INTRODUCTION TO MINING

1-1 Mining Terminology

There are many terms and expressions unique to mining that characterize the field
and identify the user of such terms as a ‘‘mining person.’’
The student of mining is thus advised to become familiar with all the
terms used in mining, particularly those that are peculiar to either mines
or minerals.
The following three terms are closely related:

Mine: an excavation made in the earth to extract minerals

Mining: the activity, occupation, and industry concerned with the
extraction of minerals. Or Mining is extracting ore or minerals from the
ground.
Mining engineering: the practice of applying engineering principles to
the development, planning, operation, closure, and reclamation of mines.
Some terms distinguish various types of mined minerals.
Geologically, one can distinguish the following mineral categories:

Mineral: a naturally occurring inorganic element or compound having an

orderly internal structure and a characteristic chemical composition,
crystal form, and physical properties.
Rock: any naturally formed aggregate of one or more types of mineral
particles

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Economic differences in the nature of mineral deposits is evident in
the.

following terms:
Ore: a mineral deposit that has sufficient utility and value to be mined at
a profit.
Gangue: the valueless mineral particles within an ore deposit that must
be discarded.
Waste: the material associated with an ore deposit that must be mined
to get at the ore and must then be discarded. Gangue is a particular type
of waste.
A further subdivision of the types of minerals mined by humankind is
also common. These terms are often used in the industry to differentiate
between the fuels, metals, and nonmetallic minerals.

The following are the most common terms used in this differentiation:
Metallic ores: those ores of the ferrous metals (iron, manganese,
molybdenum, and tungsten),the base metals (copper, lead, zinc, and tin),the
precious metals (gold, silver, the platinum group metals),and the radioactive
minerals (uranium, thorium, and radium).
Nonmetallic minerals (also known as industrial minerals): the nonfuel mineral
ores that are not associated with the production of metals. These include
phosphate, potash, halite, trona, sand, gravel, limestone, sulfur, and many
others.
Fossil fuels (also known as mineral fuels): the organic mineral substances
that can be utilized as fuels, such as coal, petroleum, natural gas , coal bed
methane, and tar sands.
It should be noted that the mining engineer is associated with the
extraction of nearly all these mineral resources. However, the production
of petroleum and natural gas has evolved into a separate industry with a
specialized technology of its own.

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The essence of mining in extracting mineral wealth from the
earth is to drive an excavation or excavations from the surface to the
mineral deposit.
 If the excavation used for mining is entirely open or operated
from the surface, it is termed a surface mine.
 If the excavation consists of openings for human entry below the
earth’s surface, it is called an underground mine.
 The mining method distinguish by:
Details of the procedure
Layout
Equipment used in the mine the.
 The mining method is determined by the geologic, physical,
environmental, economic, and legal circumstances that pertain
to the ore deposit being mined.

Mining is never properly done in isolation, nor is it an entity in itself. It

is preceded by:
Geologic investigations that locate the deposit and
Economic analyses that prove it financially feasible.
Following extraction of the fuel, industrial mineral, or metallic ore, the
run-of-mine material is generally cleaned or concentrated. This
preparation or beneficiation of the mineral into a higher-quality product is
termed mineral processing.
The mineral products so produced may then undergo further
concentration, refinement, or fabrication during conversion, smelting,
or refining to provide consumer products.
The end step in converting a mineral material into a useful product is
marketing.

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Quite frequently, excavation in the earth is employed for purposes
other than mining. These include:
o Civil and military works in which the object is to produce a stable
opening of a desired size, orientation, and permanence.
o Examples are vehicular, water, and sewer tunnels, plus
underground storage facilities, waste disposal areas, and military
installations.
o Many of these excavations are produced by means of standard
mining technology.

Professionally, the fields of endeavor associated with the mineral

industries are linked to the phase or stage in which an activity occurs.
Locating and exploring a mineral deposit fall in the general province of
geology and the earth sciences.
Mining engineering, already defined, encompasses the proving (with
the geologist), planning, developing, and exploiting of a mineral deposit.
The mining engineer may also be involved with the closure and
reclamation of the mine property, although he or she may share those
duties with those in the environmental fields.
The fields of processing, refining, and fabricating are assigned to
metallurgy, although there is often some overlap in the mineral
processing area with mining engineering.

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1-2 Stages in the life of a mine
The overall sequence of activities in modern mining is often compared
with the five stages in the life of a mine: prospecting, exploration,
development, exploitation, and reclamation.
 Prospecting and exploration, precursors to actual mining, are
linked and sometimes combined. Geologists and mining
engineers often share responsibility for these two stages—
geologists more involved with the former, mining engineers more
with the latter.
 Likewise, development and exploitation are closely related stages;
they are usually considered to constitute mining proper and are the
main province of the mining engineer.
 Closure and reclamation of the mine site has become a necessary
part of the mine life cycle because of the demands of society for a
cleaner environment and stricter laws regulating the abandonment
of a mine.
 The overall process of developing a mine with the future uses of
the land in mind is termed sustainable development.

TABLE 1 Stages in the Life of a Mine Stage/

(Project Name) Procedure
Precursors to Mining
Prospecting Search for ore by: Prospecting
(Mineral deposit) a. Prospecting methods (Mineral deposit)

Direct: physical geologic

Indirect: geophysical,
geochemical
b. Locate favorable loci
(maps, literature, old mines)
c. Air: aerial photography,
airborne geophysics, satellite
d. Surface: ground
geophysics, geology
e. Spot anomaly, analyze,
evaluate
Exploration Defining extent and value of Exploration
(Ore body) ore (examination/evaluation) (Ore body)
a. Sample (drilling or
excavation),assay, test
b. Estimate tonnage and
grade
c. Valuate deposit: present
value, income cost,
Feasibility study: make

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decision to abandon or
develop
Mining Proper
Development Opening up ore deposit for Development
(Prospect) production (Prospect)
a. Acquire mining rights
(purchase or lease),if not
done in stage 2

b. File environmental impact

statement, technology
assessment, permit
c. Construct access roads,
transport system
d. Locate surface plant,
construct facilities
e. Excavate deposit (strip or
sink shaft)
Exploitation Large-scale production of Exploitation
(Mine) ore (Mine)
a. Factors in choice of
method:
geologic,geographic,
economic, environmental,
societal safety
b. Types of mining methods

Surface: open pit, open cast,

etc.
Underground: room and pillar,
block caving, etc.
c. Monitor costs and
economic payback (3 — 10
yr)
Post-mining
Reclamation Restoration of site Reclamation
(Real estate) a. Removal of plant and (Real estate)
buildings
b. Reclamation of waste and
tailings dumps
c. Monitoring of discharges

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1-3 Prospecting
 Prospecting, the first stage in the utilization of a mineral deposit,
is the search for ores or other valuable minerals.
 Because mineral deposits may be located either at or below the
surface of the earth, both direct and indirect prospecting
techniques are employed.
 The direct method of discovery, normally limited to surface
deposits, consists of visual examination of either;
1. The exposure (outcrop) of the deposit.
or
2. The loose fragments (float) that have weathered away from the
outcrop.
 By means of aerial photography, geologic maps, and structural
assessment of an area, the geologist gathers evidence by direct
methods to locate mineral deposits.
 Precise mapping and structural analysis plus microscopic
studies of samples also enable the geologist to locate the
hidden as well as surface mineralization.
 In the indirect search, the most valuable scientific tool employed
for hidden mineral deposits is geophysics, the science of
detecting anomalies using physical measurements of
gravitational, seismic, magnetic, electrical, electromagnetic, and
radiometric variables of the earth.
 The methods are applied from the air, using aircraft and
satellites; on the surface of the earth; and beneath the earth,
using methods that probe below the topography.
 Geochemistry, the quantitative analysis of soil, rock, and water
samples, can also be employed as prospecting tools.

