mine, show the scale of tunnels driven
entirely with hand tools (two-kilogram
(4.4 lb) hammer and hand-forged scrap-
steel chisel).

Garzweiler surface mine, Germany

High wall
High wall mining, which evolved from auger mining, is another form of surface mining. In high wall
mining, the remaining part of a coal seam previously exploited by other surface-mining techniques has
too much overburden to be removed but can still be profitably exploited from the side of the artificial cliff
made by previous mining.[58] A typical cycle alternates sumping, which undercuts the seam, and shearing,
which raises and lowers the cutter-head boom to cut the entire
height of the coal seam. As the coal recovery cycle continues,
the cutter-head is progressively launched further into the coal
seam. High wall mining can produce thousands of tons of
coal in contour-strip operations with narrow benches,
previously mined areas, trench mine applications and steep-
dip seams.

Coalburg Seam highwall mining at

Underground mining ADDCAR 16 Logan County WV

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, and the extraction method or the technique used to reach
the mineral deposit. Drift mining uses horizontal access tunnels, slope
mining uses diagonally sloping access shafts, and shaft mining uses
vertical access shafts. Mining in hard and soft rock formations requires
different techniques.[59]

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
Mysłowice coal mine shaft
leads to retreat mining, in which supporting pillars are removed as
tower, Upper Silesian Coal
miners retreat, allowing the room to cave in, thereby loosening more Basin
ore. Additional sub-surface mining methods include hard rock mining,
bore hole mining, drift and fill mining, long hole slope
mining, sub level caving, and block caving.

Machines
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 Mantrip used for transporting miners
necessary for excavating the land. In the case of placer within an underground mine
mining, unconsolidated gravel, or alluvium, is fed into
machinery consisting of a hopper and a shaking screen or
trommel 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, and to extract natural gas (see
Fracking). 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 use large crushers, mills, reactors,
roasters and other equipment to consolidate the mineral-rich
material and extract the desired compounds and metals from
Caterpillar Highwall Miner HW300 –
the ore.[60] Technology Bridging Underground and
Open Pit Mining

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 The Bagger 288 is a bucket-wheel excavator used in
strip mining. It is also one of the largest land vehicles of
through chemical or mechanical means.[61][62]
all time.
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 (unclump) the sands or gravels before
processing. Processing of ore from a lode mine, whether it is
A Bucyrus Erie 2570 dragline and CAT
a surface or subsurface mine, requires that the rock ore be
797 haul truck at the North Antelope
crushed and pulverized before extraction of the valuable Rochelle opencut coal mine
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.[63]

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 smelting or through electrolytic
reduction, as in the case of aluminium. Geometallurgy combines the geologic sciences with extractive
metallurgy and mining.[40]

In 2018, led by Chemistry and Biochemistry professor Bradley D. Smith, University of Notre Dame
researchers "invented a new class of molecules whose shape and size enable them to capture and contain
precious metal ions," reported in a study published by the Journal of the American Chemical Society. The
new method "converts gold-containing ore into chloroauric acid and extracts it using an industrial
solvent. The container molecules are able to selectively separate the gold from the solvent without the use
of water stripping." The newly developed molecules can eliminate water stripping, whereas mining
traditionally "relies on a 125-year-old method that treats gold-containing ore with large quantities of
poisonous sodium cyanide... this new process has a milder environmental impact and that, besides gold, it
can be used for capturing other metals such as platinum and palladium," and could also be used in urban
mining processes that remove precious metals from wastewater streams.[64]

Industry
Mining exists in many countries. London is the headquarters
of Anglo American. Melbourne is the headquarters of the
worlds two largest mining companies BHP and Rio Tinto.[65]
The US mining industry is also large, but it is dominated by
extraction of coal and other nonmetal minerals (e.g., rock and
sand), and various regulations have worked to reduce the
significance of mining in the United States.[65] In 2007, the
total market capitalization of mining companies was reported
at US$962 billion, which compares to a total global market The Särkijärvi pit of the apatite mine in
cap of publicly traded companies of about US$50 trillion in Siilinjärvi, Finland
2007.[66] In 2002, Chile and Peru were reportedly the major
mining countries of South America.[67] The mineral industry
of Africa includes the mining of various minerals; it produces relatively little of the industrial metals
copper, lead, and zinc, but according to one estimate has as a percent of world reserves 40% of gold, 60%
of cobalt, and 90% of the world's platinum group metals.[68] Mining in India is a significant part of that
country's economy. In the developed world, mining in Australia, with BHP founded and headquartered in
the country, and mining in Canada are particularly significant. For rare earth minerals mining, China
reportedly controlled 95% of production in 2013.[69]

