Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef or placer deposit. These deposits form a mineralized package that is of economic interest to the miner Minning
Minerals and Human Civilization Age Approximate Date of beginning Paleolithic (Old Stone) 500, 000 BC Neolithic (New Stone) 8, 000 BC Copper 5, 000 BC Bronze 3, 000 BC Iron 1400 BC Coal AD 16, 00 Petroleum AD 1, 850 Nuclear AD 1950
CONT. D • Mining probably began about 100, 000 BC. In simple terms, it means the removing of rock material on earth’s surface for processing, so that they are made more beneficial.
Alluvial or Placer Deposits • Surface water can carry chemically stable minerals like tin, gold and silver from weathered rocks and deposit them in the sand gravel of valleys bottoms and new plains. • Under the weight of latter deposits, they may become hard and compact to be worked like lodes.
Modes of Occurrence of Minerals and Mining There are various modes of occurrence of minerals. Veins and Lodes: • The smaller occurrences are called veins and the larger occurrences are called lodes. • They are usually formed when minerals in liquid/molten and gaseous forms are forced upwards through cavities towards the earth’s surface. Examples: tin, copper, zinc, lead.
Bedded Ores • Some minerals are known to occurs in level sheets or beds unlike irregular lodes. • Several 1000 feet of potassium, magnesium, common salt gypsum etc. Classification of Minerals 1. Basic Minerals: Those minerals, which are considered to be the base of industry or machines and without, whom the construction of machines is impossible, are known as basic minerals such as Iron, Copper, Lead, Zinc, etc. 2. Power Minerals: Such minerals provide power to run machines, such as coal, petroleum, Natural gas, and Hydro electricity. 3. Precious Minerals: In these minerals, gold, silver, uranium, platinum, Diamond, etc. can be included.
Importance of Mining • Mining can impact local communities both positively and negatively. While positive impacts such as employment and community development projects are important, they do not off-set the potential negatives. • forcing them from their homes and land • preventing them from accessing clean land water • impacting on their health and livelihoods • exposing them to harassment by mine or government security These impacts are exacerbated when local people aren’t consulted and are given no information about a planned mine. Even worse is when people are not given a say on whether or not a mine should even be developed.
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