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1-4 Exploration
A mining project can only commence with knowledge of the extent
and value of the mineral ore deposit. Information about the location and
value of the mineral ore deposit is obtained during the exploration phase.
This phase includes surveys, field studies, and drilling test boreholes and
other exploratory excavations. The exploratory phase may involve clearing
of wide areas of vegetation (typically in lines), to allow the entry of heavy
vehicles mounted with drilling rigs. Many countries require a separate EIA
for the exploratory phase of a mining project because the impacts of this
phase can be profound and because further phases of mining may not
ensue if exploration fails to find sufficient quantities of high-grade mineral
ore deposits.

Mineral exploration is the precursor to mining. Exploration is a high-

risk, high-cost business that, if successful, results in the discovery of a
mineral deposit that can be mined profitably. In 1992, US$1.2 billion was
spent worldwide on exploration; this increased to almost US$2.7 billion in
1995. Many countries encourage exploration investment and competition
is high to explore in areas with good potential for discovery. Almost without
exception, mineral exploration today is carried out by interdisciplinary
teams of prospectors, geologists, geophysicists and geochemists who
search for mineral deposits in all terrain throughout the world.

Mineral exploration begins with a reconnaissance or generative

stage and proceeds through a target evaluation stage, which, if successful,
leads to advanced exploration. As a project progresses through the
various stages of exploration, the type of work changes as do health and
safety issues.

Reconnaissance field work is often conducted by small parties of

geoscientists with limited support in unfamiliar terrain. Reconnaissance
may comprise prospecting, geologic mapping and sampling, wide-spaced
and preliminary geochemical sampling and geophysical surveys. More
detailed exploration commences during the target testing phase once land
is acquired through permit, concession, lease or mineral claims. Detailed
field work comprising geologic mapping, sampling and geophysical and
geochemical surveys requires a grid for survey control. This work
frequently yields targets that warrant testing by trenching or drilling,
entailing the use of heavy equipment such as back-hoes, power shovels,
bulldozers, drills and, occasionally, explosives. Diamond, rotary or
percussion drill equipment may be truck-mounted or may be hauled to the
drill site on skids. Occasionally helicopters are used to sling drills between
drill sites.

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1. The second stage (Exploration) in the life of a mine, determines as
accurately as possible:
 The size and value of a mineral deposit
 Utilizing techniques similar to but more refined than those
used in prospecting.
2. Exploration generally using a variety of measurements to obtain a
more positive picture of the extent and grade of the ore body.
3. Representative samples may be subjected to evaluation
techniques that are meant to enhance the investigator’s knowledge
of the mineral deposit such as: chemical, metallurgical, X ray,
spectrographic, or radiometric.
4. Samples are obtained by: chipping outcrops, trenching, tunneling,
and drilling; in addition, borehole logs may be provided to study the
geologic and structural makeup of the deposit.
5. Rotary, percussion, or diamond drills can be used for exploration
purposes. However, diamond drills are favored because the cores
they yield provide knowledge of the geologic structure.
6. An evaluation of the samples enables the geologist or mining
engineer to:
 Calculate the tonnage and grade, or richness, of the mineral
deposit. Estimates the mining costs,
 Evaluates the recovery of the valuable minerals,
 Determines the environmental costs,
 Assesses other foreseeable factors in an effort to reach a
conclusion about the profitability of the mineral deposit.
7. For an ore deposit, the overall process is called reserve
estimation, that is, the examination and valuation of the ore body.
8. At the conclusion of this stage, the project is developed, traded to
another party, or abandoned.

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Mining Reclamation

Steps in Surface Mine Reclamation

1. Drainage control and diversion at disturbed area

2. Add or replace topsoil and immediate seeding with rapidly growing species, such as
rye grass
3. After initial grass dies back, permanent species take over. Can use as habitat, grazing,
etc.
4. Dredge Area Reclamation

Brief descriptions of the most common of mining

methods
1. Surface Mining
Evaluation of Surface Deposits
The following outline lists the basic factors which must be taken into account for evaluation of
a prospective surface mine:

 Geography

 Legal status of land and mining rights

 Historical, political, and socialogicalfactors

 Geology

 Mining conditions

 Ore treatment requirements

 Economic analysis

Geography:

Topography, a function of location, affects cost of development and operation of a surface mine.
Geographic location establishes climate.

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Location establishes the condition of remoteness from or proximity to civilization and its
developed facilities such as transportation systems, power supply, labourpool, manufacturing
and supply services, and specialty repair shops.

Legal status of land and mining rights:

Land and other necessary rights should be checked, such as water use rights and the ability to
acquire auxiliary land for plant site, roads, tailings disposal ground etc.

Historical, political, and sociological factors:

It is important to determine the extent and nature of national and local laws and regulations in
regard to conservation, water use, water and air pollution, tailings disposal, reclaimation,
handling of explosives, taxes, royalities, import duties, mining safety and health codes, wage
and labourconditions, pension requirements, and unions.

Geology:

Geological evaluation may include wide-spaced drilling, drill-sample logging, testing and
processing, plotting of the data on maps and cross-sections, preparation of specialized
interpretive maps, calculation of reserves by grades, calculation of stripping requirements,
groundwater studies, and economic analysis.

Mining conditions:

The geometry of an ore body and the topography of the land surface beneath which the ore body
exists will affect the kind and cost of a surface mine. The depth and character of overlying rock
and the physical characteristics of the wall rock also affect the configuration and cost of a
surface mine.

Ore treatment requirements:

Almost every potential surface mine must consider some phase of product upgrading
(benefication).

This may vary from a simple crushing and sizing operation to a complex operation including
multiple stages of size reduction, concentration and agglomeration. In many cases, pilot-scale
testing is deemed advisable.

Economic analysis:

In the broadest sense, economic analysis for a surface mine involves the determination of
market value of the product and all the elements of cost of production.

By subtraction, a margin of profit (or loss) can be calculated.

Many new surface mines require very high capital investments. There are 3 commonly used
yardsticks to value investment worth:
i. Degree of necessity,
ii. Payback period, and

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iii. Rate of return (IRR) .

1.1 Classification of Surface Mining Methods

Surface mining makes up a huge percent of mining projects. Surface mining refers to the
removal of the terrain surface to access minerals underneath. In particular, surface mining is
used to retrieve sand, gravel, stones, coal, iron and other metals.

