Around the world, countries of all shapes and sizes depend on the vast wealth of resources waiting just underneath the surface of the planet. For centuries, mankind has used mining techniques as the basis for ushering entire civilizations into grand new eras.
Mining has become an integral part of the economy for almost every developing nation. The practice has created a rich history. Let’s look at a few fascinating facts about the mining industry.
1). Copper mining:
Copper ore is mined for a variety of industrial uses. Copper, an excellent conductor of electricity, is used as electrical wire. Copper is also used in construction. It is a common material in pipes and plumbing material.
2). Gold mining:
Like copper, gold is also mined for industry. For example, space helmets are plated with a thin layer of gold to protect astronaut’s eyes from harmful solar radiation. However, most gold is used to create jewelry. For thousands of years, gold ore was mined as a basis for currency, or money. Most nations stopped valuing their money on the gold standard in the twentieth century. Because of its high electrical conductivity (71 percent that of copper) and inertness, the largest industrial use of gold is in the electric and electronics industry for plating contacts, terminals, printed circuits, and semiconductor systems. Thin films of gold that reflect up to 98 percent of incident infrared radiation have been employed on satellites to control temperature and on space-suit visors to afford protection.
3). Iron ore:
Iron ore has been mined for thousands of years. Iron, the second-most abundant metal on Earth, is the main component of steel. Steel is a strong, valuable building material. Iron is used in everything from glass to fertilizer to the solid-rocket boosters once used for the space shuttle to leave Earth’s atmosphere. Almost all of our planet’s major deposits of iron ore are found in rocks that formed around two billion years ago. Back then, copious amounts of dissolved iron could be found in the ocean with almost no dissolved oxygen. It wasn’t until the first organisms capable of photosynthesis came into existence that iron ore began forming deposits. As these organisms released oxygen into the waters, it combined with the dissolved iron, which produced hematite and magnetite. These minerals then accumulated on the seafloor and are now known as the banded iron formations.
4). Ore genesis:
Earth contains a finite amount of ore. Ore genesis, the process by which a deposit of ore is created, is estimated to take millions of years. There are three major types of ore genesis: internal processes, hydrothermal processes, and surficial processes. Ore can accumulate through geologic activity, such as when volcanoes bring ore from deep in the planet to the surface. Ore can also accumulate when seawater circulates through cracks in Earth’s crust and deposits minerals in the areas around hydrothermal vents.Ore can also fall to Earth as rocky debris from elsewhere in the solar system. These pieces of debris, entering the atmosphere as shooting stars, are called meteorites. Many meteorites contain large amounts of iron ore.
5). Mineability of a deposit:
Several factors are considered when calculating the mineability of a deposit. Important factors are the cost of extracting the deposit, the metal content and its location. Copper ore with a content of 0.3 percent is probably not worth extracting if it lies at a depth of 1000 m, but can be interesting if it is at the surface. This is because extraction costs are lower in an open pit (at the surface) than in an underground mine. In an open pit, more low-grade ore can be extracted with a lower content, while underground mines mean more expensive operation. If deposits with a higher concentration are found at great depth however, underground mines can be profitable. In Sweden there are mines reaching depths of more than 1,400 m.
6). All glitters are not gold:
Several of the greatest environmental risks associated with mining waste relate to the weathering of sulphide minerals. All minerals weather, but sulphide minerals tend to weather much faster than many other minerals. They also contain large quantities of metals which can be harmful to our health and the environment, among others copper, cadmium and lead. When sulphide minerals weather, acidic metallic leach water occurs, Acid Mine Drainage, or AMD. When the pH value of the water falls, then many metals generally become more soluble and disseminate in the environment more easily. The acidic environment often also contributes to metals leaching more easily.
7). It’s all about money:
A crucial factor in the mine’s economy is the value of the ore, which is often given in kronor per ton. The value is determined above all by the metal content of the ore, and usually amounts to between 200 and 2,000 SEK/ton. Metals of low value like iron therefore require ores with a high metal content (30-65 per cent Fe) for extraction to be economically viable. Deposits of gold and platinum which have a very high metal value on the other hand are profitable to extract even at a very low content (1 – 10 g metal/ton ore).
8). Australian minerals:
Australia produces 19 useful minerals in significant amounts, from over 350 operating mines. From these minerals, useful materials such as metals can be extracted. Australia is one of the world’s leading producers of bauxite (aluminium ore), iron ore, lithium, gold, lead, diamond, rare earth elements, uranium, and zinc. Australia also has large mineral sand deposits of ilmenite, zircon and rutile. In addition, Australia produces large quantities of black coal, manganese, antimony, nickel, silver, cobalt, copper and tin.
9).Silver mining:
Although silver is relatively scarce, it is the most plentiful and least expensive of the precious metals. Nevertheless, geologists currently estimate that given current demand, the world’s extractable resources of silver will last only another twenty years. Today’s silver comes from three primary sources: silver mining; silver produced as a by-product of mining for other metals; and silver recycled from used materials, including old jewelry and photographic films and chemicals.
10). Mercury mining:
