GLY213: EARTH’S RESOURCES:

Mining
Dyson MOSES (Ph.D.)
dmoses@[Link] or dysonmoses@[Link]
+265881833015
MINING
 MINE DEVELOPMENT
※Operations that involve preparing a mine for ore extraction
which include; tunneling, sinking, crosscutting, drifting, and
raising
※Evidently, the type of ore deposit, its size, shape, and dip,
distribution of ore shoots or separate ore bodies, strength of ore
and wall rocks, and surface topography are conditions imposed
by nature
※Thus, mine development plan must fit these conditions, taking
the utmost advantage of those that are favorable
 MINE DEVELOPMENT
※Important factors to be considered in planning mine development for
economical operation include:
1. Location of the main extraction opening
2. Shaft vs. adit development and inclined vs. vertical shafts
3. Time required to prepare for production and anticipated maximum
rate of production
4. Level-development plans esp. level interval
 Adaptation to the physical characteristics of the deposits and to
the stoping method to be employed
5. Life expectancy of the mine and total tonnage to be mined
 Comparative costs of different development schemes
 PRODUCTION: MINING
※Extraction of ore from the ground
※Types of Mining:
A. Surface Mining: Scoop ore off surface of earth.
 Cheap.
 Safe for miners.
 Large environmental destruction
B. Underground Mining: Use of adits and shafts to reach deeply buried
ores.
 Expensive.
 Hazardous for miners.
 Usually less environmental damage
 SURFACE MINING
※When a mineral occurs fairly close to the surface in a massive or wide tabular
body, or where the mineral itself is part of the surface soil or rock, it is generally
more economical to mine it by means of surface mining methods

Class Subclass Method

Open pit
Strip mining
Mechanical
Auger mining
Quarrying
Dredging
Placer
Aqueous Hydraulic/ Sluice mining
Solution In situ leaching
 STRIP MINING
※It is a surface mining in which
reclamation is contemporaneous
with extraction.
※It involves removing the overlying
strata or overburden and extracting
the valuable mineral deposit
※Applicable to shallow, flat lying
deposits of coal, oil-shale, clay,
sand, gravel, and some uranium,
phosphate and placer deposits
 AUGER MINING
※Auger mining refers to a
method of removing coal, clay,
phosphate, oil-shale, etc. from
thin seams exposed in deep
trenches or high-walls in strip
mines
※Operations are usually low-
cost and highly productive, but
recovery ranges from 40 to
60%
 QUARRYING

※Open, or surface excavation of rock to

be used for various purposes, including
construction, ornamentation, road
building or as an industrial raw material
※Usually restricted to mining dimension
stone prismatic blocks of marble,
granite, limestone, sandstone, slate, etc.
※Quarries have benches with vertical
faces from a few meters to 60m in height
 DREDGING - DRAGLINE

※The bucket of a dragline is

less controllable on the bottom,
and it is able to dig into the
bottom to clean up all the ore
 HYDRAULIC MINING-SLUICING

※It involves directing a high-

pressure stream of water, via a
monitor or nozzle, against the
base of the placer bank
※The water caves the bank,
disintegrates the ground and
washes the material to and
through sluice boxes, and/or
jigs, and/or tables situated
down-slope
 IN SITU LEACHING
※Applicable to a wide variety of commodities that are soluble in water or an
aqueous lixiviant
※Permeability, innate or induced, within the rock is critical, as is the distribution
of metal values relative to the flow channels.
※Applicability;
 Extraction of water soluble salts, such as potash, and NaCl
 Extraction of sulfur from salt domes using hot water injection to supply
heat to melt the sulfur and allow it to be pumped to the surface
 Hard rock in situ mining using lixiviant
– uranium, copper and gold.
 IN SITU LEACHING
※Amenability of a deposit to in situ leaching;
a) The pattern and character of value
distribution (depth, shape, grade, and
structural and/or stratigraphic features
b) Fluid flow characteristics of the rock
(permeability, porosity, natural
groundwater flow, and fracture
character)
c) Solvent effectiveness (rate of mineral
dissolution, reactions with host and
gangue minerals and the effects of
reactions upon permeability)
d) Recovery of values from the leach
solutions
 OPEN PIT MINING
※Open-pit/opencast mining technique extracts
minerals from an open pit in the ground
※The most common method used throughout
the world for mineral mining and does not
require extractive methods or tunnels
 High production rate
 Limited by stripping ratio
 High capital investment associated with
large equipment
 The method produces large volumes of
mining waste which increase the
vulnerability of mining environments to
soil erosion and pollution
UNDERGROUND MINING
 UNDERGROUND MINING