There are number of recognized types of surface mining as shown in figure below, each with
specific variations depending on the minerals being extracted. These include strip mining,
open-pit or open cast mining, mountaintop removal, dredging and high wall mining.

Open pit and open cast methods employ a conventional mining cycle of operations to
extract minerals: rock breakage is usually accomplished by drilling and blasting for
consolidated materials and by ripping or direct removal by excavators for
unconsolidated soil and/or decomposed rock, followed by materials handling and
transportation.

Table : Subdivided surface mining methods

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Figure shows major surface mining methods

Why Choose Surface Mining?

Surface mining is often the preference for mining companies. This is because removing the
terrain surface, or overburden, to access the mineral beneath is often more cost-effective than
gouging tunnels and subterranean shafts to access minerals underground.
This method is often considered safer, as well, and doesn’t require extensive electricity rigging
and water piping.

Mechanical Extraction Method

Figure refers to Classification of Surface mining methods

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1.1.1 Open-Pit Mining
Open-pit mining is similar to strip mining, except the ore is removed from an open pit which
is not then filled in. Open-pit mining has been around for centuries, with ancient cultures like
the Greeks, Romans, and Persians mining for granite, marble and even salt.

1.1.2 Strip Mining

Strip mining gets its name from the fact that the process involves stripping the surface away
from the mineral that’s being excavated (usually coal). Soil, rock, and vegetation over the
mineral seam is removed with huge machines, including bucket-wheel excavators.

This type of mining makes sense when the mineral is near the surface. If the ore is too far under
the surface, the process of strip mining becomes impractical and needlessly damaging to the
terrain.

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Two types of strip mining exist, depending on the amount of ore under the surface, and the
surrounding terrain. They are:

 Area Stripping extracts ore over a large, flat terrain in long strips. The overburden of
rocks and soil is dropped in the previous strip so that long gaps aren’t left in the earth after
mining is complete.

 Contour mining is a version of strip mining that follows the contours of outcrops and
hilly terrains. Usually, the mineral seam follows the contour of the outcrop, and the
overburden is removed carefully along the seam in much smaller and custom shaped
excavations rather than long strips.

1.1.3 Mountaintop Removal

Mountaintop Removal Mining is highly controversial, and best suited for retrieving mass
amounts of minerals, usually coal, from mountain peaks. The process involves blasting the
overburden with explosives above the mineral seam to be mined. The broken mountaintop is
then shifted into valleys and fills below.

This type of mining is used when the ore to be retrieved is 400 feet or deeper. Controversy
surrounds the permanent alteration of ecosystems and entire landscapes by removing
mountaintops, however, advocates point out that after completion the mining process leaves a
flat terrain where there wasn’t one when reclamation is complete.

1.1.4 Dredging
Dredging is the more sophisticated version of panning for gold. In fact, it’s mostly associated
with gold mining. Much like hopeful miners with their pans during the gold rush, floating
dredges (a barge fitted with conveyor belts and scoops) move up a water table. A scoop lifts

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material up on a conveyor belt, and the mineral is removed on board the barge. The unwanted
material is then dropped back into the water table using another conveyor belt.

1.1.5 Highwall Mining

Highwall mining relies on machinery to collect ores from a “highwall”, or an unmined wall
with overburden and exposed minerals and ores. Usually, highwalls are found at the edges of
quarries and pit mines, and enable miners to retrieve ore from a wall that would otherwise be
too expensive to clear of overburden in order to reach the ore. It’s also used in contour strip
mines to retrieve additional ore from the mineral seam above the created terrace.

An expensive and remotely controlled highwall mining machine excavates in a tight square
from the face, using continuous drilling. Conveyor belts and pulleys move the matter from the
drill through the device and the leftover matter is deposited behind the drill.

1.1.6 Glory Holing

 This kind of operation is uncommon, as it involves a mine opening at the surface, from
which ore is removed by gravity through raises connected to adit haulage ways beneath,
and by tramming the ore to the surface on the haulage level.
 The glory hole method is best suited to mining on a hillside, and irregular deposits can
be cleanly mined without dilution by waste wall rock. Narrow veins have been mined
by glory hole; in these cases the “hole” becomes narrow and long. The benches are
mined away as work descends to the bottom of the deposit or to the haulage way, so that
spectacular steep side walls may result if the walls do not slough in.
 Mining can be quite selective, and little waste rock is thrown on the surface dumps.
 The principal environmental objection to the method is difficulty in reclamation of the
surface of the mine area.

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1.1.7 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.
The auger consists of two principal pieces. The first is a cutting head, generally from 1.5 to 8
feet in diameter. It may be single or multiple. The second is a prime mover, usually a skid
mounted carriage, providing a mounting for the engine, drive head, and controls. As coal arrives
at the surface it is transported via a conveyor belt or a front-end loader to a waiting truck.

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1.1.8 Quarrying

QUARRYING or Quarry Mining is usually restricted to mining dimension stone-

prismatic blocks of marble, granite, limestone, sandstone, slate, etc. that are used for
primary construction of buildings or decorative facing materials for exterior and interior
portions of buildings.

Quarries generally have benches with vertical faces from a few feet to 200 feet in
height. Blocks are drilled and wedged free in a highly selective manner using time
consuming and expensive methods.
Planning of the excavation is based primarily on geological factors such as the direction
and attitude of bedding and joint systems.

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Open-Pit Mining
Open-pit mining is similar to strip mining, except the ore is removed from an open pit which
is not then filled in. Open-pit mining has been around for centuries, with ancient cultures like
the Greeks, Romans, and Persians mining for granite, marble and even salt.
Open pit mining method is one of the surface mining methods that has a traditional cone-
shaped excavation and is usually employed to exploit a nearsurface, nonselective and low-grade
zones deposits. It often results in high productivity and requires large capital investments, low
operating costs, and good safety conditions. Open-pit mines are commonly called quarries when
they produce materials used in building: limestone, granite, and marble, for example.

These pit mines continue to be enlarged until there is no more ore to mine or the overburden
becomes too heavy. When it’s no longer economical to operate an open-pit mine, it’s commonly
converted to a landfill or waste disposal site.

The pros of an open pit mine is that these mines usually produce a vast amount of ore without
the costly process of removing overburden — the ore is often in a large area and close to the
surface. However, a major con of these type of mines is that they are both dangerous to work
in, and permanently alter the surrounding ecosystem.

The life cycle steps consist of pit mines from :

•Geological resource, drill samples, ore body models and block modelling

•Pit optimisation

•Physical pit design

•Equipment optimisation and requirements

•Production schedule

•Mining cost modelling, mining capex and opex

•Reserve statement

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Pit Design Parameters

Before starting a pit design, you will need to know the general expected pit design parameters
by material type and/or geotechnical domain, specifically the following:

»» Berm width

»» Safety Berm width and placement intervals (if requested or required)

»» Batter angle (bench face angle)

»» Bench Height

»» Inter-ramp angle (IRA) limits

»» Overall slope angle (OSA) limits

»» Ramp width

»» Ramp gradient

»» Switchback width and gradient

»» Minimum Radius for Curves

»» Truck Stopping Distances (Loaded & Unloaded – at maximum allowable or achievable

speeds)

»» Drainage planning needs, including drainage gradients for benches and berms

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»» Minimum mining width – pit bottom, bench ends, stage cut-back widths

»» Preferred effective bench mining width.