While exploration and mining can be conducted by individual

entrepreneurs or small businesses, most modern-day mines
are large enterprises requiring large amounts of capital to
establish. Consequently, the mining sector of the industry is
dominated by large, often multinational, companies, most of
them publicly listed. It can be argued that what is referred to
as the 'mining industry' is two sectors, one specializing in
exploration for new resources and the other in mining those
resources. The exploration sector is typically made up of
individuals and small mineral resource companies, called
The Bingham Canyon Mine of Rio Tinto's
"juniors", which are dependent on venture capital. The mining subsidiary, Kennecott Utah Copper
sector is made up of large multinational companies that are
sustained by production from their mining operations. Various
other industries such as equipment manufacture, environmental testing, and metallurgy analysis rely on,
and support, the mining industry throughout the world. Canadian stock exchanges have a particular focus
on mining companies, particularly junior exploration companies through Toronto's TSX Venture
Exchange; Canadian companies raise capital on these exchanges and then invest the money in exploration
globally.[65] Some have argued that below juniors there exists a substantial sector of illegitimate
companies primarily focused on manipulating stock prices.[65]

Mining operations can be grouped into five major categories in terms of their respective resources. These
are oil and gas extraction, coal mining, metal ore mining, nonmetallic mineral mining and quarrying, and
mining support activities.[70] Of all of these categories, oil and gas extraction remains one of the largest
in terms of its global economic importance. Prospecting potential mining sites, a vital area of concern for
the mining industry, is now done using sophisticated new technologies such as seismic prospecting and
remote-sensing satellites. Mining is heavily affected by the prices of the commodity minerals, which are
often volatile. The 2000s commodities boom ("commodities supercycle") increased the prices of
commodities, driving aggressive mining. In addition, the price of gold increased dramatically in the
2000s, which increased gold mining; for example, one study found that conversion of forest in the
Amazon increased six-fold from the period 2003–2006 (292 ha/yr) to the period 2006–2009 (1,915
ha/yr), largely due to artisanal mining.[71]

Corporate classifications
Mining companies can be classified based on their size and financial capabilities:

Major companies are considered to have an adjusted annual mining-related revenue of

more than US$500 million, with the financial capability to develop a major mine on its own.
Intermediate companies have at least $50 million in annual revenue but less than $500
million.
Junior companies rely on equity financing as their principal means of funding exploration.
Juniors are mainly pure exploration companies, but may also produce minimally, and do not
have a revenue exceeding US$50 million.[72]
Re their valuation, and stock market characteristics, see Valuation (finance) § Valuation of mining
projects.

World Bank
The World Bank has been involved in mining since 1955, mainly
through grants from its International Bank for Reconstruction and
Development, with the Bank's Multilateral Investment Guarantee
Agency offering political risk insurance.[73] Between 1955 and 1990 it
provided about $2 billion to fifty mining projects, broadly categorized
as reform and rehabilitation, greenfield mine construction, mineral
processing, technical assistance, and engineering. These projects have
been criticized, particularly the Ferro Carajas project of Brazil, begun
in 1981.[74] The World Bank established mining codes intended to
increase foreign investment; in 1988, it solicited feedback from 45 World Bank logo
mining companies on how to increase their involvement.[75]: 20

In 1992, the World Bank began to push for privatization of government-owned mining companies with a
new set of codes, beginning with its report The Strategy for African Mining. In 1997, Latin America's
largest miner Companhia Vale do Rio Doce (CVRD) was privatized. These and other developments, such
as the Philippines 1995 Mining Act, led the bank to publish a third report (Assistance for Minerals Sector
Development and Reform in Member Countries) which endorsed mandatory environment impact
assessments and attention to the concerns of the local population. The codes based on this report are
influential in the legislation of developing nations. The new codes are intended to encourage development
through tax holidays, zero custom duties, reduced income taxes, and related measures.[75]: 22 The results
of these codes were analyzed by a group from the University of Quebec, which concluded that the codes
promote foreign investment but "fall very short of permitting sustainable development".[76] The observed
negative correlation between natural resources and economic development is known as the resource
curse.

Safety
Safety has long been a concern in the mining business,
especially in sub-surface mining. The Courrières mine
disaster, Europe's worst mining accident, involved the death
of 1,099 miners in Northern France on March 10, 1906. This
disaster was surpassed only by the Benxihu Colliery accident
in China on April 26, 1942, which killed 1,549 miners.[77]
Although mining today is substantially safer than it was in
previous decades, mining accidents still occur.

