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Open-pit Mining
Open-pit mining, also known as open-cast or open-cut mining and in larger contexts mega-mining, is a surface mining technique that extracts rock (geology), rock or minerals from the earth. Open-pit mines are used when deposits of commercially useful ore or rocks are found near the surface where the overburden is relatively thin. In contrast, deeper mineral deposits can be reached using underground mining. Open-pit mining is considered one of the most dangerous industrial sector, sectors in the industrial world. It causes significant effects to miners' health, as well as damage to the ecological land and water. Open-pit mining causes changes to vegetation, soil, and bedrock, which ultimately contributes to changes in surface hydrology, groundwater levels, and flow paths. Additionally, open-pit produces harmful pollutants depending on the type of mineral being mined, and the type of mining process being used. Extraction Miners typically drill a series of test holes to locate ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Foliation (geology)
Foliation in geology refers to repetitive layering in metamorphic rocks.Marshak, Stephen, ''Essentials of Geology,'' W. W. Norton 3rd Ed, 2009 Each layer can be as thin as a sheet of paper, or over a meter in thickness. The word comes from the Latin , meaning "leaf", and refers to the sheet-like planar structure. It is caused by shearing forces (pressures pushing different sections of the rock in different directions), or differential pressure (higher pressure from one direction than in others). The layers form parallel to the direction of the shear, or perpendicular to the direction of higher pressure. Nonfoliated metamorphic rocks are typically formed in the absence of significant differential pressure or shear. Foliation is common in rocks affected by the regional metamorphic compression typical of areas of mountain belt formation ( orogenic belts). More technically, foliation is any penetrative planar fabric present in metamorphic rocks. Rocks exhibiting foliation i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tailings Dam
A tailings dam is typically an earth-fill embankment dam used to store byproducts of mining operations after separating the ore from the gangue. Tailings can be liquid, solid, or a slurry of fine particles, and are usually highly toxic and potentially radioactive. Solid tailings are often used as part of the structure itself. Tailings dams rank among the largest engineered structures on earth. The Syncrude Tailings Dam, Syncrude Mildred Lake Tailings Dyke in Alberta, Canada, is an embankment dam about long and from high. The dam and the artificial lake within it are constructed and maintained as part of ongoing operations by Syncrude in extracting oil from the Athabasca oil sands; it is the largest dam structure on earth by volume, and as of 2001 it was believed to be the largest earth structure in the world by volume of fill. There are key differences between tailings dams and the more familiar Hydroelectricity#Conventional (dams), hydroelectric dams. Tailings dams are design ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Slurry
A slurry is a mixture of denser solids suspended in liquid, usually water. The most common use of slurry is as a means of transporting solids or separating minerals, the liquid being a carrier that is pumped on a device such as a centrifugal pump. The size of solid particles may vary from 1 micrometre up to hundreds of millimetres. The particles may settle below a certain transport velocity and the mixture can behave like a Newtonian or non-Newtonian fluid. Depending on the mixture, the slurry may be abrasive and/or corrosive. Examples Examples of slurries include: *Cement slurry, a mixture of cement, water, and assorted dry and liquid additives used in the petroleum and other industries *Soil/cement slurry, also called Controlled Low-Strength Material (CLSM), flowable fill, controlled density fill, flowable mortar, plastic soil-cement, K-Krete, and other names *A mixture of thickening agent, oxidizers, and water used to form a gel explosive *A mixture of pyroclastic materi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tailings
In mining, tailings or tails are the materials left over after the process of separating the valuable fraction from the uneconomic fraction (gangue) of an ore. Tailings are different from overburden, which is the waste rock or other material that overlies an ore or mineral body and is displaced during mining without being processed. Waste valorization is the evaluation of waste and residues from an economic process in order to determine their value in reuse or recycling, as what was gangue at the time of separation may increase with time or more sophisticated recovery processes. The extraction of minerals from ore can be done two ways: placer mining, which uses water and gravity to concentrate the valuable minerals, or hard rock mining, which pulverizes the rock containing the ore and then relies on chemical reactions to concentrate the sought-after material. In the latter, the extraction of minerals from ore requires comminution, i.e., grinding the ore into fine partic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hauling
Haulage is the business of transporting goods by road or rail between suppliers and large consumer outlets, factories, warehouses, or depots. This includes everything humans might wish to move in bulk – from vegetables and other foodstuffs, to clothes, ore, coal, and other supplies. Haulage also involves the transportation of chemicals in large sealed containers, and the removal of waste. As the word implies, goods are loaded into large trailers or carriages and hauled between different locations. Traditionally, this was by large animals such as horses or oxen – where the practice may also be called cartage or drayage. However, in the modern age, this act is mostly performed by trains or trucks – with large shipping vessels acting as intermediaries for crossing oceans. Truck drivers on haulage shifts are typically male, and often work long and difficult hours with few breaks – regularly sleeping in their vehicles overnight and eating/showering at rest stops. It is expect ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Drilling