»» Safety Features required (e.g. safety ramp run-offs; etc.)

»» Geotechnical zones to avoid for ramp placement.

Figure 1 Pit Design Terminology Used

Features, technical and economic indicators of open pit development

The open pit mining method requires removing significant amount of overburden from the pit
and moving it outside the mine. The cost of extraction of the ore from open pit constitutes the
bulk of the total cost of mining operations, because the access to the ore body is so fast and
requires less time compared to underground mining, i.e., extracting the ore below overburden
can only begin with some lag time from the start of removing overburden. Also, open pit has
virtually an unlimited ability to create and use high-performance large-sized mining and
transportation equipment that can provide the highest technical and economic parameters. Open
pit mining has higher productivity (3–5 times of underground methods), lower production costs,
more safe and hygienic working conditions, more complete recovery of a mineral, and lower
per unit production cost.

Open pit mining is characterized not only by its high share of total minerals production, but it
is also considered as one of the surface mining methods that contributes to the construction of
powerful performance quarries (100–150 million tons of rock a year reaching to a depth of 500
m). Capital cost of such huge open pits/quarries is very high, and the total cost for excavation
of rock in the long term reaches hundreds of millions of dollars or more. Therefore, decisions
on the construction of new or existing quarries should be economically justified. Table 1 shows
the advantages and disadvantages of open pit mining method.

Table 1.
Advantages and disadvantages of open pit mining method.

Advantages Disadvantages

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High productivity, i.e., highly mechanized Limited by depth
and labor conserving (around 100–400 tons 500 m;
per employee-shift including both ore and technological limit imposed by equipment;
waste) and deposit beyond pit limits must be mined
underground or left in place
High production rate (essentially unlimited, Limited by stripping ratio
although small surface mines also possible)
Lowest cost along with open cast mining High capital investment associated with large
equipment
Early production, development can be Surface damaged may require reclamation; a
programmed to permit early start-up bond has to be added to the production cost
Low labor requirement; can be unskilled Requires large deposit to realize lowest cost,
except key operators (e.g., drill, shovel) unless very high grade
Relatively flexible; can vary output if Weather can be detrimental; it can impede
demand changes operations.
Suitable for large equipment; permit high Slope stability must be maintained; proper
productivity design and maintenance of benches plus good
drainage are essential
Fairly low rock-breakage cost (drilling and Requires provision of large waste
blasting); superior to underground mining disposal/dump area
where bench faces are less easily maintained
Simple development and access; minimal
openings required although advanced
stripping may be considerable
Little if any bank support required; proper
design and maintenance of benches can
provide stability
Good recovery; good health and safety; no
underground hazards

Ore body characteristics and configurations

Open pit mining is widely used with metallic ore bodies (aluminum, bauxite, copper, iron), and
nearly all nonmetallic (coal, uranium, phosphate, etc.). It is a traditional cone-shaped excavation
(although it can be of any shape, depending on the size and shape of the ore body) that is used
when the ore body is typically pipeshaped, vein-type, and steeply dipping stratified or irregular
[4]. The major open pit and ore body configurations are classified into the following:

• Flat lying seam or bed, flat terrain (e.g., platinum reefs, coal), as shown in Figure 1.

• Massive deposit, flat terrain (e.g., iron-ore or sulfide deposits), as shown in Figure 2.

• Dipping seam or bed, flat terrain (e.g., anthracite), as shown in Figure 3.

• Massive deposit, high relief (e.g., copper sulfide), as shown in Figure 4.

• Thick-bedded deposits, little overburden (e.g., iron ore, coal) as shown in Figure 5.

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Figure 1.Flat lying seam or bed, flat terrain.

Figure 2. Massive deposit, flat terrain.

Figure 3. Dipping seam or bed, flat terrain.

Figure 4. Massive deposit, high relief.

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Figure 5. Thick-bedded deposits.

1.3 Stripping ratio

The parameter known as the stripping ratio represents the amount of uneconomic material that
must be removed to uncover one unit of ore, i.e., the ratio of the number of tons of waste
material removed to the number of tons of ore removed. Also, the ratio of the total volume of
waste to the total volume of ore is defined as the overall stripping ratio. A lower stripping ratio
means that less waste has to be removed to expose the ore for mining which generally results
in a lower operating cost [5].

The major types of stripping ratios are overall, instantaneous, and break-even. In order to
specify the maximum allowable stripping ratio (SRmax) of a surface mine, break even ratio can
help to establishes the pit limits. SRmax defined as the ratio of overburden to ore at the ultimate
boundary of the pit, where the profit margin is zero. It can be calculated as:

SRmax =(Value of ore _ Production cost) / Stripping cost (1)

OR

SRmax = Stripping allowance ($/ton)/Stripping cost (m3/ton) (2)

The maximum allowable stripping ratio enables us to locate the ultimate pit boundary or limit
based on prevailing economic, physical, and geometric conditions in the pit. A copper pit
designed in this manner with varying ore grades and critical SR max ≈ 2.5 m3/ton (3.0 yd3/ton) is
shown in Figure 6. Ore occurring in the ore body beyond this maximum stripping ratio will
have to be left or mined underground.

Figure 6. A copper pit designed in this manner with varying ore grades and critical SRmax.

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The equations for stripping ratio are,
for coal:

Overburden (Volume)/ Coal (Weight) (3)

For metal:

Waste (Weight)/ Ore (Weight) (4)

where volume is typically expressed as m3 or yd and weight is typically expressed as tonne or ton.

Example 1:
A seam of coal has a density of 1.36 t/m3 and is 2.5 m thick. It is covered by 27 m of shale
which has a density of 1.7 t/m3. Calculate the stripping ratios?
Solution:
• Volumetric stripping ratio = 27/2.5 =10.8 m3 of overburden per m3 ore
• Weight stripping ratio = (27 _ 1.7)/(2.5 _ 1.36) = 13.5 tons of overburden per ton ore
• Stripping ratio = 27/(2.5 _ 1.36) = 7.9 m3 of overburden per ton ore

Example 2:
The head assay of a copper ore is 0.8% Cu. The expected overall copper recovery from the
ore is 88%. Calculate the maximum stripping ratio if the total cost of production (excluding
overburden removal) is $5.90 per ton of ore and overburden removal costs are $0.3 per ton of
waste. Assume copper values of $1.00, $1.25, and $1.50 per kg of refined metal at the
smelter.
Solution:
SRMax = Value of ore _ Production/Stripping cost per ton overburden
Recoverable copper per ton ore = 0.8% _ 88% _ 1000 = 7.04 kg
At $1.00/kg SRmax = (7.04 _ 5.90)/0.3 = 3.8 tons waste per ton ore
At $1.25/kg SRmax = (7.04 _ 1.25) _ 5.90/0.3 = 9.7 tons waste per ton ore
At $1.50/kg SRmax = (7.04 _ 1.50) _ 5.90/0.3 = 15.53 tons waste per ton ore
To check that maximum stripping ratio has been reached; for $1.50, it is possible to strip
15.53 tons
waste for each ton ore.
Profit = value of ore _ production costs _ stripping cost
Profit = (7.04 _ $1.5) _ $5.9 _ (15.53 _ $0.3) = 0

