Who discovers and extracts minerals. Assignments for homework. Mining Two Ways of Mining

22.04.2020

Sedimentary minerals most characteristic of platforms, as there is a platform cover. Mostly these are non-metallic minerals and combustibles, the leading role among which is played by coal and oil shale. They were formed from the remains of plants and animals accumulated in the coastal parts of the shallow seas and in the lacustrine-marsh conditions of the dry land. These plentiful organic remains could accumulate only in sufficiently moist and warm conditions favorable for luxuriant development. In hot dry conditions in shallow seas and coastal lagoons, salts accumulated, which were used as raw materials in.

Mining

There are several ways mining. Firstly, it is an open method in which rocks are mined in quarries. It is economically more profitable, as it contributes to obtaining a cheaper product. However, an abandoned quarry can lead to the formation of a wide network. The mine method of coal mining is expensive, therefore it is more expensive. The cheapest way to extract oil is by flowing, when oil rises through the well under oil gases. The pumping method of extraction is also common. There are also special ways of extracting minerals. They are called geotechnical. With their help, ore is mined from the bowels of the Earth. This is done by pumping hot water, solutions into the formations containing the necessary mineral. Other wells pump out the resulting solution and separate the valuable component.

The need for minerals is constantly growing, production is increasing, but minerals are exhaustible natural resources, so it is necessary to use them more economically and fully.

There are several ways to do this:

reduction of losses of minerals during their extraction;
more complete extraction of all useful components from the rock;
integrated use of minerals;
search for new, more promising deposits.

Thus, the main direction of the use of minerals in the coming years should not be an increase in the volume of their extraction, but a more rational use.

In modern exploration of mineral resources, it is necessary to use not only the latest technology and sensitive instruments, but also a scientific forecast for the search for deposits, which helps to conduct targeted exploration on a scientific basis. Thanks to such methods, diamond deposits in Yakutia were first scientifically predicted and then discovered. A scientific forecast is based on knowledge of the connections and conditions for the formation of minerals.

Brief description of the main minerals

The hardest of all minerals. Its composition is pure carbon. Occurs in placers and as inclusions in rocks. Diamonds are colorless, but there are also dyed in different colors. A cut diamond is called a diamond. Its weight is usually measured in carats (1 carat = 0.2 g). The largest diamond was found in the South: it weighed over 3,000 carats. Most diamonds are mined in Africa (98% of the production in the capitalist world). In Russia, large diamond deposits are located in Yakutia. Clear crystals are used to make gemstones. Until 1430, diamonds were considered common gemstones. The trendsetter for them was the Frenchwoman Agnes Sorel. Opaque diamonds, due to their hardness, are used in industry for cutting and engraving, as well as for grinding glass and stone.

Soft malleable yellow metal, heavy, does not oxidize in air. In nature, it is found mainly in its pure form (nuggets). The largest nugget, weighing 69.7 kg, was found in Australia.

Gold is also found in the form of placers - this is the result of the erosion of the deposit, when grains of gold are released and carried away, forming placers. Gold is used in the manufacture of precision instruments and various ornaments. In Russia, gold lies on and in. Abroad - in Canada, . Since gold is found in nature in small quantities and its extraction is associated with high costs, it is considered a precious metal.

Platinum(from Spanish plata - silver) - a precious metal from white to gray-steel color. Differs in infusibility, resistance to chemical influences and electrical conductivity. It is mined mainly in placers. It is used for the manufacture of chemical glassware, in electrical engineering, jewelry and dentistry. In Russia, platinum is mined in the Urals and Eastern Siberia. Abroad - in South Africa.

Gems(gems) - mineral bodies that have the beauty of color, brilliance, hardness, transparency. They are divided into two groups: stones for cutting and ornamental. The first group includes diamond, ruby, sapphire, emerald, amethyst, aquamarine. To the second group - malachite, jasper, rock crystal. All gemstones, as a rule, are of igneous origin. However, pearls, amber, coral are minerals of organic origin. Precious stones are used in jewelry and for technical purposes.

tuffs- rocks of various origins. Calcareous tuff is a porous rock formed as a result of precipitation of calcium carbonate from springs. This tuff is used to produce cement and lime. Volcanic tuff - cemented. Tuffs are used as a building material. Has different colors.

micas- rocks that have the ability to split into the thinnest layers with a smooth surface; found as impurities in sedimentary rocks. Various micas are used as a good electrical insulator, for the manufacture of windows in metallurgical furnaces, in the electrical and radio industries. In Russia, micas are mined in Eastern Siberia, c. Industrial development of mica deposits is carried out in Ukraine, in the USA, .

