Extraction of rocks and minerals from the earth:The mining process involves the excavation of large amounts of waste rock to remove the desired mineral ore. The ore is then crushed into finely ground tailings for chemical processing and separation to extract the target minerals.
Searching of minerals:Mineral exploration is the process of searching for evidence of any mineralisation hosted in the surrounding rocks. The general principle works by extracting pieces of geological information from several places, and extrapolating this over the larger area to develop a geological picture.
rocks and minerals.
Mining rocks and minerals:mining, process of extracting useful minerals from the surface of the Earth, including the seas. A mineral, with a few exceptions, is an inorganic substance occurring in nature that has a definite chemical composition and distinctive physical properties or molecular structure.
Methods of extraction:Extraction is the first step to separate the desired natural products from the raw materials. Extraction methods include solvent extraction, distillation method, pressing and sublimation according to the extraction principle. Solvent extraction is the most widely used method.
Surface mining:Surface mining, including strip mining, open-pit mining and mountaintop removal mining, is a broad category of mining in which soil and rock overlying the mineral deposit (the overburden) are removed, in contrast to underground mining, in which the overlying rock is left in place, and the mineral is removed through shafts or tunnels.
Sub-surface mining:Surface mining extracts natural resources from the earth by first removing soil, rocks, and plants (called overburden) so miners can access the exposed mineral or metal deposit. Subsurface miners tunnel underground to extract natural resources, leaving the landscape above the mine intact.
Factors affecting the viability of extraction of mineralsMajor factors affecting exploitation of mineral resources in the world are as follows: (i) Richness or Grade of the Ore (ii) Size of Deposit (iii) Method of Mining (iv) Accessibility (v) Transportation Facilities (vi) Stage of Industrial Development (vii) Technology (viii) Other Factors.
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