Stripping overburden methods

29
Overburden is a waste rock material that must be removed to expose the underlying ore body.
It is preferred to extract as little overburden as possible in order to access the ore of interest, but
a larger volume of waste rock is removed when the mineral deposit is deep. Most removal
operations (which includes drilling, loading, blasting, and haulage) are cyclical. This is
true for hard rock overburden which must be drilled and blasted first. An exception to the
cyclical effect is dredging method used in hydraulic surface mining and some types of loose
material mining (soil) with bucket wheel excavators. The percentage of waste rock to ore
excavated is defined as the stripping ratio. Stripping ratios of 2:1 up to 4:1 are common in large
mining operations. Ratios above 6:1 tend to be less economically feasible depending on the
type of ore extracted. Once removed, overburden can be used for road and tailings’ construction
or may have a non-mining commercial value as a backfilling material. In selecting a particular
stripping method and its corresponding equipment, the ultimate aim is the removal of material
(waste and burden) at the least possible cost [6]. Stripping methods are classified into:

a. declining;

b. Increasing; and

c. constant.

a. Declining stripping method

In this method, each bench of ore has to be mined in sequence, and the waste in the particular
bench has to be removed to the pit limit. The ore is easily accessible in the subsequent benches
and the operating working space is widely available. Furthermore, all equipment usually work
in the same level and so no contamination from waste blasting is left above the ore body. This
method is highly productive especially at the beginning where equipment required is at minimal
toward the end of the mine life. The primary disadvantage of this method is that the overall
operating costs are at maximum during the initial years of operation when the maximum
repayment of capital is needed and so cash flows are required to handle interest and repayment
of capital (see Figure 7).

30
Figure 7.
Declining stripping method.

b. Increasing stripping method

In this method, stripping of overburden is performed as needed to uncover the ore. The working
slopes of the waste faces are essentially maintained parallel to the overall pit slope angle. This
method also allows for maximum profit in the initial years of operation and greatly reduces the
investment risk in waste removal for ore to be mined at a future date. It is considered as a very
popular method whereas mining economics or cutoff stripping ratio is likely to change in a very
short time. This method is sometimes impractical because of its small spaces (narrow benches).
It is available for operating a large number of equipment especially at the beginning of stripping
(see Figure 8).

Figure 8.

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Increasing stripping method.

c. Constant stripping method

This method aims to remove the waste at a rate estimated by the overall stripping ratio. The
working slope of the waste faces starts very shallow, but increases as mining depth increases
until it equals the overall pit slope. This method has the advantage of removing the extreme
conditions of the former two stripping methods outlined. Equipment fleet size and labor
requirements throughout the project life are relatively constant. In this method, a good profit
can be generated initially to increase cash flows. The labor and equipment fleet can be increased
to maximum capacity over a period of time, and then, they can decrease gradually toward the
end of the mine life. Distinct mining and stripping areas can be operated simultaneously,
allowing flexibility in planning (see Figure 9).

Figure 9. Constant stripping method.

STATUS OF SURFACE MINING
• Metalli ferous ores ≈ OPEN PIT mining

• Coal ≈ STRIP mining

• Non-metallic materials ≈ QUARRYING

Mine elements and parameters

Open pit mines are constructed of series of benches that are bisected by mine access and haulage
roads angling down from the rim of the pit to the bottom. The bench height is the vertical
distance between each horizontal level of the pit. The elements of a bench are illustrated in
Figures 10 and 11, unless geological conditions dictate, otherwise all benches should have the
same height. The bench height should be designed as high as possible within the limits of the
size and type of the machine or equipment selected for the required production. The bench

32
should not be so high that it will cause safety problems. The bench height in open pit mines will
usually range from 15 m in large mines (e.g., copper) to as little as 1 m in small mines (e.g.,
uranium) [7]. The slope angle of the pit walls is a critical factor. If the slope angle is too steep,
the pit walls may collapse. If it is too shallow, excessive waste rock may need to be removed.
The pit wall has to remain stable as long as mining activity continues. The stability of the pit
walls should be examined as carefully as possible. For example, rock strength, faults, joints,
and fractures are key factors in the evaluation of the proper slope angle.

Figure 10. Main mine elements and parameters.

33
2. Open pit mine operations

The main economic goal in open pit mining is to remove the smallest amount
of material while obtaining the greatest return on investment by processing
the most marketable mineral product. The higher the grade of the ore, the
greater the value received. To reduce the capital investment, an operation
plan has to be developed in order to precisely dictate the way in which the
ore body has to be extracted. Open pit mines vary in scale from small private
enterprises processing a few hundred tons of ore a day to large companies
operated by governmental and private corporations that extract more than
one million tons of material a day. The largest mining operations can involve
many square kilometers in area. The production cycle also referred to as the
mine unit operation that consists of ripping and dozing, drilling, blasting,
loading, and hauling (see Figure 12).

34
Figure 11. Detailed mining operation in an open pit.

2.1 Drilling and blasting

The ore deposit can be mined by means of drilling and blasting in order to fracture the
rock into a loadable size. Blasting parameters should be matched with mechanical machines for
drilling of blast holes and charging of explosives. Blast holes are drilled in well-defined
patterns, which consist of several parallel rows. In bench blasting, the normal blast hole patterns
are square, rectangular, and staggered, Figure 13. The most effective pattern is the staggered
pattern, which gives the optimum distribution of the explosive energy in the rock.

35
Figure 12. Open pit operations cycle.

Figure 13. Blast holes drilling patterns.

36
2.2 Loading and hauling

Nowadays, surface mining is conducted using shovels, front end loaders or hydraulic shovels.
In open pit mining, loading equipment is matched with haul trucks that can be loaded in 3–5
cycles of the shovel. Many factors determine the preference of loading equipment. For example,
with a hard digging rock, tracked shovels are more advisable. On the other hand, rubber-tyred
loaders have lower capital cost and are better for loading materials that are low in volume and
easy to dig. Furthermore, loaders are very mobile and well applicable for mining scenarios
requiring rapid movements from one area to another. Loaders are also often used to load, haul,
and dump material into crushers from blending stock piles placed near crushers by haul trucks,
Figure 14. Hydraulic shovels and cable shovels are common equipment used in open pit mining.
Hydraulic shovels (Figure 15) are not chosen for digging hard rock, and cable shovels are
generally available in larger sizes.

Figure 14. Loading material using front end loader.

Figure 15. Hydraulic shovels.

Figure 16. Cable or rope shovels.