Government figures indicate that around 5,000 Chinese

miners die in accidents each year, while other reports have Mining transport in Devnya, Bulgaria
suggested a figure as high as 20,000.[78]

Between 1870 and 1920, in Queensland Australia, an increase

in mining accidents lead to more safety measures surrounding
the use of explosives for mining.[79]

In the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), there are

safety concerns raised for both those who work in the mines
and those who live around the city. Workers are usually seen
with a mustard-colored powder that turned out to be "...dried
sulfuric acid, [which] they use in the mine to process the A coal miner in West Virginia spraying
[mineral] ores.[80] Surrounding the mine, there is a "small rockdust to reduce the combustible
stream of foul, sludgy water that passes beneath a bridge next fraction of coal dust in the air
to the fence."[81] Around the mine, biomonitoring studies of
metal exposure show that "The levels found in Kinshasa
remain above the CDC reference value (>5 μg/dL) and constitute a public health concern," and that
subjects living close (< 3 km) to mines or metal-processing industries have higher urinary concentrations
of various metals (p < 0.01) than those living further away (3-10 km)," revealing an "... absence of a
national policy to control and prevent exposure to harmful chemicals."[82] In the mines, specifically at the
Tenke Fungurume mine, there were hundreds of thousands of people [who] engaged in the feverish
excavation of cobalt in medieval conditions." These workers were locals who worked for "two dollars
(roughly one day's income)."[81] In addition, the rates of schistosomiasis, a mining related disease
endemic to DRC, were found to be "higher among mining workers (27%) than in the total population
(<13 %),"[83] indicating harmful long-term impacts for the workers.
In South Africa, issues are similar to DRC. Miners are exposed to silica dust, which "increases the risk of
pulmonary tuberculosis,"[84] with a tuberculosis rate of "over 1,000 per 100,000."[85] "Mine shafts
themselves are crowded and poorly-ventilated, but so are hostels where over a dozen men can share a
small room. These conditions are highly conducive to infection; the rate of recurrent tuberculosis in a
recent South African prospective cohort of 600 miners was about 8 per 100 person-years," which
increases the risk of tuberculosis spreading in both mining and living locations. Past the mines, the
"extraction of minerals often leads to the disruption of ecosystems, polluting water sources, and
degrading habitats including cultural heritage critical for the livelihoods of people."[85]

Mining accidents continue worldwide, including accidents causing dozens of fatalities at a time such as
the 2007 Ulyanovskaya Mine disaster in Russia, the 2009 Heilongjiang mine explosion in China, and the
2010 Upper Big Branch Mine disaster in the United States. Mining has been identified by the National
Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) as a priority industry sector in the National
Occupational Research Agenda (NORA) to identify and provide intervention strategies regarding
occupational health and safety issues.[86] The Mining Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) was
established in 1978 to "work to prevent death, illness, and injury from mining and promote safe and
healthful workplaces for US miners."[87] Since its implementation in 1978, the number of miner fatalities
has decreased from 242 miners in 1978 to 24 miners in 2019.[88]

There are numerous occupational hazards associated with mining, including exposure to rockdust which
can lead to diseases such as silicosis, asbestosis, and pneumoconiosis. Gases in the mine can lead to
asphyxiation and have risk of ignition. Mining equipment can generate considerable noise, putting
workers at risk for hearing loss. Cave-ins, rock falls, and exposure to excess heat are also known hazards.
The current NIOSH Recommended Exposure Limit (REL) of noise is 85 dBA with a 3 dBA exchange
rate and the MSHA Permissible Exposure Limit (PEL) is 90 dBA with a 5 dBA exchange rate as an 8-
hour time-weighted average. NIOSH has found that 25% of noise-exposed workers in Mining, Quarrying,
and Oil and Gas Extraction have hearing impairment.[89] The prevalence of hearing loss increased by 1%
from 1991 to 2001 within these workers.[90]

Noise studies have been conducted in several mining environments. Stageloaders (84-102 dBA), shearers
(85-99 dBA), auxiliary fans (84–120 dBA), continuous mining machines (78–109 dBA), and roof bolters
(92–103 dBA) represent some of the noisiest equipment in underground coal mines.[91] Dragline oilers,
dozer operators, and welders using air arcing were occupations with the highest noise exposures among
surface coal miners.[92] Coal mines had the highest hearing loss injury likelihood.[93]

Environmental effects
Environmental impact of mining can occur at local, regional, and global scales through direct and indirect
mining practices. Mining can cause erosion, sinkholes, loss of biodiversity, or the contamination of soil,
groundwater, and surface water by chemicals emitted from mining processes. These processes also affect
the atmosphere through carbon emissions which contributes to climate change.[94]

Some mining methods (lithium mining, phosphate mining, coal mining, mountaintop removal mining,
and sand mining) may have such significant environmental and public health effects[95] that mining
companies in some countries are required to follow strict environmental and rehabilitation codes to
ensure that the mined area returns to its original state. Mining
can provide various advantages to societies, yet it can also
spark conflicts, particularly regarding land use both above
and below the surface.[96]