Marble- a crystalline rock formed as a result of limestone metamorphism. It comes in various colors. Marble is used as a building material for wall cladding, in architecture and sculpture. In Russia, there are many of its deposits in the Urals and the Caucasus. Abroad, marble quarried in is the most famous.

Asbestos(Greek inextinguishable) - a group of fibrous fireproof rocks that split into soft fibers of a greenish-yellow or almost white color. It occurs in the form of veins (a vein is a mineral body that fills a crack, usually has a plate-like shape, going vertically to great depths. The length of the veins reaches two or more kilometers), among igneous and sedimentary rocks. It is used for the manufacture of special fabrics (fire insulation), tarpaulins, fire-resistant roofing materials, as well as thermal insulation materials. In Russia, asbestos is mined in the Urals, in, abroad - in other countries.

Asphalt(resin) - a fragile resinous rock of brown or black color, which is a mixture of hydrocarbons. Asphalt melts easily, burns with a smoky flame, is a product of the transformation of certain types of oil, from which some of the substances have evaporated. Asphalt often penetrates sandstones, limestones, marl. It is used as a building material for road surfacing, in the electrical engineering and rubber industry, for the preparation of varnishes and mixtures for waterproofing. The main asphalt deposits in Russia are the Ukhta region, abroad - in, in France,.

Apatity- minerals rich in phosphoric salts, green, gray and other colors; found among various igneous rocks, sometimes forming large accumulations. Apatites are mainly used for the production of phosphate fertilizers, they are also used in the ceramics industry. In Russia, the largest deposits of apatite are located in, on. Abroad they are mined in the Republic of South Africa.

Phosphorites- sedimentary rocks rich in phosphorus compounds, which form grains in the rock or hold together various minerals into a dense rock. Phosphorites are dark grey. They are used, like apatites, to obtain phosphate fertilizers. In Russia, phosphorite deposits are common in the Moscow and Kirov regions. Abroad, they are mined in the USA (Peninsula Florida) and.

aluminum ores- minerals and rocks used to produce aluminium. The main aluminum ores are bauxites, nephelines and alunites.

bauxites(the name came from the Bo area in southern France) - sedimentary rocks of red or brown color. 1/3 of their world reserves lie in the north, and the country is one of the leading states in their production. In Russia, bauxites are mined in. The main component of bauxite is aluminum oxide.

Alunites(the name comes from the word alun - alum (fr.) - minerals, which include aluminum, potassium and other inclusions. Alunite ore can be a raw material for obtaining not only aluminum, but also potash fertilizers and sulfuric acid. There are deposits of alunites in the USA , China, Ukraine, and other countries.

Nephelines(the name comes from the Greek "nephele", which means cloud) - minerals of complex composition, gray or green, containing a significant amount of aluminum. They are part of the igneous rocks. In Russia, nephelines are mined in and in Eastern Siberia. The aluminum obtained from these ores is a soft metal, gives strong alloys, is widely used, as well as in the manufacture of household goods.

Iron ores- natural mineral accumulations containing iron. They are diverse in terms of mineralogical composition, the amount of iron in them, and various impurities. Impurities can be valuable (chromium manganese, cobalt, nickel) and harmful (sulfur, phosphorus, arsenic). The main ones are brown iron ore, red iron ore, magnetic iron ore.

brown iron ore, or limonite, is a mixture of several minerals containing iron with an admixture of clay substances. It has a brown, yellow-brown or black color. It occurs most often in sedimentary rocks. If the ores of brown iron ore - one of the most common iron ores - have an iron content of at least 30%, then they are considered industrial. The main deposits are in Russia (Ural, Lipetsk), in Ukraine (), France (Lorraine), on.

Hematite, or hematite, is a red-brown to black mineral containing up to 65% iron.

It occurs in various rocks in the form of crystals and thin plates. Sometimes it forms clusters in the form of hard or earthy masses of bright red color. The main deposits of red iron ore are in Russia (KMA), Ukraine (Krivoy Rog), USA, Brazil, Kazakhstan, Canada, Sweden.