37
3. Pit slope angle and stability
Slope angle is required during the early feasibility study. The degree of confidence on
calculating slope angle depends upon the condition applicable. The major pit slope angle
conditions can be divided into:
 mining a shallow high-grade ore body in favorable geological and climatic conditions.
Slope angles are unimportant economically and flat slopes can be used. No consideration
of slope stability is required;
 mining a variable grade ore body in reasonable geological and climatic conditions. Slope
angles are important but not critical in determining economics of mining. Approximate
analysis of slope stability is normally adequate; and
 mining a low-grade ore body in unfavorable geological and climatic conditions. Slope
angles are critical in terms of both economics of mining and safely of operation. Detailed
geological and groundwater studies followed by comprehensive stability analysis are
usually required.
During the pre-production period, the operating slopes should, however, be as steep as
possible. The working slope can then be flattened until they reach the outer surface intercepts.
The horizontal flow of stress through a vertical section both with and without the presence of
the final pit is shown in Figure 17. With the excavation of the pit, the preexisting horizontal
stresses are forced to flow beneath the pit bottom. The vertical stresses are also reduced due to
the removal of the rock. The rock lying between the pit outline is largely distressed. As a
result of stress removal, cracks and joints can open. Cohesive and friction forces restraining
the rock in place are reduced. Groundwater can more easily flow reducing the effective
normal force on potential failure planes. With increasing pit depth, the extent of the stressed
zone increase and the failure becomes more severe.

Figure 17. Mine slope geomechanics.

3.1 Types of highwall failures

There are several mechanisms by which highwall instability can occur. While we cannot
expect to prevent all highwall failures, a better understanding of these mechanisms will enable
us to identify potential problems before they become actual problems and to limit exposure to
dangerous conditions. The most common types of failure include plane failure, wedge failure,
toppling failure, and circular failure. Except for the circular failure, these usually occur along
preexisting discontinuities. Example of each are the following:
3.1.1 Planar failure

38
This slide in Figure 18 illustrates a typical plane failure of a highwall. Notice that the
rockslide occurs along this discontinuity which daylights on the highwall and dips toward the
pit. If this sliding plane does not daylight, or dips away from the pit, the slope is stable. Even
if the joint daylights, in order for the slide to occur, the weight of this sliding block must
exceed the frictional resistance along the discontinuity. Figure 19 shows an example of a
slope, which is plagued by large planar failures, and leads to a slide off rocks along natural,
parallel, and bedding planes.

Figure 18. Planar failure.

Figure 19. Large planar failure.

3.1.2 Wedge failure

A wedge failure occurs when two discontinuities meet and their intersecting line daylights on
the slope face and dips toward the pit. If these conditions do not occur, you cannot have a
wedge failure. The weight of the block also has to exceed the frictional resistance along the
failure surface to have failure, Figure 20. As shown in Figure 21, the failure can follow trends
since joints tend to occur in repeating patterns. Note here the failure on the top bench, and on
the next bench, should probably expect another at the next level down.

39
Figure 20. Wedge failure.

Figure 21. Trend in wedge failure.

3.1.3 Toppling failure

Toppling failures look like Figure 22. A toppling failure can occur when the discontinuities
dip very close to vertical but away from the pit. The discontinuities can be natural or they can
be caused by the mining process. If the mine progresses from left to right, there will be
continuous problems, because of the way these cracks are oriented. On the other hand, if the
mine goes from right to left, mine operators do not have to worry about toppling-type failure;
so, decisions made during mine planning can have a profound effect on the stability of the
highwalls. Figure 23 shows a picture of a toppling failure that resulted in a fatality to a blast
hole drill operator.

Figure 22. Toppling failure.

40
Figure 23. Toppling failure example.

3.1.4 Circular failure

In slopes excavated in soil or highly jointed and weathered rock mass where there are no
geological structures to control the failure, the most unstable failure surface is approximately
a circular arc. This circular failure surface (Figures 24 and 25) results from a process of
localization of deformations. It is an arch type of landslides; however, the specific shape of
this failure surface and the associated failure mechanism cannot be generalized [11].

Figure 24. Circular failure mechanism.

Or

41
Figure 25. Circular slope failure at the open pit of the Bingham Canyon Mine in Utah.

Large cable shovels (Figure 16) with payloads of about 50 cubic meters and greater are used at
mines where production exceeds 200,000 tons per day, whereas hydraulic shovels are more
flexible on the mine face and they enable greater operator control to selectively load from both
directions (top and bottom of the mine face). The importance of haul trucks in the history of
surface mining cannot be overstated. Hand labor, wheelbarrows, horse-drawn vehicles, and ore
cars were the principal means of earth-moving equipment until the early twentieth century. The
advent of the internal combustion engine led to the development of the haul truck in the mining
industry. Open pit mining requires a great demand for truck transport of ore and waste rock.
The efficiency and greater load capacity of electrical and diesel-powered haul trucks became
the preferred method for hauling in surface mining, gradually replacing rail haulage by the
1960s. Today, the average cost of a new haul truck is $3.5 million [8]. Most trucks have
capacities ranging from less than 50 tons per load to 363 tons per load in large trucks such as
Caterpillars 797 series load truck. Some mining companies choose to replace trucks with
conveyor belt systems. For example, the Brazilian mining company “Vale” has recently
replaced its mine trucks with 23 miles of conveyor belts at its iron ore mine, linking the ore
deposits to the company’s processing plant [9, 10].

4. Mine closure and reclamation

In general, mining has a significant negative impact on environment. Due to its nature, it leads
to severe degradation of the landscape. Many factors such as drainage, air, soil and water
quality, noise levels, ground vibrations, human health, and habitation are mostly affected by
mining activities. When the extraction of mine reserve is over, the distorted landscape has to be
reclaimed in order to reduce the damaging effects of open pit mining and bring back the
landscape and its surroundings, see Figure 26.

Land use plan at the end of mining has to be set in order to determine what the mine site will
look like and how the lands will be used after the mine is closed and fully reclaimed. The mine
must operate and close such that the land and water in and around the mine site are less disturbed
and environmentally safe and sound like original. It is the responsibility of the mining company
to pay for reclamation and closure costs. To ensure that funds are available for closure, the
mining company will normally be required to post a financial security (a reclamation bond)
before mining starts. “Progressive reclamation” is usually part of the overall closure plan.

42
Progressive reclamation means that once a part of the mine site is no longer needed, it will be
reclaimed rather than waiting for all aspects of operation to cease. For example, waste rock
piles will be reclaimed as soon as they have reached their permitted size. The general
rehabilitation goals require rehabilitation of areas disturbed by mining to result in sites that are
safe to humans and wildlife, nonpolluting, stable, and able to sustain an agreed postmining land
use. The process of reclamation normally involves the following steps [12–14]:

 Recontouring: the ground is re-sloped and contoured to a profile that will be

stable and that provides proper drainage, facilitates the growth of vegetation,
and provides various habitats for wildlife.
 Capping with a growth medium: waste rock piles and other areas of the mine
site will need to be covered with a soil material that is suitable for the growth of
plants.
 Seeding and fertilizing: this usually takes place over many years. Fast growing
grasses may be planted in order to stabilize the soil followed by shrubs and trees
depending on the end use plan.
 Monitoring: plants in areas that are to be used for grazing will be tested to ensure
they contain acceptable levels of metals and other possible contaminants.