Mining operations remain rigorous and intrusive, often

resulting in significant environmental impacts on local
ecosystems and broader implications for planetary
environmental health.[97] To accommodate mines and
associated infrastructure, land is cleared extensively,
Acid mine drainage in the Rio Tinto River
consuming significant energy and water resources, emitting
air pollutants, and producing hazardous waste.[98]

According to The World Counts page "The amount of resources mined from Earth is up from 39.3 billion
tons in 2002. A 55 percent increase in less than 20 years. This puts Earth's natural resources under heavy
pressure. We are already extracting 75 percent more than Earth can sustain in the long run."[99]

Environmental regulation
Countries with strongly enforced mining regulations commonly require
environmental impact assessment, development of environmental
management plans, and mine closure planning prior beginning mine
operations. Environmental monitoring during operation and after
closure may also be required. Government regulations may not be well
enforced, especially in the developing world.[40]

For major mining companies and any company seeking international

financing, there are a number of other mechanisms to enforce
environmental standards. These generally relate to financing standards
such as the Equator Principles, IFC environmental standards, and
criteria for Socially responsible investing. Mining companies have
used this oversight from the financial sector to argue for some level of
industry self-regulation.[75] In 1992, a Draft Code of Conduct for
Transnational Corporations was proposed at the Rio Earth Summit by Iron hydroxide precipitate
the UN Centre for Transnational Corporations (UNCTC), but the stains a stream receiving acid
Business Council for Sustainable Development (BCSD) together with drainage from surface coal
the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) argued successfully for mining.

self-regulation instead.[100]

This was followed by the Global Mining Initiative which was begun by nine of the largest metals and
mining companies and which led to the formation of the International Council on Mining and Metals,
whose purpose was to "act as a catalyst" in an effort to improve social and environmental performance in
the mining and metals industry internationally.[75] The mining industry has provided funding to various
conservation groups, some of which have been working with conservation agendas that are at odds with
an emerging acceptance of the rights of indigenous people – particularly the right to make land-use
decisions.[101]
Certification of mines with good practices occurs through the International Organization for
Standardization (ISO). For example, ISO 9000 and ISO 14001, which certify an "auditable environmental
management system", involve short inspections, although they have been accused of lacking
rigor.[75]: 183–84 Certification is also available through Ceres' Global Reporting Initiative, but these reports
are voluntary and unverified. Miscellaneous other certification programs exist for various projects,
typically through nonprofit groups.[75]: 185–86

The purpose of a 2012 EPS PEAKS paper[102] was to provide evidence on policies managing ecological
costs and maximize socio-economic benefits of mining using host country regulatory initiatives. It found
existing literature suggesting donors encourage developing countries to:

Make the environment-poverty link and introduce cutting-edge wealth measures and natural
capital accounts.
Reform old taxes in line with more recent financial innovation, engage directly with the
companies, enact land use and impact assessments, and incorporate specialized support
and standards agencies.
Set in play transparency and community participation initiatives using the wealth accrued.

Waste
Ore mills generate large amounts of waste, called
tailings.[103] For example, 99 tons of waste is generated per
ton of copper, with even higher ratios in gold mining –
because only 5.3 g of gold is extracted per ton of ore, a ton of
gold produces 200,000 tons of tailings.[104] (As time goes on
and richer deposits are exhausted – and technology improves
– this number is going down to .5 g and less.) These tailings
can be toxic. Tailings, which are usually produced as a slurry,
are most commonly dumped into ponds made from naturally Location of waste rock storage (center) at
existing valleys.[105] These ponds are secured by Teghut (village) Copper-Molybdenum
impoundments (dams or embankment dams). [105] In 2000 it Mine in Armenia's northern Lori province
was estimated that 3,500 tailings impoundments existed, and
that every year, 2 to 5 major failures and 35 minor failures
occurred.[106] For example, in the Marcopper mining disaster at least 2 million tons of tailings were
released into a local river.[106] In 2015, Barrick Gold Corporation spilled over 1 million liters of cyanide
into a total of five rivers in Argentina near their Veladero mine.[107] Since 2007 in central Finland, the
Talvivaara Terrafame polymetal mine's waste effluent and leaks of saline mine water have resulted in
ecological collapse of a nearby lake.[108] Subaqueous tailings disposal is another option.[105] The mining
industry has argued that submarine tailings disposal (STD), which disposes of tailings in the sea, is ideal
because it avoids the risks of tailings ponds. The practice is illegal in the United States and Canada, but it
is used in the developing world.[109]

The waste is classified as either sterile or mineralized, with acid generating potential, and the movement
and storage of this material form a major part of the mine planning process. When the mineralised
package is determined by an economic cut-off, the near-grade mineralised waste is usually dumped
separately with view to later treatment should market conditions change and it becomes economically
viable. Civil engineering design parameters are used in the design of the waste dumps, and special
conditions apply to high-rainfall areas and to seismically active areas. Waste dump designs must meet all
regulatory requirements of the country in whose jurisdiction the mine is located. It is also common
practice to rehabilitate dumps to an internationally acceptable standard, which in some cases means that
higher standards than the local regulatory standard are applied.[106]

