MT20 : SURFACE MINING - UNIT - 1

SURFACE MINING

• Surface mining is the accessing to the valuable deposit by removing over burden (over burden) or waste rock and placing it at a suitable place.
• Wining the valuable deposit with safety, economically and at a required rate.

Classification of different types of surface mining 

1. Strip Mining
2. Open Pit Mining
3. Mountaintop Removal
4. Dredging
5. Highwall Mining

1) Strip Mining

Strip mining is the stripping of the surface layer away from the minerals being excavated, mainly coal. Giant machines and excavators remove the soil, rocks, and vegetation present on the mineral seam. Notably, this type of mining is ideal for minerals close to the surface.

2) Open Pit Mining

Open-pit mining works like strip mining. However, the minerals get removed from an open pit that’s left unfilled. Most people refer to open-pit mines as quarries when the mines produce building materials like marble, granite, and limestone.

3) Mountaintop Removal

This is the most controversial type of mining as it involves removing mass amounts of minerals from mountain peaks. It involves using explosives to blast the overburden above the mineral seam to be mined then shift the broken mountaintops into valleys.

4) Dredging 

If you’ve seen miners panning for gold, you can quickly understand dredging, which is a more advanced version of gold panning. Floating dredges move on the water as their scoops lift materials on the conveyor belt then separates minerals from other materials.

5) Highwall Mining

During highwall mining, heavy machinery collects ore from highwall (unmined walls with exposed minerals and overburden). Highwalls are available at the edges of pit mines and quarries. The walls allow miners to retrieve ore without removing the overburden.

Advantages	Disadvantages
Access to abundant resources	Habitat destruction
Increased safety	Water pollution
Lower costs	Air pollution
Reduced environmental impact	Safety hazards
Increased efficiency	Long-term environmental impact