Magnetic iron ore, or magnetite, is a black mineral containing 50-60% iron. It is high quality iron ore. Composed of iron and oxygen, highly magnetic. It occurs in the form of crystals, inclusions and solid masses. The main deposits are in Russia (Urals, KMA, Siberia), Ukraine (Krivoy Rog), Sweden and the USA.

manganese ores- mineral compounds containing manganese, the main property of which is to impart malleability and hardness to steel and cast iron. Modern metallurgy is unthinkable without manganese: a special alloy is smelted - ferromanganese, containing up to 80% manganese, which is used for smelting high-quality steel. In addition, manganese is necessary for the growth and development of animals, it is a microfertilizer. The main ore deposits are located in Ukraine (Nikolskoye), India, Brazil and the Republic of South Africa.

Tin ores- Numerous minerals containing tin. Tin ores with a tin content of 1-2% or more are being developed. These ores require enrichment - an increase in the valuable component and the separation of waste rock, therefore, ores with a tin content increased to 55% are used for smelting. Tin does not oxidize, which has led to its widespread use in the canning industry. In Russia, tin ores occur in Eastern Siberia and on, and abroad they are mined in Indonesia, on the peninsula.

Nickel ores- mineral compounds containing nickel. It does not oxidize in air. The addition of nickel to steels greatly increases their elasticity. Pure nickel is used in mechanical engineering. In Russia, it is mined on the Kola Peninsula, in the Urals, in Eastern Siberia; abroad - in Canada, on, in Brazil.

Uranium-radium ores- mineral accumulations containing uranium. Radium is a product of the radioactive decay of uranium. The content of radium in uranium ores is negligible - up to 300 mg per 1 ton of ore. are of great importance, since the fission of the nuclei of each gram of uranium can give 2 million times more energy than burning 1 gram of fuel, so they are used as fuel in nuclear power plants to generate cheap electricity. Uranium-radium ores are mined in Russia, the USA, China, Canada, Congo, and other countries of the world.

Everything about everything. Volume 5 Likum Arkady

When did people start mining?

Minerals are chemical substances or compounds that occur in the bowels of the earth in their natural form. Ore is a deposit rich in some mineral for which it is mined. No one knows exactly when mining began. One of the first mining enterprises recorded in history was the Egyptian expedition to the Sinai Peninsula around 2600 BC. e. They went to mine mica, and discovered and extracted a more useful mineral - copper.

The ancient Greeks mined silver in mines south of Athens in 1400 BC. e. The Greeks built mines around 600-350 BC. e. Some of the wells were up to 120 m deep. Later, other metals such as lead, zinc, and iron were mined from these same spears. In order to supply the huge empire, the Romans carried out mining on a large scale. Their mines were everywhere - from Africa to Britain.

Among the most valuable Roman mines was that of Rio Tinto in Spain, which produced large quantities of gold, silver, copper, tin, lead and iron. Mining reached a large scale in the 18th century, when the industrial revolution began. A large amount of coal was required for metallurgy and factory furnaces.

Therefore, coal mining developed rapidly. Modern mining technology was born at that time. In the 19th century, the so-called "gold rush" broke out in the United States. It began in California in 1848. Over the years, more than $500 million worth of gold has been mined there.

In 1896, the "gold rush" swept Alaska. In South Africa, the largest deposits of diamonds were discovered in 1870, and rich gold deposits were discovered in 1886.

the author Likum Arkady

Where was gold first mined? Gold is such a rare and precious metal that you might think it has only recently been mined. Nothing like this! Gold is one of the oldest metals known to man. We will never know when man first discovered it and

From the book All About Everything. Volume 1 the author Likum Arkady

When did people start cutting their hair? Hair appeared as a result of the development of the stratum corneum of the skin. We don't get hurt when we cut our hair because it doesn't contain nerve endings. Since hair is an important part of our appearance and it is very easy to cut and style it, people began to

From the book All About Everything. Volume 1 the author Likum Arkady

When did people start wearing wigs? Did you know that some discovered Egyptian mummies from over 4,000 years ago were adorned with wigs? Obviously, for the Egyptians, wigs were familiar. In ancient Greece, both men and women wore them. It is believed that wigs entered into

author Sitnikov Vitaly Pavlovich

Where was gold first mined? Traces of the first workings of gold were found in Egypt. The Egyptians began mining gold over 5,000 years ago. We also have information that about 4500 years ago the Assyrians fought with their neighbors to get their hands on gold. The rulers of Greece and Rome also