Human Rights and Environmental Justice

In addition to the environmental impacts of mining processes, a prominent criticism pertaining to this
form of extractive practice and of mining companies are the human rights abuses occurring within mining
sites and communities close to them.[110] Frequently, despite being protected by International Labor
rights, miners are not given appropriate equipment to provide them with protection from possible mine
collapse or from harmful pollutants and chemicals expelled during the mining process, work in inhumane
conditions spending numerous hours working in extreme heat, darkness and 14 hour workdays with no
allocated time for breaks.[111] In addition, many of these legal structures disproportionally harm
indigenous communities.

Regulation and governance

New regulations and a process of legislative reforms aim to
improve the harmonization and stability of the mining sector
in mineral-rich countries.[112] New legislation for mining
industry in African countries still appears to be an issue, but
has the potential to be solved, when a consensus is reached on
the best approach.[113] By the beginning of the 21st century,
the booming and increasingly complex mining sector in
mineral-rich countries was providing only slight benefits to
local communities, especially in given the sustainability EITI Global Conference 2016
issues. Increasing debate and influence by NGOs and local
communities called for new approaches which would also
include disadvantaged communities, and work towards sustainable development even after mine closure
(including transparency and revenue management). By the early 2000s, community development issues
and resettlements became mainstream concerns in World Bank mining projects.[113] Mining-industry
expansion after mineral prices increased in 2003 and also potential fiscal revenues in those countries
created an omission in the other economic sectors in terms of finances and development. Furthermore,
this highlighted regional and local demand for mining revenues and an inability of sub-national
governments to effectively use the revenues. The Fraser Institute (a Canadian think tank) has highlighted
the environmental protection laws in developing countries, as well as voluntary efforts by mining
companies to improve their environmental impact.[114]

In 2007, the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) was mainstreamed in all countries
cooperating with the World Bank in mining industry reform.[113] The EITI operates and was implemented
with the support of the EITI multi-donor trust fund, managed by the World Bank.[115] The EITI aims to
increase transparency in transactions between governments and companies in extractive industries[116] by
monitoring the revenues and benefits between industries and recipient governments. The entrance process
is voluntary for each country and is monitored by multiple stakeholders including governments, private
companies and civil society representatives, responsible for disclosure and dissemination of the
reconciliation report;[113] however, the competitive disadvantage of company-by-company public report
is for some of the businesses in Ghana at least, the main constraint.[117] Therefore, the outcome
assessment in terms of failure or success of the new EITI regulation does not only "rest on the
government's shoulders" but also on civil society and companies.[118]

However, implementation has issues; inclusion or exclusion of artisanal mining and small-scale mining
(ASM) from the EITI and how to deal with "non-cash" payments made by companies to subnational
governments. Furthermore, the disproportionate revenues the mining industry can bring to the
comparatively small number of people that it employs,[119] causes other problems, like a lack of
investment in other less lucrative sectors, leading to swings in government revenue because of volatility
in the oil markets. Artisanal mining is clearly an issue in EITI Countries such as the Central African
Republic, D.R. Congo, Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone – i.e. almost half of the mining countries
implementing the EITI.[119] Among other things, limited scope of the EITI involving disparity in terms of
knowledge of the industry and negotiation skills, thus far flexibility of the policy (e.g. liberty of the
countries to expand beyond the minimum requirements and adapt it to their needs), creates another risk of
unsuccessful implementation. Public awareness increase, where government should act as a bridge
between public and initiative for a successful outcome of the policy is an important element to be
considered.[120]

Child labor
Included within the human rights abuses that occur during
mining processes are instances of child labor. These instances
are a cause for widespread criticism of mining cobalt, a
mineral essential for powering modern technologies such as
laptops, smartphones and electric vehicles. Many of these
cases of child laborers are found in locations such as the
Democratic Republic of Congo, South Africa, the Philippines,
Australia, and Brazil. Reports have risen of children carrying
sacks of cobalt weighing 25 kg from small mines to local
Breaker boys: child workers who broke
traders[121] being paid for their work only in food and
down coal at a mine in South Pittston,
accommodation. A number of companies such as Apple, Pennsylvania, United States in the early
Google, Microsoft and Tesla have been implicated in lawsuits 20th century
brought by families whose children were severely injured or
killed during mining activities in Congo.[122] In December
2019, 14 Congolese families filed a lawsuit against Glencore, a mining company which supplies the
essential cobalt to these multinational corporations with allegations of negligence that led to the deaths of
children or injuries such as broken spines, emotional distress and forced labor.[123]