※When do we mine underground?

a) The ore deposit is deep
b) Ore body is steep
c) Grade is high enough to
exceed costs
 UNDERGROUND MINING

Room and Pillar Method

UNDERGROUND MINING

Pillar Supported Sublevel and Longhole Open

Stoping
SYSTEMS

Cut and Fill Stoping

Artificially Supported Shrink Stoping
Vertical Crater Retreat Stoping
Longwall Mining
Unsupported Sublevel Caving
Block Caving
 ROOM AND PILLAR METHOD

※Involves extraction of ore

across a horizontal plane
leaving ‘pillars; Hanging wall

※The pillars support the roof of

the mine Ore
※Choice of optimum pillar size
is crucial to avoid subsidence
(too small) or leaving
significant ore (so big)
SUBLEVEL AND LONGHOLE OPEN STOPING

※In sublevel stoping the ore

is blasted from different
levels of elevation but is
removed from one level at
the bottom of the mine
※Before mining begins, an
ore pass is usually drilled
from a lower to a higher
elevation
 CUT AND FILL STOPING

※In cut-and-fill mining, the

opened stope is back-filled
with waste materials as each
layer of ore is removed
※This system can be adapted
to many different ore body
shapes and ground conditions
 SHRINKAGE STOPING

※Shrinkage stoping is a vertical

stoping method, conducted in a
vertical or near-vertical plane, and at
an angle greater than the angle of
repose of the broken ore
※Characteristic feature of the method
is that most of the blasted ore
remains in the stope to support the
hanging wall
VERTICAL CRATER RETREAT STOPING

※It is bottom-up mining method

that involves vertically drilling
large-diameter holes into the
orebody from the top, and then
blasting horizontal slices of the
orebody into an undercut
※Also known as Vertical retreat
mining
 LONGWALL MINING

※Longwall mining is an underground

method of excavating coal from
tabular deposits, as well as soft
mineral deposits such as potash
※Large rectangular blocks of coal
are defined during the development
stage of the mine and are then
extracted in a single continuous
operation
 SUBLEVEL CAVING METHOD

※Sublevel caving (SLC) is a

mass mining method in which
the ore is drilled and blasted
while the waste rock caves and
fills the space created by the
extraction of ore
 BLOCK CAVING METHOD

※Block caving is a bulk underground

mining method, which allows large
low-grade deposits to be mined
underground
※The method involves undermining
the orebody to make it collapse
under its own weight into a series of
chambers from which the ore
extracted
 METHOD SELECTION
※Selecting appropriate mining techniques are just a small part of it!
※A number of factors determine the method applicable for
exploitation of ore deposits
1. Mineralization style
 Geometric configuration of orebody i.e stratiform or
stratabound, vein, massive or lode
2. Size
 How big is the tonnage?
 METHOD SELECTION

4. Disposition and orientation

 Depth and dipping angle of the orebody
5. Environmental consideration
 Conformability to national environmental
guidelines
6. Geomechanical parameters
 Rock material and rock mass properties
consideration – response to extrusion
EXTRACTIVE METALLURGY: MINERAL PROCESSING

※Mineral processing is a major division in extractive metallurgy

※Extractive metallurgy is the science and art of extracting metals from their ores,
refining them and preparing them for use
※The major divisions in extractive metallurgy:
a) Mineral Processing (or Beneficiation)
b) Hydrometallurgy – extraction of metal from ore by preparing an aqueous
solution of a salt of the metal and recovering the metal from the solution
c) Pyrometallurgy – extraction and purification of metals by processes
involving the application of heat
d) Electrometallurgy – electrorefining and production (electrowinning,
electroplating, and electroforming) from a solution containing metals
through electrolysis
 BENEFICIATION

※Mineral processing consists of two

functions:
a) Preparation and liberation of
the valuable minerals from
waste minerals
b) Separation/concentration into
two or more products, called
concentrates
 LIBERATION AND COMMINUTION
※In order to separate the minerals from gangue, it is necessary to crush
and grind the rock to unlock valuable minerals so that they are partially
or fully exposed
※Comminution is carried out in a sequential manner using crushers and
screens followed by grinding mills and classifiers
 CRUSHING EQUIPMENT