From the book Who's Who in the World of Discoveries and Inventions author Sitnikov Vitaly Pavlovich

When did people start building houses? A home is, first of all, the place where a person lives, and at first, like other living beings, he sought shelter wherever he could. People found a good protected place and considered it “home.” Then they began to improve their dwellings with a variety of

From the book The Newest Book of Facts. Volume 1 [Astronomy and astrophysics. Geography and other earth sciences. Biology and Medicine] author

From the book Oddities of Our Body - 2 by Juan Steven

How did the first people evolve, what did they start doing earlier - gathering or hunting? (Asked by T. Jordan, Gainesville, Florida, USA) They probably started hunting and gathering at the same time. But before that, perhaps the first people ate carrion.

From the book The Newest Book of Facts. Volume 1. Astronomy and astrophysics. Geography and other earth sciences. Biology and medicine author Kondrashov Anatoly Pavlovich

the author Likum Arkady

When did people start using baths? Today we are proud of the achieved level of cleanliness. Almost every home has a bath or shower. But there was a time when, in the United States, there were more radios in homes than there were bathtubs. And while we pride ourselves on being clean, we never

From the book All About Everything. Volume 2 the author Likum Arkady

When did people start eating eggs? When people accidentally end up in the jungle or on a desert island for a long time, they are forced to eat what comes across when hunger becomes unbearable. In much the same way, in search of food, ancient man probably tasted bird eggs. Exactly

From the book All About Everything. Volume 3 the author Likum Arkady

When did people start building houses? Home is simply the place where a person lives, and at first, like other living beings, he sought shelter wherever he could. People found a good sheltered place and considered it "home". Then he began to improve his dwelling with a variety of

From the book All About Everything. Volume 4 the author Likum Arkady

When did people start exploring the underwater space? The first underwater explorer was probably a man who was looking for something to eat underwater. Hundreds of thousands of years ago people knew how to fish. These ancient fishermen lived on the shores of lakes in Africa. They pounced on

From the book Great Soviet Encyclopedia (PO) of the author TSB

From the book Great Soviet Encyclopedia (NOT) of the author TSB

From the book Great Soviet Encyclopedia (LI) of the author TSB

From the book 3333 tricky questions and answers author Kondrashov Anatoly Pavlovich

Why did people start growing pumpkins? The pumpkin was bred in both the Old and New Worlds thousands of years before our era, and they did it solely for the sake of its hard rind, which was used to make vessels. The first examples of pottery in some areas

is an important part of the economy of many states, including Russia. In addition to underground mining, open pit mining is an important part of it - in the event that the deposits are located relatively shallow. For this, modern technologies are used, many types of career special equipment are used.

It is difficult to say when humanity began developing the first quarry in its history. But for sure this happened before the first mine was dug: it is much easier to extract minerals located directly under the surface, or even on it. One way or another, it will be true to say that humanity has evolved along with the technology of extracting useful minerals and building materials. During the development of a quarry, millions of tons of rock are removed and sorted, which cannot but affect the state of the environment, at least on a local scale. Nevertheless, the need of civilization for minerals, from coal to precious metals, is growing from century to century - and, accordingly, the scale of production is also growing.

The positive aspects of open pit mining include such factors as the simplicity of preparatory (overburden and other) work, the relative safety of the participants in the production process, the relatively low costs of survey work and mining itself, and high productivity during rock extraction.

However, in addition to its advantages, open source development also has its drawbacks. These include a large number of machinery and equipment operating in the quarry, and hence the considerable costs of its purchase and maintenance. With the deepening of the pit, the costs of developing deposits also increase: the delivery of rock to a processing plant or pre-sorting station requires more and more effort and longer routes for equipment, therefore, the costs of the developer company also increase.

The technological cycle of open pit mining begins with exploration.

It is necessary not only to find deposits, but also to assess their volume, rock composition and depth of occurrence for the purpose of extraction. Further, preliminary work is carried out at the site of future developments, which include drainage (sometimes watering) of the territory, laying communications (access roads, electricity, communications, Internet), uprooting the forest and erecting administrative and auxiliary buildings. How much time passes from the moment the exploration is completed to the end of the preliminary work, it is impossible to say unequivocally: it depends on investments in the future quarry, the nature of the terrain, climatic and weather factors.