Indigenous peoples
There have also been instances of killings and evictions attributed to conflicts with mining companies.
Almost a third of 227 murders in 2020 were of Indigenous peoples rights activists on the frontlines of
climate change activism linked to logging, mining, large-scale agribusiness, hydroelectric dams, and
other infrastructure, according to Global Witness.[124]

The relationship between indigenous peoples and mining is defined by struggles over access to land.
In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, there are issues with both evictions and lack of compensation.
There are "forced evictions taking place as companies that seek to expand industrial-scale copper and
cobalt mining projects are wrecking lives" and "following protests, in 2019 Chemaf, the company
responsible for the industrial mining projects, agreed to pay via the local authority US$1.5 million, but
some former residents received as little as US$300."[125] According to the US government report,
"Corruption and official complicity in trafficking crimes remained significant concerns, impeding law
enforcement and judicial action. Sources reported widespread complicity, including allegations
government officials directly engaged in trafficking, helped facilitate the crime, and obstructed justice.
Government officials accepted bribes to overlook labor abuses, including forced labor and the worst
forms of child labor, in the mining sector. Perpetrators of sexual violence, including sex trafficking, were
rarely held accountable; and security forces continued to sexually abuse and exploit victims, including
children, with impunity."[125] There is little information about what citizens of DRC are doing in
retaliation.

In South Africa, According to health scientist Brad Kistanasamy and their peers, their "mineral resources
have produced, and continue to produce, enormous economic wealth; yet decades of colonialism,
apartheid, capital flight, and challenges in the neoliberal post-apartheid era have resulted in high rates of
occupational lung disease and low rates of compensation for ex-miners and their families."[126]
According to Amnesty International, "By the end of 2017, 111,166 miners had received compensation (of
which 55,864 were for permanent lung impairment, and another 52,473 for tuberculosis), however
107,714 compensable claims remained unpaid." To address current led poisoning, these is a current class
action "by residents of Kabwe (Zambia) against the mining company Anglo American in South Africa.
The claimants allege severe lead poisoning caused by mining operations in Kabwe. SALC and Amnesty
International submit that the case represents a pivotal moment for corporate accountability and the rights
of communities affected by transnational and transgenerational harm."[127]

In Australia, the Aboriginal Bininj said mining posed a threat to their living culture and could damage
sacred heritage sites.[128][129] Although Australia is one of the most profitable mining countries,
"Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders (henceforward referred to as Indigenous Australians) have not
shared in this bounty equitably, with social and economic disadvantage exacerbated where mining
activity is the greatest.[130] As of now, "Australian restoration networks are still poorly articulated and not
in the position to stimulate an inclusive sector aligned with democratic and participatory engagements
with Indigenous Australians."[131]

In the Philippines, an anti-mining movement has raised concerns regarding "the total disregard for
[Indigenous communities'] ancestral land rights."[132] According to Geographic Scientist William Holden
and their peers, "Those unfamiliar with indigenous culture may mistakenly believe that mining poses
minimal risks, since indigenous peoples have little income or wealth to lose and [suffer from] high
unemployment,"[133] when in reality "such a view is incorrect because 'the wealth that supports the
sustainability of their culture is found in institutions, environmental knowledge, local resources, and
especially in land embellished with cultural meaning."[133] Ifugao peoples' opposition to mining led a
governor to proclaim a ban on mining operations in Mountain Province, Philippines.[132]

In Brazil, more than 170 tribes organized a march to oppose controversial attempts to strip back
indigenous land rights and open their territories to mining operations.[134] The United Nations
Commission on Human Rights has called on Brazil's Supreme Court to uphold Indigenous land rights to
prevent exploitation by mining groups and industrial agriculture.[135] For issues such as gold mining and
illegal mining, " uniform law enforcement is required to prevent the waterbed effect (when fighting
miners somewhere, they pop up elsewhere); the unhinged miners have not been hinged yet. In addition,
gold trading laws need to be strengthened to ensure accountability for the illegal gold trade in the
Amazon.[136]

Lack of Safety Enforcement

There is a lack of enforcement for the laws in place in various countries. For example, "although South
Africa has strong regulations to avoid potential mining impacts, lack of enforcement and corruption have
been barriers to combating social and environmental injustices,"[137] leading to unsafe working
conditions for many miners (see Safety Section). In the DRC, "more than half of the DRC's natural
resource exports are not officially recorded because of tax evasion and state institutions' lack of
governance capacity," and "90% of minerals come from artisanal miners,"[138] which are indigenous
people. In Ghana, similar safety issues exist. This is because "inadequate monitoring of the operations
and lack of regulatory enforcement by the Minerals Commission of Ghana are major contributing factors
to the environmental, safety and national security issues of the operations,"[139] implying a failure of
enforcement from local authorities, similar to these other countries.