Jaw Crusher Gyratory Crusher Cone Crusher

GRINDING MILL EQUIPMENT
 SCREENING AND CLASSIFICATION
SCREENING
 A screen is a hard perforated surface with a matrix of fixed dimension
apertures
o The material finer than the apertures falls through the screen and
the oversize is conveyed to the discharge end of the screen
CLASSIFICATION
 Classification techniques takes advantage of the principle that particles
of the same density but of different sizes settle in a fluid at different
rates
o Exploiting the difference in the settling rates allows for separation
based on size
 SCREENING EQUIPMENT

A grizzly Revolving screen

 CLASSIFICATION EQUIPMENT

Elements of a sedimentation Hydraulic classifier

SEPARATION AND CONCENTRATION TECHNIQUES
※There a number of different techniques employed in concentrating the valuable minerals
A. Sorting – based on appearance, colour, texture, optical properties and radioactivity

※Advances in electronics and optical

technology have made the automation of
sorting techniques an important process
 For example, Diamonds emit light when
hit by an x-ray and the resulting light is
picked up by a detector
– The detector activates jets of air
which knock the diamond into a
separate bin
SEPARATION AND CONCENTRATION TECHNIQUES

B. Gravity and Dense-Medium Separation - Separation based on specific gravity

of the valuable mineral relative to the gangue and the carrying medium such as
water
For example, sluices or sluice boxes are commonly found at alluvial
operations for the recovery of liberated placer gold
SEPARATION AND CONCENTRATION TECHNIQUES

C. Magnetic Separation – takes

advantage of the magnetic properties
of minerals
All minerals will have one of three
magnetic properties:
a) Ferromagnetic
b) Paramagnetic
c) Diamagnetic
Thus, separation is based upon
natural or induced differences in
magnetic susceptibility of the
minerals within the ore
SEPARATION AND CONCENTRATION TECHNIQUES

D. Froth Flotation - separations based on the

surface chemistry properties of a mineral
The flotation process begins with a
modification of the surface properties
of the desired mineral by adding
surfactants to render the mineral
surface hydrophobic, so that the
mineral may preferentially adhere to air
bubbles and float to the surface
The unwanted minerals remain
hydrophilic
The hydrophobic minerals are
recovered by skimming the froth off of
the surface
SEPARATION AND CONCENTRATION TECHNIQUES

E. Heap leaching is an industrial

mining process used to extract
precious metals like gold, copper,
uranium, and other compounds
from ore using a series of
chemical reactions that absorb
specific minerals and re-separate
them after their division from other
earth materials
 Lixiviants include sulphuric
acid and cyanide
MINE CLOSURE AND REHABILITATION
※Mine closure is the process of transforming an active mine into a set
of safe and stable landforms that are non-polluting and provide habitat
and ecosystem services supporting economic activities by the new
land users
Mine Closure

Management of
Decommissioning & Relinquishment Residual and Latent
Rehabilitation Risks
WHY IS MINE CLOSURE IMPORTANT?
※Poorly regulated mine closure is a significant problem that
detrimentally affects poorest citizens and the productive capacity of
soil, water and air

※Poorly regulated mine closure increases state liability

 Cost of AMD remediation
 Unquantified health costs
BEST PRACTICES TO MINE CLOSURE
※Dealing with the mine closure problem requires a whole-of-government
response with the mineral authorities and oversight bodies taking the lead
 Because drivers of unplanned, chaotic or poorly executed mine
closure processes derive from numerous institutional failings in
the public and private sector
※Planning for mine closure should start before mining commences
※The closure must be continually reviewed until final closure and
relinquishment
※A mature discipline, complete with higher level management process,
continuing growth in technical fields enhances mine closure technique
 REFERENCES

 Robb L. (2004). Introduction to Ore Forming Processes. Wiley-Blackwell.

ISBN: 978-0-632-06378-9.
 Edwards, R. (2012). Ore Deposit Geology and its Influence on Mineral
Exploration. Springer Science & Business Media. ISBN: 9789401180566
 Carter, G.S., & Bennet, J.D. (1973). The Geology and Mineral Resources
of [Link]: Government Print .
 Evans, A. (2010). An Introduction to Ore Geology. Oxford: Blackwell.
 Ridley, J. (2013). Ore deposit geology. Cambridge University Press.