When mining minerals in an open way - whether it be deposits of coal, manganese, ores containing metals - mining excavators are widely used - cyclic machines, loosely connected or scooping destroyed rocks and moving them sequentially, interrupting digging for the duration of rock movement. The opening of deposits, the extraction of minerals and their subsequent loading into vehicles are the main functions of these machines. Along with giant bucket-wheel walking excavators, rotary and cable electric machines, hydraulic caterpillar mining excavators are most widely used in open-pit mining.
A typical example of this type of machine is the R9250. Equipped with a 15 cubic meter bucket, it is great for working with 100-ton class dump trucks. Depending on the working conditions, the model is equipped with a diesel or electric power plant with a capacity of 287 hp. The rotation speed of the rotary motor is 8 revolutions per minute. The machine can be equipped with both a straight and a backhoe and is able to work even at extremely low temperatures: up to minus 40-50 degrees Celsius. The R9250, like other machines in the Liebherr excavator family, has a low center of gravity and a large digging depth of 8.7 meters. The gross vehicle weight is 253.5 tons.

Actually, the development of a quarry begins with stripping.

It is necessary to remove the surface, empty layer of rock, under which there are deposits of minerals. To do this, the soil is removed in layers, as a result of which a cascade of ledges is formed along the perimeter of the future quarry. If earlier drilling and blasting was widely used for these purposes, today special equipment is more often used for overburden work, primarily excavators and loaders, and mining dump trucks for waste rock removal. The thinner the surface layer, the more efficient mining operations: the efficiency of open pit mining is determined by the ratio of the displaced waste rock to the result of mining. The number of cubic meters of removed soil is divided by the tonnage of the removed fossil.

Mining loader
Having much more impressive dimensions than their construction counterparts, these wheeled or caterpillar earthmoving vehicles have a bucket with a capacity of up to 10 cubic meters or more, hinged at the end of the boom and unloading forward, as the main working body. The functions of mining loaders include ripping and bulldozing, cutting and transporting rock, as well as loading it into a dump truck.
Modern machines of this type have an operating weight of up to 62 tons. In addition to the front bucket, a bulldozer blade, a ripper, a lifting platform and other units are used as interchangeable equipment for mining loaders.
A bright representative of the family of mining loaders is a model of an eminent Japanese manufacturer of special equipment. This mining loader has an operating weight of 55 tons and is equipped with a 7.03 cubic meter bucket. The original 529 horsepower SAS6D170E-7 loader powertrain complies with Tier 4 Final environmental standards. According to the development company, the model has a number of improvements compared to previous generations of Komatsu equipment - in particular, the WA600-8 has significantly improved cab visibility, and the operator's seat is equipped with a heating function.

The same technique is used for direct mining.

Currently, for reasons of economic feasibility, many processes are being automated - for example, unmanned dump trucks that do not require a driver and often do not have a cab at all are becoming more widespread; there are also facilities where the mining process is controlled completely remotely (“smart quarry”). With higher initial costs, this approach guarantees significant savings in personnel wages, and in addition, ensures the safety of life and health of the employees of the mining enterprise. Nevertheless, even work in a technically equipped quarry is still considered quite difficult, and sometimes extreme for the human body, and therefore requires high physical and psychological stability. At the same time, the harm from working in a quarry for the human body is much less than in a mine, and the level of injuries is much lower.

Minerals mined in a quarry are crushed and sorted on site or transported by dump trucks to transshipment points and further to processing plants. The removal of rock from the quarry is carried out by mining dump trucks; the most capacious samples of this equipment are capable of transporting about five hundred tons of cargo - however, this equipment cannot move on public roads due to its dimensions, therefore it is usually delivered to the place of work disassembled, by rail, highway or sea transport.

Drilling and blasting methods in the development of minerals in an open way are increasingly being replaced by surface miners, which allow not only to extract material, but also to load it directly into trucks or stack it in dumps. If the dump truck is busy with other work, the rock cut by the combine is fed along the conveyor and dumped into the dump. This is how the company's harvesters work. Depending on the angle of rotation of their conveyor, the material can be stored in one dump with 3-5 rock cuts. In the future, the material is loaded into the body of a dump truck using a mining loader. Depending on the height of the resulting blade, it is possible to load the material using a front loader.
Wirtgen's most productive 4200SM soft and hard rock surface miners are designed for cutting depths of up to 830 and 650 millimeters with a cutting width of 4.2 meters. In addition to their main task - the extraction of coal, limestone, bauxite, iron ore, phosphates, oil shale, kimberlite, salt - these surface miners are able to work effectively in construction, including road construction. In particular, these machines are able to carry out such functions as laying a route for road construction and construction of a rail track, precise milling of trenches, planes and slopes, milling channels, forming a tunnel bottom and road rehabilitation.