Corporate Negligence and Lack of Regulation Towards Indigenous Peoples

There have already been international loopholes that threaten the safety of indigenous miners (see safety
regulations). These often exist due to "multiple factors such as colonial legacies, economic inequalities,
global power imbalances, inadequate governance, regulatory weaknesses, and insufficient community
participation."[140] In these countries, mining legislation and regulations either don't include the scope of
compensation for indigenous populations, or aren't enforced. For example, the Mines and Minerals act in
Zimbabwe "does not provide for direct compensation to inhabitants of Communal Lands, making them
particularly vulnerable."[141] Although there are laws against child labor in the DRC,[142] "In the DRC
cobalt belt, field research describes 'subterranean slavery' in which children descend 10–30m pits to fill
sacks of ore for as little as US $1–2 per day. Violence has intensified rather than fallen since U.S.
conflict-mineral legislation, with statistically significant spikes in armed incidents around mine
sites,"[140] which is most likely not enforced due to financial benefit. In order for justice to be secured,
laws need to both encapsulate justice for indigenous communities and enforce them, despite any financial
incentives to do otherwise.[143]

Mining and Land Rights

Mining operations often intersect with land rights in complex and sometimes contentious ways. In many
countries, the ownership of land and the ownership of mineral resources are legally separated, with
mineral rights usually vested in the state while land may be owned by individuals or communities.[144]

This creates a situation in which communities may have legal ownership of the surface land but limited
control over the extraction of minerals beneath it.

Customary land tenure, prevalent in many rural areas, often governs land use and inheritance.[145]
Mining in these areas can disrupt farming, grazing, and culturally significant sites, and communities
without formal titles may be vulnerable to displacement or inadequate compensation.[145]

Records
As of 2019, Mponeng is the world's deepest mine from
ground level, reaching a depth of 4 km (2.5 mi) below ground
level. The trip from the surface to the bottom of the mine
takes over an hour. It is a gold mine in South Africa's Gauteng
province. Previously known as Western Deep Levels #1
Shaft, the underground and surface works were
commissioned in 1987. The mine is considered to be one of
the most substantial gold mines in the world.
Chuquicamata, Chile, site of the largest
The Moab Khutsong gold mine in North West Province circumference and second deepest open
(South Africa) has the world's longest winding steel wire pit copper mine in the world
rope, which is able to lower workers to 3,054 metres
(10,020 ft) in one uninterrupted four-minute journey.[146]

The deepest mine in Europe is the 16th shaft of the uranium mines in Příbram, Czech Republic, at 1,838
metres (6,030 ft).[147] Second is Bergwerk Saar in Saarland, Germany, at 1,750 metres (5,740 ft). [148]

The deepest open-pit mine in the world is Bingham Canyon Mine in Bingham Canyon, Utah, United
States, at over 1,200 metres (3,900 ft). The largest and second deepest open-pit copper mine in the world
is Chuquicamata in northern Chile at 900 metres (3,000 ft), which annually produces 443,000 tons of
copper and 20,000 tons of molybdenum.[149][150][151]

The deepest open-pit mine with respect to sea level is Tagebau Hambach in Germany, where the base of
the pit is 299 metres (981 ft) below sea level.[152]

The largest underground mine is Kiirunavaara Mine in Kiruna, Sweden. With 450 kilometres (280 miles)
of roads, 40 million tonnes of annually produced ore, and a depth of 1,270 metres (4,170 ft), it is also one
of the most modern underground mines. The deepest borehole in the world is Kola Superdeep Borehole at
12,262 metres (40,230 ft), but this is connected to scientific drilling, not mining.[153]

Metal reserves and recycling

During the 20th century, the variety of metals used in society increased. Today, the development of major
nations such as China and India and technological advances fuel an ever-greater demand. The result is
that metal mining activities are expanding, and more and more of the world's metal stocks are above
ground in use rather than below ground as unused reserves. An example is the in-use stock of copper.
Between 1932 and 1999, copper in use in the US rose from 73 kilograms (161 lb) to 238 kilograms
(525 lb) per person.[154]
95% of the energy used to make aluminium from bauxite ore
is saved by using recycled material.[155] However, levels of
metal recycling are generally low. In 2010, the International
Resource Panel, hosted by the United Nations Environment
Programme (UNEP), published reports on metal stocks that
exist within society[156] and their recycling rates.[154]

The report's authors observed that the metal stocks in society

can serve as substantial anthropogenic mines above
ground.[156] However, they warned that the recycling rates of
some rare metals used in applications such as mobile phones,
battery packs for hybrid cars, and fuel cells are so low that
unless future end-of-life recycling rates are dramatically Macro of native copper about 11⁄2 inches
stepped up these critical metals will become unavailable for (4 cm) in size
use in modern technology.