Figure 26. Open pit mining before and after reclamation.

5. Variants of surface mining methods: strip mining, mountainous mining, and

artisan mining

43
Variants of open pit mining are limited to a number of other surface mining methods, which
include strip mining, high wall mining, and quarrying. Strip (open cast) mining is used
extensively for the surface mining of important commodities such as coal and phosphate ores.
Casting is the process of excavation and dumping into a final location. This type of mining
involves removing the overburden and extracting the valuable mineral deposit. Strip mining is
applicable to shallow, flatlying deposits [15]. It is a method that is generally applied on a large
scale with low mining costs and high productivity and that has minimum land degradation [16,
17]. In Jordan, strip is used for the extraction of oil shale and phosphate ores. These mines are
located at the central and southern parts of the country (e.g., Figure 27). Strip mining differs
from open pit in that the overburden is not transported to waste dumps but cast directly into
adjacent mind-out panels, i.e., reclamation is contemporaneous with extraction. These mines
often occupy a large area of land for ore excavation and overburden disposal. Strips are large
rectangular parallel pits that extend to more than a mile in length [18].

Figure 27. Oil shale extraction project at Attarat Oil Shale mine, Jordan.

After the removal of vegetation and topsoil, the mining begins with an initial rectangular
box cut. The dragline is used for overburden removal. As the overburden is removed from
one portion of a mineral deposit, it is used to fill in the trench left by the previous removal
[19]. The backfilled area is then replanted during the reclamation process. Figure 28 shows
typical dragline operation. Stripping process continues along parallel strips. Where the
deposit becomes thinner, or dipping more below the surface, or in the case of dramatic
increase in the stripping ratio, the mining operation must be ceased [19].

Figure 28. Typical dragline operation [20].

44
Shovel-truck system is currently adapted for extracting phosphate ore in several phosphate
mines in Jordan (Figure 29); especially in Al-Shidiyah, Al-Abiad, and Al-Hasa mines. Since
shovel truck removal of overburden generally costs at least three times as much as dragline
stripping, the dragline is currently implemented for removing overburden from phosphate
ore in those mines (Figure 30). On the other hand, shovel truck removal of overburden is
currently used in Attarat oil shale mine (Figure 31).

Figure 29. During loading A1 phosphate layer at Al-Shidiyah phosphate mines.

Figure 30. Dragline removes overburden at Al-Shidiyah phosphate mine, Jordan.

45
Figure 31. Overburden removal at Attarat Oil shale mine, Jordan.

In the mountainous and hilly terrains, contour mining is applied. It is also known as
mountaintop mining. The mining of flat deposits in these areas follows the contour around
the hill and into the hillside up to the economic limits. The extraction becomes difficult with
inclination and depth increase. The top of a mountain is removed to recover the ore
contained in the mountain that resulted in huge quantity of excess spoil that is placed in
valleys that affected the streams flowing within these valleys [21]. Artisanal mining is a
small scale mining method, which includes enterprises or individuals that employ workers
in developing countries who are poor and have few other options for supporting their
families and who usually use manually intensive methods for mining (e.g., panning in case
of gold). Artisanal miners use elementary techniques for mineral extraction and often
operate under hazardous, laborintensive, highly disorganized, and illegal conditions [20,
22].

46
2) Aqueous Extraction Methods
Depend on water or another liquid (e.g., dilute sulfuric acid, weak cyanide solution, or
ammonium carbonate) to extract the mineral.

2.1) Placer mining:

2.1.1) Hydraulic mining

2.1.2) Dredging mining

2.2) In-situ leaching (ISL)/Solution mining

2.3) Undersea Mining

Placer and solution mining are among the most economical of all mining methods but can
only be applied to limited categories of mineral deposits.

2.1) PLACER MINING

 Placer deposits are concentrations of heavy minerals, usually within loose

alluvium that can easily be excavated and washed.
 Placer minerals such as gold, tin, and tungsten minerals, are of relatively
high value, but the value of the placer gravel itself may be very low, often
less than a dollar per cubic yard.
 For deposits of such low grade to be worked they must be near water, on or
near the surface of the ground, and should be only loosely consolidated so
that drilling and blasting are not necessary.
 Placer mining affects large surface areas for the volume of material mined,
is highly visible and has serious environmental problems with surface
disturbance and stream pollution.
 Placer mining is used to exploit loosely consolidated deposits like common
sand and gravel or gravels containing gold, tin, diamonds, platinum,
titanium, or gems.
 There are two types of placer mining:-

2.1.1) Hydraulic mining : Generally used for weakly cemented near-surface ore
deposits. Hydraulic mining of a placer gold deposit. Hydraulic king utilizes ahigh-
pressure stream of water that is directed against the mineral deposit (normally
but not al ways a placer), under-cutting it, and causing its removal by the erosive
actions of the water.

2.1.2) Dredging mining: Generally used most often for mineral- sands and some
near- shore alluvial diamond mining operations. Dredging performed from

47
floating vessels, accomplishes the extraction of the minerals mechanically or
hydraulically.

"Dredging" is a method often used to bring up underwater mineral deposits.

Although dredging is usually employed to clear or enlarge water ways for
boats, it can also recover significant amounts of underwater minerals relatively
efficiently and cheaply.

48
i) Hydraulic Mining (or Hydraulic king)

 Hydraulic Mining 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.
 Hydraulic mining totally disturbs large areas and puts much debris into the drainage
system. Presently, hydraulic king is used primarily in Third World countries. It is closely
controlled or prohibited in the U.S.

49
Dredging mining

"Dredging" is a method often used to bring up underwater mineral deposits. Although dredging
is usually employed to clear or enlarge waterways for boats, it can also recover significant
amounts of underwater minerals relatively efficiently and cheaply.

ii) Dredging
 Large alluvial deposits are mined by floating washing plants capable of excavating the
gravel, processing it in the washing plant, and stacking the tailings away from the dredge
pond.
 A Dredge floats in water and digs the gravel by an endless string of buckets. Coarse
material is screened out and dumped out the back. The fine material passes into a series
of sluices where the gold in recovered.
 Several types of excavation methods are in use: DRAGLINE and BACKHOE PLANTS.
 Dragline use in placer mining with washing plants is limited to shallow digging depths.
Its bucket is less controllable on the bottom than the backhoe, and it is less able to dig
into the bottom to clean up all the ore that may be there. However, it has the advantage
of a longer reach.
 The digging reach of the backhoe extends to as much as 70 feet below the surface. It
has the advantage of relatively low first cost, excellent mobility, and an ability to
excavate hard material.

50
Types of Excavation Methods Using Dredging:
i) Bucket Wheel Hydraulic Dredges are becoming more popular for underwater excavation,
except where a high content of soft clay exists or where excessive oversize material occurs. It
is dependent upon flooded pump openings that convey the material mined to the washing plant,
and therefore it cannot work above water level. Placement of the pump suction is critical.

ii) Bucketline Dredges are capable of continuous excavation and are very efficient. The mine,
process, and discard tailings to waste in one continuous stream. However, no storage
opportunities exist, and the stream moves through the system by the force of gravity. Buckets,
supported by a LADDER, dig the mine face. The material moves up the ladder and dumps into
a hopper that feeds the washing plant. They are capable of high excavation rates.

iii) Suction Cutter Dredges are similar to the Bucket WheetDredge except the digging device
consists of a series of cutting arms rotating in a basket about a suction intake. The rotating arms
break up the bank material, slurring it so it can be drawn into the dredge suction. It has proven
to be successful in mining unconsolidated beach sands and offshore placers.