A lot of valuable minerals are mined in an open way: coal, amber, marble, diamonds - the list can be continued for a very long time. And the development of a quarry can last from several years to many decades. For example, the development of the Bingham Canyon quarry in the USA, the state of Utah, the depth of which is currently 1200 meters, has been going on since 1863.

There are many factors that influence production patterns; miners say that two identical quarries do not exist in principle. However, most of these structures share a number of common elements; among them - working and non-working board; bottom or sole - the lower platform of the ledge; lower and upper contours; overburden and clearing ledges; platforms (below the slope, above the slope); breed acceptance point; transport communications. The perimeter of the sole of the quarry is determined by the convenience of mining the rock and loading it into mining trucks.

Mining dump trucks are a kind of off-road vehicles of this type used in the development of deposits in an open way. Due to their impressive size, their operation on public roads is impossible - and they are delivered to the place of work disassembled. The scheme with two axles, with rear unloading, with rear or all-wheel drive, is recognized as the most appropriate for heavy dump trucks. A separate subclass of mining dump trucks is made up of articulated vehicles, for which a three-axle scheme is used. For example, such as the South African company Bell produces - every fifth articulated dump truck in the world leaves its assembly line. The main feature of this technique is the lowest weight in all load classes, which is achieved through the use of a high-strength welded alloy steel chassis and durable, weight-optimized components. Other features include powerful Mercedes Benz engines and ZF and Allison integrated retarder transmissions. One of the popular models - B50D with a 6 × 6 wheel arrangement, with a dead weight of 34.5 tons, is capable of carrying 45.4 tons of cargo. It is equipped with a 523 hp diesel engine. and a 640-liter fuel tank. Of the dump truck's safety systems, it should be noted an automatic mountain brake, a quick fill function with a dry lock and tire pressure monitoring and protection of the cab from tipping over and falling objects.

As mentioned above, mining is not in vain for the environment.

The device of a quarry destroys a landscape that has evolved over centuries, and sometimes millennia. Many hectares of forests are being uprooted, lakes are being drained, explosive work is being carried out, and the level of groundwater is changing. Thousands of cubic meters of soil that could be used for agricultural purposes are turned into dumps during overburden operations. Depending on the chemical composition of the soil, dumps may contain elements that are dangerous not only for the flora and fauna, but also for the health of people living in nearby settlements. Their residents also suffer from high levels of noise, sewage pollution and carbon monoxide emissions from the engines of construction machinery and equipment.

Despite the fact that open pit mining causes significant harm to the environment, the harmful effects of it can be minimized. To do this, worked-out quarries are often filled with water, creating artificial reservoirs, and reclamation is carried out in the adjacent territories, planting them with trees and shrubs. As for the waste rocks, mineral fertilizers, alumina, and also some types of building materials are often obtained from them. All these measures make it possible not only to partially compensate for the damage caused to nature by open-cast mining, but often also to obtain economic benefits. In the world, the number of enterprises specializing in the cultivation of the territory of worked out quarries and the processing of mining waste is growing from year to year.

Quarries, cuts in which coal is mined, quarries allow people to annually receive millions of tons of valuable natural materials. In Russia alone, more than 4/5 of the total volume of iron ore and mining and chemical raw materials, up to 2/3 of non-ferrous metal ores, almost the entire volume of non-metallic minerals and building rocks, more than a third of coal are obtained by open pit mining, and in the near future it is planned to increase the share of its production is up to 56-60%. Due to its high economic efficiency, open pit mining also prevails in a number of other countries with significant mineral deposits - the USA, Canada, Australia and China.

Often, the primary processing of minerals is carried out directly at the place of extraction. Various things are used for this. For example, Telsmith horizontal shaft impact crushers of primary and secondary crushing are well suited for processing limestone and other materials with low abrasiveness. They are designed with a large margin of safety and have a one-piece massive rotor, which is their main advantage compared to analogues on the market, as well as a large crushing chamber, which provides high productivity and a cube-shaped material at the exit. The most productive primary crusher is Telsmith 6071 with 800-1500 hp drive, which has a capacity of 1000-2100 tons per hour. The crusher with an operating weight of 89 tons is designed for a maximum incoming piece size of 1422 mm. Of the crushers for secondary crushing, the most productive is Telsmith 5263 with a 300 hp drive; its productivity reaches 320 tons per hour. This model is designed for a maximum incoming piece size of 406 mm; crusher weight - 22 tons.