As recycling rates are low and so much metal has already

been extracted, some landfill now contain higher
concentrations of metal than the mines themselves.[157] This
is especially true of aluminum, used in cans, and precious
metals, found in discarded electronics.[158] Furthermore,
waste after 15 years has still not broken down, so less
processing would be required when compared to mining ores.
A study undertaken by Cranfield University has found
£360 million of metals could be mined from just four landfill
sites.[159] There is also up to 20 MJ/kg of energy in waste, A former metal recycling plant in South
potentially making the re-extraction more profitable.[160] Carolina.
However, although the first landfill mine opened in Tel Aviv,
Israel in 1953, little work has followed due to the abundance
of accessible ores.[161]

See also
Asteroid mining – Exploitation of raw materials from asteroids
Automated mining – Removal of human labor from the mining industry
Blood diamond – Diamonds mined in conflict areas
Conflict resource – War fought over resources
Deep sea mining
Environmental effects of mining – Environmental problems from uncontrolled mining
Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative – Organization of countries
Geological engineering – Discipline applying geological science
Kimberley Process Certification Scheme – Process to certify the origin of rough diamonds
List of critical mineral raw materials – European Union legislation
List of mining companies
List of mining journals
Mining engineering – Engineering discipline
 Outline of mining – Overview of and topical guide to mining
Peak minerals – Depletion of natural organic and inorganic resources
Resource curse – Theory that resource wealth slows growth
Resource extraction – Resources that exist without actions of humankind
Stone industry – Place where geological material has been excavated

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Further reading
Woytinsky, W.S., and E.S. Woytinsky (1953). World Population and Production Trends and
Outlooks, pp. 749–881; with many tables and maps on the worldwide mining industry in
1950, including coal, metals and minerals
Ali, Saleem H. (2003). Mining, the Environment and Indigenous Development Conflicts.
Tucson AZ: University of Arizona Press.
Ali, Saleem H. (2009). Treasures of the Earth: need, greed and a sustainable future. New
Haven and London: Yale University Press.
Even-Zohar, Chaim (2002). From Mine to Mistress: Corporate Strategies and Government
Policies in the International Diamond Industry. Mining Journal Books. p. 555. ISBN 978-0-
9537336-1-3.
Geobacter Project: Gold mines may owe their origins to bacteria ([Link]
b/20170308175324/[Link] (in PDF
format)
Garrett, Dennis. Alaska Placer Mining.
 Jayanta, Bhattacharya (2007). Principles of Mine Planning (2nd ed.). Wide Publishing.
p. 505. ISBN 978-81-7764-480-7.
Morrison, Tom (1992). Hardrock Gold: a miner's tale. ISBN 0-8061-2442-3
John Milne. The Miner's Handbook: A Handy Reference on the subjects of Mineral Deposits
(1894) Mining operations in the 19th century. The Miner's Handbook: A Handy Book of
Reference on the Subjects of Mineral Deposits, Mining Operations, Ore Dressing, Etc. For
the Use of Students and Others Interested in Mining Matters ([Link]
s?id=ty0LAQAAIAAJ&dq=waterways+john+milne&pg=PA95) Archived ([Link]
rg/web/20231103190333/[Link]
s%20john%20milne&pg=PA95) 2023-11-03 at the Wayback Machine.
Aryee, B., Ntibery, B., Atorkui, E. (2003). "Trends in the small-scale mining of precious
minerals in Ghana: a perspective on its environmental impact", Journal of Cleaner
Production 11: 131–40.
Temple, John (1972). Mining: An International History ([Link]
emple). Ernest Benn Limited.
The Oil, gas and Mining Sustainable Community Development Fund (2009). Social Mine
Closure Strategy, Mali (in CommDev: Projects: Social Mine Closure Strategy, Mali ([Link]
[Link]/web/20111007165012/[Link]
White F. (2020). Miner with a Heart of Gold: biography of a mineral science and engineering
educator. Friesen Press, Victoria. ISBN 978-1-5255-7765-9 (Hardcover), 978-1-5255-7766-
6 (Paperback), 978-1-5255-7767-3 (eBook).

External links
First chapter ([Link]
Archived ([Link]
a/excerpt/11/04713485/[Link]) 2016-04-15 at the Wayback Machine of
Introductory Mining Engineering ([Link]
Archived ([Link]
=gi2sfYQIqPgC) 2023-11-03 at the Wayback Machine
An introduction to geology and hard rock mining ([Link]
[Link]) (archived 13 August 2016) ([Link]
org/web/20160813182207/[Link]
[Link])
"Mining" ([Link]
g). New International Encyclopedia. 1905.
Munroe, Henry Smith (1911). "Mining" ([Link]
A6dia_Britannica/Mining). Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 18 (11th ed.). pp. 528–542.

Retrieved from "[Link]