51
2. Solution Mining
Basic concept
 The theory and practice of leaching are well-developed because for many
years leaching has been used to separate metals from their ores and to
extract sugar from sugar beets. Environmental engineers have become
concerned with leaching more recently because of the multitude of dumps
and landfills that contain hazardous and toxic wastes. Sometimes the
natural breakdown of a toxic chemical results in another chemical that is
even more toxic. Rain that passes through these materials enters ground
water, lakes, streams, wells, ponds, and the like.
 Although many toxic materials have low solubility in water, the
concentrations that are deemed hazardous are also very low. Furthermore,
many toxic compounds are accumulated by living cells and can be more
concentrated inside than outside a cell. This is why long-term exposure is
a serious problem; encountering a low concentration of a toxic material a
few times may not be dangerous, but having it in your drinking water day
after day and year after year can be deadly.

52
 The main theory of leaching neglects mechanisms for holding the material
on the solid. Although adsorption and ion exchange can bind materials
tightly to solids, we will simplify the analysis and consider only dissolving
a soluble constituent away from an insoluble solid. An example is removing
salt from sand by extraction with water.
 Countercurrent stage wise processes are frequently used in industrial
leaching because they can deliver the highest possible concentration in the
extract and can minimize the amount of solvent needed. The solvent phase
becomes concentrated as it contacts in a stage wise fashion the increasing
solute-rich solid. The raffinate becomes less concentrated in soluble
material as it moves toward the fresh solvent stage.

2.2 In-situ leaching (ISL)/ Solution mining

In-situ leaching (ISL), also called in-situ recovery (ISR) or solution mining, is a
mining process used to recover minerals such as copper and uranium through
boreholes drilled into a deposit, in situ. In situ leach works by artificially
dissolving minerals occurring naturally in a solid state. For recovery of material
occurring naturally in solution.
Used most commonly on evaporite (e.g. salt and potash) and sediment-hosted
uranium deposits, and also to a far lesser extent to recover copper from low-grade
oxidized ore.
The dissolving solution is pumped into the ore body from a series of injection
wells, and is then pumped out, together with salts dissolved from the ore body
from a series of extraction (production) wells.

 Solution mining (in-situ recovery) = resources in a deep deposit are dissolved in a

liquid and siphoned out.
 Salts, lithium, boron, bromine, potash, copper, uranium.
 Less environmental impact than other methods:
 Less surface area is disturbed.
 Acids, heavy metals, uranium can accidentally leak.

53
Advantages:
 No solid wastes.
 Liquid wastes (low concentration brines with no market value) can be re-
injected into the stratum being leached. Also reported that wastes are
sometimes injected into a separate acquifer (not good practice).

Dis-Advantages :
 Little control of the solution underground and difficulty in ensuring the
process solutions do not migrate away from the immediate area of leaching.
 Main impact of evaporite ISL is derived from surface or shallow
groundwater contamination in the vicinity of evaporation ponds. Pregnant
solutions can be highly corrosive and pyhto-toxic, and can react with the
soil materials used in pond construction, and may migrate to surrounding
areas through seepage, overflow (both bad practice),and windblown spray.
 Surface subsidence and the development of sink-holes may also occur after
prolonged solution mining if inadequate un-mined material is left to support
the overburden (bad practice).

2.3 Heap Leaching

Heap leaching is also used in recovering metals from their ores.

Bacterial leaching is first used to oxidize sulfide minerals. Cyanide solution is

then used to leach the metals from the mineral heap.

'Heap leaching' is a countercurrent process where the solid is in a stationary heap

and the solvent percolates through the solid. An example is a dump or landfill.
This leaching is essentially countercurrent. In industrial leaching, solvent and

54
solid are mixed, allowed to approach equilibrium, and the two phases are
separated. Liquid and solids move counter currently to the adjacent stages. The
solvent phase, called the extract, becomes more concentrated as it contacts in
stage-wise fashion the increasingly solute-rich solid. The raffinate becomes less
concentrated insoluble material as it moves toward the fresh solvent phase.

55
Layout of copper bio-heap pilot plant

Advantages/disadvantages of heap leaching

Advantages
o •Low capital and operating costs
o •Absence of milling step, may require crushing and
agglomeration
o •Simplicity of atmospheric leach processes
o •Can be used to treat low-grade ores, wastes and small deposits
o •Absence of liquid-solid separation step allows counter-current
operation
o •Metal tenor may be built up by recycling solution over heaps
Disadvantages
o •Lower recoveries than mill/float or mill/leach
o •Long leach cycles and hold-up
o •Lengthy experimental programmes
o •Large footprint
o •Acid-mine drainage of wastes

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Uranium heap leaching
 Occurs in tetravalent and hexavalent forms
 Tetravalent uranium requires oxidation during leaching
 Leaching in acid or carbonate medium, depending on gangue acid
consumption. Lower recoveries in carbonate medium.
 Addition of suitable oxidising agent such as, H2O2, MnO2, NaClO3 for
regeneration of Fe3+, or by bacterial oxidation. Typically 0.5 g/L Fe, ORP
475-425 mV, which may be produced from gangue dissolution.
 Bacterial leaching offers the advantage of reduce oxidising agent cost and
generation of acid from sulphide minerals such as pyrite, as well as
liberation of mineral from sulphide host.
 “Readily leachable”minerals are acid leached at pH 1.5-2.0 and 35-60 oC,
which are suitable conditions forbio-leaching. “Refractory” minerals
require higher temperature (60-80oC) and stronger acid (up to 50g/L).

Uranium deposits
Uranium minerals are soluble in acidic or alkaline solutions.

The production (“pregnant”) fluid consisting of the water soluble uranyl oxyanion (UO 22+) is subject to
further processing on surface to precipitate the concentrated mineral product U3O8 or UO3 (yellow cake).

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Common Uranium minerals

Undersea (or Oceans) Mining

• We extract minerals (e.g., magnesium) from seawater

• Minerals are dredged from the ocean floor

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o Sulfur, phosphate, calcium carbonate (for cement), silica (insulation and
glass), copper, zinc, silver, gold

•Manganese nodules = small, ball-shaped ores scattered across the ocean floor

o Mining them is currently uneconomical

o Manganese Nodules (pacific ocean)–ore nodules crystallized from hot
solutions arising from volcanic activity. Contain manganese, iron copper
and nickel.

• Hydrothermal vents may have gold, silver, zinc

•Mining would destroy habitats and organisms and release toxic metals that
could enter the food chain
1) Minerals are found in seawater, but occur in too low of a concentration
2) Continental shelf can be mined
3) Deep Ocean are extremely expensive to extract (not currently viable)

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