MINING (a. mineral production, mineral output, mineral reсovery; n. Gewinnung von nutzbaren Vodenschatzen; f. exploitation des mineraux ufiles; i. explotacion de minerales utiles) - the processes of solid, liquid and gaseous from using technical means. The term "mining" is also used as an economic category and is expressed in volumetric or weight units of measurement: in relation to - in m 3, - in m 3 / day (, and other components - in tons), non-metallic raw materials - in tons, - in, semi-precious stones, - in kilograms, (, etc.) - in m3, raw materials for, paint raw materials - in tons, facing decorative stone - in m 2. The calculation of the extracted minerals is carried out in absolute numbers obtained from the mineral deposit, taking into account losses (the so-called commercial product) and in terms of a useful component (metal or). The latter makes comparable data on the extraction of a particular mineral from various deposits (i.e., it takes into account the % content of a valuable component in minerals).

Mining has a history of many thousands of years (see). The process of mining consists in extracting a valuable component in a relatively pure form (for example, oil, natural gas, coal, precious stones, etc.) or in a form (for example, metal ores), which is further processed.

On land, mining is carried out, and; in marine - boreholes, and special autonomous ones that collect nodules from the bottom.

The vast majority of deposits of solid minerals are developed using mines and quarries, as well as boreholes, by artificially converting a number of solid minerals into a mobile (liquid, gaseous) state (native, rock salt, coal, etc.). Quarries produce about 90% brown and 20% hard coal, 70% metal ores, 95% non-metallic building materials. Liquid and gaseous minerals (oil, brines, groundwater, natural gas) are extracted using boreholes, a number of oil fields are developed using mines, and open-pit mining is used to extract oil-saturated sands ("heavy" oils). At a number of deposits, a combination of production methods is used (open pit and mine, mine and borehole). The choice of the method of extracting minerals is determined mainly by the mining and geological conditions of minerals and economic calculations.

The annual production of solid minerals in the world is about 20 billion tons (including non-metallic minerals - 13 billion tons), oil - about 3 billion tons, gaseous - 1.5 trillion. m 3 (1980). The scale of mining is increasing with the development of industrial production, technological progress and population growth. Of the total number of minerals extracted from the bowels of the earth in the entire history of human civilization, their predominant volume was mined in the 20th century (1901-80), incl. oil 99.5%, coal 90%, 87%, over 80%, 70%. Growth in mineral production is ensured by the discovery of new deposits, the involvement in the operation of deep deposits, the development of ores with a low content of a useful component. An important reserve for increasing consumption by industry is the improvement of technologies for processing minerals, the introduction of low-waste and waste-free technologies with the utilization of all components of the mined rock mass. The largest volumes of mineral extraction fall on machine (in some cases automated) systems, the importance of the most advanced physicochemical and biological methods is increasing, which make it possible to selectively extract metals from deposits directly in rock masses, without a significant violation of their continuity (for example,). Mining is an energy intensive process. The main sources of energy are electric, liquid fuel, explosives. Energy consumption in open-pit mining is 10-30 times less than in mine mining.

Mining is the most important area of human activity, providing the postulate, the development of the productive forces of society. See table.

The economy of many countries depends on mining. This is one of the main resources for the development of industry, construction and economy. There are two main mining options: underground mining and open pit mining. The choice of method depends on the depth of valuable rock deposits, terrain features and other factors.

Work on the extraction of useful resources from the bowels of the Earth has a thousand-year history. Equipment and mining methods have gone through a serious evolutionary path. Nevertheless, the basic principles remained.

Almost every corner of the planet is quarrying. It is mined, metals, minerals, building materials. This type of mining has a negative impact on the environment and the ecological situation. However, there are a number of advantages that determine the popularity of open pit mining:

a simplified version of preparatory and construction work;
high degree of safety of process participants;
relatively low costs for organizing and conducting development;
comfortable conditions for workers;
the possibility of more efficient rock extraction.

The positive aspects of quarrying are identified in relation to other mining options (underground, combined). Labor costs for open pit mining are quite high. The economic benefit decreases with the deepening of the excavation. Delivery of the breed to the reception point is constantly becoming more complicated, increasing the costly part of the procedure.