Drilling is a cutting process where a drill bit is spun to cut a hole of circular cross section (geometry), cross-section in solid materials. The drill bit is usually a rotary Cutting tool (machining), cutting tool, often multi-point. The bit is Pressure, pressed against the work-piece and rotated at rates from hundreds to thousands of revolutions per minute. This forces the cutting edge against the work-piece, cutting off Swarf, chips (swarf) from the hole as it is drilled. In Rock (geology), rock drilling, the hole is usually not made through a circular cutting motion, though the bit is usually rotated. Instead, the hole is usually made by hammering a drill bit into the hole with quickly repeated short movements. The hammering action can be performed from outside the hole (top-hammer drill) or within the hole (down-the-hole drill, DTH). Drills used for horizontal drilling are called drifter drills. In rare cases, specially-shaped bits are used to cut holes of non-circular cro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Acid Mine Drainage
Acid mine drainage, acid and metalliferous drainage (AMD), or acid rock drainage (ARD) is the outflow of acidic water from metal mines and coal mines. Acid rock drainage occurs naturally within some environments as part of the rock weathering process but is exacerbated by large-scale earth disturbances characteristic of mining and other large construction activities, usually within rocks containing an abundance of sulfide minerals. Areas where the earth has been disturbed (e.g. construction sites or highway construction) may create acid rock drainage. In many localities, the liquid that drains from coal stocks, coal handling facilities, coal washeries, and coal waste tips can be highly acidic, and in such cases it is treated as acid rock drainage. These, combined with reduced pH, have a detrimental impact on the streams' aquatic environments. The same type of chemical reactions and processes may occur through the disturbance of acid sulfate soils formed under coastal or ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Central German Lake District
The Central German Lake District (''German:'' Mitteldeutsches Seenland) is a group of artificial lakes that are the result of extensive open pit lignite mining. The area around Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ... is sometimes separately marketed as the "Leipzig Lake District" (''German:'' Leipziger Seenland) or the Neuseenland. The Lausitzer und Mitteldeutsche Bergbauverwaltungsgesellschaft is in charge of the technological side of the area. List of lakes See also * Leipzig River Network * Lusatian Lake District - of similar origins References {{reflist Artificial lakes of Germany Regions of Saxony Mining in Germany Mining in Saxony ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lusatian Lake District
The Lusatian Lake District (, , ) is a chain of artificial lakes under construction in Germany across the north-eastern part of Saxony and the southern part of Brandenburg. Through flooding as a part of an extensive regeneration programme, several decommissioned lignite Surface mining, opencast mines are in the process of being transformed into Europe's largest artificial lake district. However, the requirements of the project, especially the necessary water resources, are controversial. Geography The Lusatian Lake District lies in Lusatia between Calau in Brandenburg and Görlitz in Saxony. The extent of what will become Europe's largest artificial lake district is an area from east to west and, depending on the boundary chosen, from north to south. A distinction is made between the German terms ''Seenland'' ("lake district") and ''Seenkette'' ("chain of lakes"). The "Lusatian Lake Chain" (''Lausitzer Seenkette'') refers to those lakes that are linked by navigable canals. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Landfill
A landfill is a site for the disposal of waste materials. It is the oldest and most common form of waste disposal, although the systematic burial of waste with daily, intermediate and final covers only began in the 1940s. In the past, waste was simply left in piles or thrown into pits (known in Archaeology, archeology as middens). Landfills take up a lot of land and pose environmental risks. Some landfill sites are used for waste management purposes, such as temporary storage, consolidation and transfer, or for various stages of processing waste material, such as sorting, treatment, or recycling. Unless they are stabilized, landfills may undergo severe shaking or soil liquefaction of the ground during an earthquake. Once full, the area over a landfill site may be Landfill restoration, reclaimed for other uses. Both active and restored landfill sites can have significant environmental impacts which can persist for many years. These include the release of gases that contribute to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mineral Resource Classification
There are several classification systems for the economic evaluation of mineral deposits worldwide. The most commonly used schemes base on the International Reporting Template, developed by the CRIRSCO – Committee for Mineral Reserves International Reporting Standards, like the Australian Joint Ore Reserves Committee – JORC Code 2012, the Pan-European Reserves & Resources Reporting Committee' – PERC Reporting Standard from 2021, the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum – CIM classification and the South African Code for the Reporting of Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves (SAMREC). A more detailed description of the historical development concerning reporting about mineral deposits can be found on the PERC web site. In 1997, the United Nations Framework Classification for Resources (UNFC) was development by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE). The Pan African Resource Reporting Code (PARC) is based on UNFC. Mineral resources ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