Open source technology

The extraction of natural resources is a process that consists of many stages. Preparatory work begins with geological exploration. Experts search for mineral deposits and estimate the likely volumes of the developed rock.

Preparatory work

After the positive results of geological exploration, the stage of initial preparation begins. Mining companies carry out the following activities:

uprooting the forest;
drainage or flooding of the area;
construction of necessary communications (sewerage, communications, access roads);
erection of administrative buildings and other premises.

The duration of the preparatory stage depends on financial investments, the scale of work, weather conditions, and terrain features.

Minerals (coal, metal, etc.) are hidden under waste rock. This layer of soil must be removed. For this, stripping works are carried out. Layer by layer, the top soil is removed. There is a systematic advance towards valuable deposits. As a result, a cascade of benches is formed, and the quarrying is approaching the phase of direct mining.

For overburden work, the following technique is used:

bulldozer;
excavator;
dragline (excavator with cable connection);
drilling and blasting equipment.

The efficiency of open pit mining is determined by the ratio of the displaced waste rock to the result of mining. The number of cubic meters of removed soil is divided by the tonnage of the removed fossil.

Mining process

After stripping, the mining of the developed rock is carried out. It is removed from the bowels and transported to warehouses or processing plants. To reduce the cost of this stage of development, they use equipment with a large tonnage, they try to automate some processes.

Transportation of raw materials is often assigned to mining dump trucks of the BelAZ plant. In 2013, a model was released that is capable of carrying loads weighing up to 450 tons. On tests, the dump truck handled a record 503.5 tons.

New technologies and equipment are regularly developed, which are used for the development and extraction of valuable rocks. The level of security is increasing, and some processes are trying to be fully automated. But work in quarries and mines remains difficult and dangerous. Working conditions are often extreme and require high physical and psychological resilience.

Quarry device

Open pit mining is suitable for many valuable breeds. There are chalk, coal, amber, marble and copper quarries. One of the largest open-pit mining sites is located in Utah, USA. The mining of the Bingham Canyon quarry began in 1863. The depth of the pit is about 1200 meters. Active ore mining continues in the quarry.

Features of quarrying depends on many factors. We can distinguish the main elements that are characteristic of all such structures:

working and non-working board;
lower and upper contours;
overburden and clearing ledges;
platforms (below the slope, above the slope);
breed acceptance point;
transport communications.

The bottom of the quarry is also often called the sole - this is the lower platform of the ledge. Its dimensions take into account the necessary conditions for the safety of rock removal and loading at the last level.

The impact of quarries on the ecological situation

Each quarry development is a significant blow to the environment and the ecological background of the area. Already at the preparatory stage of rock extraction, actions are carried out that destroy the landscape. Enterprises cut down entire forests, drain water bodies, and carry out demolition work.

Open pit mining has a detrimental effect on the soil. Cubic meters of soil are removed for the sake of fossil deposits. Often these are lands that could be effectively used for agricultural purposes. The development of valuable rocks entails a decrease in the level of groundwater. The water supply of the region and the productivity of the soil are falling.

Dumps from overburden rocks are of particular danger. The scale of the negative impact depends on the depth of the quarry and the chemical composition of the soil. Dumps pollute water, air, soil. Various salts can penetrate vegetation and lead to an increased risk of certain diseases in the local population.

Mining in quarries is always accompanied by:

sewage pollution;
carbon monoxide emissions;
strong noise.

All this also negatively affects the environment.

Measures to restore the environment

The open-pit mining method is not distinguished by a sparing approach to the developed area, but the negative consequences can be somewhat leveled. In many countries, quarrying companies are required to reclaim and revegetate the site after mining is completed. This allows you to start the process of regeneration of the soil and the ecological background.

Industrial waste management can also be optimized. From dump rocks are mined:

mineral fertilizers;
alumina;
Construction Materials.

This allows expanding the range of economic benefits for the mining industry and reducing the negative impact of dumps on the environment.

Conclusion

Open pit mining is widespread throughout the world. This method allows you to remove a wide variety of rocks: chalk, coal, etc. We have to put up with the fact that quarrying has a negative impact on the environment.

However, conscious states are trying to control this process by setting certain requirements for mining enterprises. Extraction and development of valuable rocks is a help for a stable economy. It is difficult for the governing bodies to refuse the impressive financial flow that is laid in the bowels of the country.